AN: Remembered name of FF7 world was Gaia, not Midgar, so I changed that in the last chapter.
I know it's been a while. Again. I'm sorry. There have been issues at home that I've had to deal with, so that's the big thing. Then, it's also hard to write about a game you've never played, so I had to work on trying to figure out how to do that. Then my mom broke her hand and I've had to shoulder a lot of... everything to keep things sane. But I have been writing whenever I could, I swear!
Okay, quick announcement. I have a poll up on my profile about which story I should start after I finish my Elder Scrolls one. If there's a tie, I'll come up with some way to differentiate. The basic ideas for the three stories up for vote are on my profile. It'll close when I finish the Elder Scrolls story, so in one or two chapters.
Finally, responses!
To Gamelover41592: Yeah, I loved Jaune's attempt at being cool. As usual, he does what he set out to do, but he didn't end up looking cool. Maybe next time.
To cturner971/Chretner: A Kingdom Hearts D&D sounds awesome. I wish there were more rulebooks out there in the style of the Star Wars Role Playing Game, you know? More franchises could use a well made adaptation of some tabletop rules. I can't wait for more custom Keyblades, either. Not every world will have one, just for sake of making my life easier, but I'll try to come up with good ones when I do. I hope you enjoy the first half of this trip to Gaia!
To DragoonSensei: Thanks, again, for pointing that out. If you see anything like that again, just tell me and I'll fix it as soon as I can.
To Remnant7: You're right, I'll never think of the song the same way again. Also, how is FFXV? It looks pretty fun, but I haven't got a chance to play anything but the demo.
To Kyle Preston Ross: I'm really happy you are having fun with my Kingdom Hearts x RWBY stories, especially if you find them binge worthy. Also, I have answers:
1: So, yes and no. Jaune's skills are getting sharper, but... he's thinking about trying to restrain his darkness or to draw specifically on Light. So, he's getting better, but he's going through like four steps before he actually does anything. As you'll see here, against normal people that's still pretty good. Against Heartless or Sephiroth, less so.
2:So, Jaune will not have drive forms. Sorry. But there are a couple other things I have planned that you'll just have to wait and see.
3:I'm sorry, but these are the only worlds that I have planned to show up in this fic. Now, I occasionally veer off plan if I feel like it, for instance the entire bit on Menagerie in the first book, but I wouldn't expect more worlds.
Finally, I don't want to spoil anything with Jaune and Yang. Whether they do end up together or not, I hope it seems in character for both of them.
To oftheforgotten: I'm sorry, but I don't have any plans to visit One Piece any time soon. I know Sora looks cool in Pirate clothes, but I just don't think it's in the cards right now.
Anyways, enjoy the next chapter!
Chapter 20:Storm Cloud
"This is... very different," Jaune said, confused by the small city that they had landed in, its oceanic view and stunning sunset over the ocean a far cry from the sleepy mountain village they had seen when last on Gaia. He rolled up his sleeves slightly and took a deep breath of the warm air. It was nice, even if he was absolutely sure something bad had happened. It always was like that when they got somewhere, after all.
"Reminds me of Patch... but warmer. It's kind of nice," Yang said, sliding her sunglasses off the bridge of her nose and on top of her head. "Good sunset for a date."
"Well, at least some things about this place don't change," Jaune remarked dryly as they stopped on the corner of the sidewalk.
Yang shot him a look. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Jaune scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Last time we were here, you were all, 'Oh, Sephiroth! Swoooooon!'"
"Was not," Yang snapped at his grinning face. His grin widened, causing her hair to flare up for a moment. "Shut up!"
Jaune shrugged. "Okay, okay. Cool it," he remarked, earning a chuckle from Yang.
Yang shook her head and her hair returned to its natural state. "Fine. But only because you made a punny."
Jaune sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. The city was quiet, but busy. People were milling about in various types of dress, ranging from beach attire to suits, but they all seemed rather content with their home. It seemed almost idyllic, with as quiet and peaceful as it was. Jaune and Yang usually got jumped by Heartless the moment they got somewhere, so the fact that they'd gone a full twenty minutes without seeing one was a good sign. And good signs only made Jaune more uneasy, like Vale during the Amity festival.
"Wait a second, I recognize that girl," Yang whispered into Jaune's ear. He turned and saw Yang nod her head towards their collective right, towards a young woman in a very short black skirt with a white crop top. Her red boots were carrying her fast as she ran, and looked as ready for combat as her metal studded red gloves and the studded elbow pads she wore over black sleeves that started at her bicep. Brown suspenders connected to the top of the skirt, just over a loosely done belt, and around her neck, hidden by her long, luxurious black hair that hung loose until it was bound almost at the very end by a strap of red cloth. Her figure was very thin, but graced with sharp definition and finely tuned muscle. Jaune couldn't help but stare at her large... presence. Like she was parting the crowds with her determination. Jaune looked at Yang, and the two silently agreed to follow. While they didn't remember this girl, she did seem oddly familiar, and that was better than anything else they had.
"Don't think I didn't catch you looking, Jaune," Yang whispered when they were a distance away from the girl that they wouldn't lose her, but also likely wouldn't be noticed.
The Keyblade wielder's face turned as red as Yang's eyes did when she was angry. "I... I wasn't, I swear!" he hissed nervously. "Really, Yang, I -" He stopped as he noticed that she was snickering at him, barely able to hold in her joy at seeing him so flustered.
"That wasn't nice," Jaune whispered, which only earned more stifled laughter from his partner.
"Oh, come on," Yang whispered a moment later, still grinning at him. "You're a guy. It's normal to look at un-Remnantly bazongas." She began laughing at her own joke. "Un-Remnantly – because it's not Remnant."
"You were setting that joke up?" Jaune asked, his flustered embarrassment for himself replaced with flustered embarrassment on her behalf. "Yang, you're better than that. Puns, sure, but that?"
"Oh, come on. I know you're not a creep, Jaune. I mean, you don't stare at my chest all the time," Yang pointed out, and the embarrassment became his own again. They turned a corner, still close behind the mystery girl. "You know that you'd be dead if you stared without an invitation."
"Yang, please stop," Jaune groaned, feeling like his aura itself was going to change from yellow into an embarrassed red if this went any further. "I swear, I always stop myself if it happens, no matter what." He palled, the blood finally leaving his face. "I – I mean -"
"Oh, stop. You're fine," Yang remarked with a grin, patting his head. "Come on, Good Boy, we have Worlds to save, remember?" Then she pointed at the woman entering what looked to be a hospital.
"But you were – Trying to make me angry," he growled to himself. Of course she was. It's what she did to him, that weird cross between bullying and friendship. Almost like family. So he followed her into the hospital, hoping they could find some answers about everything going on in Gaia in the past... however long it had been since they'd last been there. Hopefully not too much longer than the real flow of time. That would be weird to explain again.
The first thing they saw when the entered was the young woman glaring at them with her fists at the ready. "Okay, who are y – wait, I recognize you guys," the young woman's hands fell to her side. "You were..." her face darkened with pain. "Nibelheim."
Jaune and Yang traded a glance. That as how they knew her – she was the only person they had been able to save from Sephiroth's army of Heartless. "That was us," Yang nodded, walking up and putting her hand on the girl's shoulder in an effort to comfort her.
"Are you okay?" Jaune asked. His eyes widened. "Is Cloud?"
At that, the girl's face fell, obscured now by her hair. "Nice," Yang hissed at him.
"I was just asking!" he mouthed defensively.
"If you're wondering if he survived Nibelheim, he did. Recently, though, he – Well, it'll be easier to show you." She turned and motioned for them to follow her. The two Hunters traded a worried look once more, then moved in tandem.
After a few moments, the group of three arrived at a hospital bed, nondescript in its differences from the others. Aside, that is, from the shining blue-green eyes and massively spiked hair that rested atop the pillow. Cloud was there, but it was obvious that there was nobody home behind those eyes. Jaune leaned against the bed and examined the young man while Yang wandered over to the side of the bed where a massive sword rested. Her eyes hardened; that was Zack's sword. So he really was dead. Another friend lost, it seemed. "He said you were old friends." Jaune stood up straight and turned to the girl, while Yang's eyes simply flicked away from the sword. "You knew it was him, then?"
"He's not exactly a good liar. Can't fake his voice for anything," she pointed out. Her hair heaved up and down as she sighed and held out her hand. "I'm Tifa, in case you didn't know."
"Yang. I'm the pretty one that does all the work," Yang said, taking her hand. She looped her hand around Jaune's shoulder. "And he's Jaune."
The Knight glared at his partner. "Flattering introduction, Yang."
"I think it put me in a nice light," Yang joked and punching her partner's shoulder.
"I can't believe you two helped Zack and Cloud fight Sephiroth. You're kinda... idiots," Tifa said bluntly, confusion at the two outworlders evident on her face.
"Only most of the time," Jaune said defensively, earning a dry laugh from Yang. "The rest of the time we're cool."
"I know. You saved my life," Tifa pointed out again, crossing her arms. "Doesn't make it any easier to believe." The woman sat down on the edge of the bed and placed her hand over that of the sleeping warrior, pain and worry flashing across her face.
Jaune bit his cheek for a moment before he finally asked, "So... what happened?" he wondered aloud.
Tifa kept looking at Cloud for a while, then leaned back and glanced over at the two. "The past four years have been pretty bad," she explained sullenly. "Ever since you arrived with Zack, Cloud, and Sephiroth, the world's gone downhill." Sadness colored her features. "And that's saying something."
"It can't be that bad," Jaune supplied in attempt to comfort Tifa. "I mean, this place seems pretty nice!"
"If you aren't paying attention," Tifa growled pointedly. Her fingers wrapped around Cloud's, turning white from the tightening grip. "People are disappearing, and not only because of the Heartless. Shinra is destroying the world and killing anyone that gets in their way." She let go of Cloud's hand. "And Sephiroth is -"
"Wait, stabbed in the chest by Cloud Sephiroth? That Sephiroth?" Yang asked in disbelief. "We saw him die. And, wasn't Shinra the good guys? They sent Zack and Cloud to help Nibelheim, right?"
"And then kidnapped them and experimented on them for the past four years," Tifa said bitterly. "Killed Zack, too, if everything that Sephiroth said turns out to be true. Those monsters apparently tore apart Zack's memories and shoved them into Cloud's head."
"Dust..." Jaune muttered, horrified.
Yang turned her head to look over at Cloud. "So, what has happened?" she asked, voice even to hide her anger. What the hell was happening in this world? Sure, Shinra had studied Sephiroth and Cloud, but it hadn't seemed like they were evil. Assholes, sure, but not evil.
"Well, we joined a freedom fighting group dedicated to righting the wrongs of Shinra and preventing the destruction of the planet!"
"So... a terrorist group?" Jaune asked simply.
"What? No! We were just keeping them from destroying the world with their mining techniques!" Tifa snapped defensively.
"By..?" Yang wondered, fighting off a smile.
"... Blowing the facilities up," Tifa hissed under her breath.
"Ah... so you were," Jaune said.
"They're mining the actual Heart of the world! And they won't stop! We tried pamphlets and legal change first!" Tifa growled, surging to her feet.
"You still – wait, they're what?" Jaune asked, cutting himself off when he realized what she had just said. "'Mining the Heart of the world?'"
"Yes. Actually. They followed those Heartless things and found it. Energy, power... Light. And the more Light they take..."
"The more Heartless appear, everywhere," Jaune finished, shutting his eyes and feeling his energy leave his body.
"Bingo, Blondie," Tifa said, pointing at him. She sighed. "Once we put that together and we knew they wouldn't stop, that nobody would listen, we had to do something. I dragged Cloud into AVALANCHE so I could keep an eye on him and we could get some more help, and then we just kept picking up strays."
Tifa shook her head and walked away from the bed slightly. "Until we got found out and they blew up half a city to kill us."
"Wait. A company? Killed that many customers?" Yang asked.
"Yeah, and?" Tifa asked, wondering why she was confused.
Jaune cut in. "Well, it's just not good business. I get them not believing that they're mining the Heart of the World. It sounds crazy if you think about it too long. It's true, but it does. But destroying the world or killing a huge chunk of their customer base? That's just... Stupid."
"Schnee did it."
"Yeah, and he was an idiot, too."
"True."
They turned back to Tifa. "Then what?" Yang inquired simply when it became clear Tifa was not going to continue, confused as she was by their behavior.
"W-well..." she muttered. She shook her head. "Well, we escaped the city, chasing Sephiroth for framing us for murder."
"But not for terrorism," Yang pointed out, grinning at Tifa's angry glare.
"Anyway," Tifa continued through gritted teeth. She sighed and ran a hand through her long hair. "It wasn't long until we caught up with him, with Sephiroth, and... and he killed one of ours. Cloud went crazy. He, he tried to kill Sephiroth, but the bastard told him the truth. Cloud broke and, and it was like parts of him just left. Sephiroth got even stronger, said he was even closer to destroying this world and moving on. Meanwhile, Cloud just... the only thing keeping him alive is the hospital, now."
She walked back to Cloud and gripped his hand. "He's been out like this for weeks, and he's only getting worse," she said, voice breaking as the sentence went on. "I can't lose him again."
Yang looked over at Jaune, and found he was just staring at her with the same look. Go talk to her! You understand what she's going through!
They both raised their eyebrows. What do you mean!? You understand her!
They grew more flabbergasted at that before both realized that, in some way, they each knew what the girl was going through. "Well, you're handling it better than I did," Jaune offered first. He grimaced anxiously. "Once, I lost someone important to me. I thought it was the worst pain imaginable. And then someone offered me the chance to get her back, someone who I thought actually could do it. So I took it, even though it meant betraying everyone I knew and loved. I was so afraid of losing her again that I let myself spiral out of control." He frowned at the confused and worried look Tifa was giving him. "I just mean, Cloud isn't dead yet, and he wants you – not would want you – to stay strong for him."
"Jaune may not look it, but everything he's been through has given him a pretty good grasp of what love is," Yang explained, looping an arm around Jaune's shoulders. "And he's been strong for me, too. I mean, I am trying to convince my mom not to kill me. So, if I can keep doing that, you can wait for Cloud to definitely wake up, right?"
"You two aren't good at this, and yet I find myself somewhat comforted," Tifa scoffed, a smirk crossing her face. "You know, Cloud didn't remember everything, but he remembered you two. Kinda. I think you being here is fate, then." She looked between the two and smiled softly. "That gives me hope."
"Aw... We're just like Sora and Ruby, then!" Yang shouted, punching her partner in the shoulder. He yelped and rubbed at the bruise, the noise earning an angry glare from the staff of the hospital. She frowned and placed a finger on her chin. A wicked grin spread across her face and she looked at Jaune out of the corner of her eyes. "Though we don't kiss as much as they do."
Jaune's throat dried up. "Yang, stop with that, would you?" he mumbled, embarrassment burning his face.
"I know, I know. You're not ready to dance again," she said, waving her right hand as she did. Then she pointed at herself. "And no way are you ready for my smoking hot moves."
Jaune rubbed the bridge of his eyes. "So, then what's the plan, Tifa?"
The brunette sighed. "I don't have one, to be honest," she admitted sullenly. "I have to stay here with Cloud, I can't leave him. Not even to find Sephiroth."
"Couldn't you do that weird Heart thing, Jaune?"
The Keyblade wielder blanched and turned to Yang. "Sora doesn't even like doing that! He said only a Keyblade Master should try it... and even then, they shouldn't!" he hissed to his partner. "Besides, I don't even know how."
"Oh, don't be such a first year Jaune, Jaune," the brawler retorted. She pointed at Cloud, past an increasingly confused Tifa. "Stab our friend in the Heart and wake him up."
That, understandably, went over poorly. "You want to what!?" Tifa snapped, surging to her feet, fists clenched as she readied for a fight.
Jaune slapped his forehead. It was going to be a long day, wasn't it?
R W B Y
After they managed to calm Tifa down and explain exactly what they meant, Jaune still wasn't feeling any better about this plan, even if she was. He was painfully aware how dangerous it was to mess with someone's Heart, if only because it had been done to him three times now. Maybe more, he couldn't quite remember if Salem had done it more often. Still, it was an entirely uncomfortable experience when done right, and beyond painful if done wrong. He'd spent weeks tortured inside his own body, locked away without power to do anything, so he was worried he might accidentally screw up and do something along those lines.
Still, he had to admit that he would much rather something bad happen after he tried to fix it than do nothing and have something bad happen. At least then he tried to make things better, right?
So, that was the gist of how they ended up with Jaune holding his Keyblade over Cloud's Heart from where he and the others sat on a couch beside the bed. The curtains were drawn, hiding them from any doctors or nurses that would wonder what the hell they were doing drawing a weapon on their patient. "So we just, what, read his mind?" Tifa asked, not quite sure if she believed everything going on.
Jaune thought about all the complicated things he'd learned from Sora... that Sora didn't even really understand. Then Jaune thought about the confusing aspects of his journey into his own Heart. "Um..." he muttered from the other side of Yang, "Yeah."
Tifa frowned at his tone, but decided not to latch onto his hesitation. If there was anything he was hiding or didn't know how to explain, she would figure out soon enough. "Then let's do this."
"Okay, just um... let me, er, figure this out."
"You've never done it before?" Tifa hissed.
"It's been done to me about a dozen times," he explained nervously.
"You're inspiring confidence, Jaune," Yang sighed from between them. She turned to Tifa. "Look, he's smart. He'll figure it out."
The Keyblade wielder smiled. "Thanks, Yang." He turned his attention back to the Keyblade above Cloud. Well, Sora said Hearts were connected, always. So, might as well start by looking for that connection in his own. He shut his eyes, sifting between the different feelings he had when meeting different people. Eventually, he focused on that camaraderie that he had felt with Cloud. A desire they both felt to be more than they were. He slowly twisted the Keyblade, then opened his eyes.
No longer were they in the hospital. The world had gone dark, save for a column of Light emanating from above. "Well, on the bright side you didn't kill us," Yang muttered simply as she stared up at the Light.
"And there's the pun," Jaune grunted, ignoring the dull ache in his back where he'd slammed ungracefully into the pillar. He squinted up at the light for a moment, then looked back over at Yang, now holding her hand out to help him up. He gladly took it and was quickly hoisted to his feet by the powerful blonde, overshooting because of the sudden change in momentum and nearly tumbling into the woman. He caught himself in time, blushing profusely, and turned away hurriedly. "Where's Tifa?"
"What the hell is that?"
Jaune turned to the source of the voice, cheeks still red. She was staring at the floor, frowning with worry. "What is what?" he asked as he moved slowly towards her. Yang crossed her arms and stayed where she was, simply turning her head to the ground to get a look. Jaune stood next to Tifa before he checked out the stain glass they stood upon.
At first glance, it seemed normal. Cloud sat in the middle of the scene, face serene and eyes shut. The Buster Sword was dangling precariously from his hand, as if ready to tumble into oblivion. He was wearing an all black outfit, the same outfit that Zack had once worn when Jaune and Yang had met him, a SOLDIER uniform designed for combat and freedom of movement. But then he started to see everything that was wrong. By leaning to the side, the figure on the ground slowly shifted. Blond hair grew longer and turned deep black, the face shifting shapes slightly. Zack?
"Why is Sephiroth on the pillar?" Tifa's head whipped over to Yang
"I see Zack." Tifa explained.
"And I see something worse," Jaune explained, his eyes freezing to Yang's right. He nodded and the two women turned, freezing at the sight of Darkness encroaching on the pillar. The inky blackness was burning away at the stain glass, already it had destroyed a large chunk of the silhouettes of people important to the Heart. One had been torn apart entirely, dissolved in the destructive force entirely. The other outer rings were starting to vanish as well, one of a large group of people, and another with a pair of blonde heads, one a nervous young man and the other a confident – maybe overconfident, even – young woman. The one in the center was completely fine, however, resisting the Darkness more than any other. It didn't take a genius to see that the figure at the center was Tifa, long sweeping brown hair and a pose not unlike Yang's flexing arms.
"So what do we do now?" Tifa wondered, her worried eyes never leaving the shadows.
"We look for Cloud. Since he's in this coma, he's probably chained up in here somewhere," Jaune explained sullenly. "And judging by my own experience he needs someone important to him to save him. Ideally the most important."
"Then we're shit out of luck," Tifa mumbled wearily. She walked up to the edge of the pillar and glared out at the emptiness. "The most important person in Cloud's life got a sword planted through her chest. Without Aerith we can't save him, not like this."
Jaune and Yang traded a look, asking 'Really?' Well, if she couldn't admit that she cared about him because he had loved someone else, then she was right. There was no way they could save Cloud like this. Still, they had to try. Cloud was their friend, even if they'd only ever met him once. "Well, he and Sephiroth share a Heart, but they have to have some kind of... gate that can separate them. We just need to find this gate and shut it."
Yang walked up beside Jaune. "But that won't bring back what Cloud has lost, will it?" Yang asked, voice a quiet whisper.
"Best I've got," he replied. He turned his attention back to Tifa. "We need to find a way to get to another pillar, or to find a door of some kind."
As if in response to his statement, thin steps of Light appeared in the void. They faded in and out of existence, whatever energy Cloud could spare to hold them together already failing. But it was enough. Another source of Light slowly flickered on and another pillar appeared at the end of the pathway. "Well, this is a good first step," Yang muttered at the stepping stones. She slowly turned, revealing a far too proud grin at what she'd just said.
"Why?" Tifa asked, horrified by the pun. "Why would you do that to us?"
"It's a pillar of her character," Jaune said, earning a laugh from Yang. "That was an accident, Yang!"
"Still loved it," the brawler replied nonchalantly. She sighed and turned back to the steps. "Well, we better hurry." Then she took off running, Tifa not far behind.
"Be careful, they seem to be... And, they're not listening," Jaune muttered. "Disappearing stairs, and they ignore me." He shrugged in defeat, and followed behind – significantly more cautious than those he traveled with. He wasn't going to end up plunging to his death in the Darkness of Cloud and Sephiroth's joint Heart by not being careful.
It didn't take too long to reach the other side, surprising the Keyblade wielder. When he had traveled through his own Heart with Sora and Ren, there had been a lot of resistance from the Darkness in his own Heart. A bunch of Heartless, or at least some kind of copy of them. Cloud's Heart had none of that. He wondered why that was, but he wasn't going to look this gift horse in the mouth.
This second pillar was very different from the first. For starters, the figure at the center was clear and lacked any of the transient nature that Cloud's facade had. Sephiroth dominated the entire floor, his figure awake and standing with his arms out, as if basking in the Light above. No, that didn't sound right. He was basking in the Darkness that surrounded the pillar. Circles of various size surrounded him, each filled with the same silhouette. His own. They were arranged in such a way that it seemed three wings of black energy extended from his back and hips. His face was contorted into a haughty smirk that stretched to his eyes, as if he truly believed he was a god. Worse still, the glowing blue orbs seemed to... follow Jaune as he walked across the surface of the image. "Anyone else creeped out by this?" he wondered as he stopped at the center.
"I can be creeped out when we find the door," Tifa said stubbornly. She crossed her arms and glared down at Sephiroth's face, a sad look appearing on her face. "He looks so much like Cloud."
Yang put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "It's okay to miss someone you love."
"He's my best friend," Tifa explained, denying her feelings. Yang patted her shoulder. "I... He's like a brother."
"Cute, but we are beyond simple beings like you," Sephiroth said. The group slowly turned to the source of the voice, a man standing at the edge of the pillar, in an effort to keep him from immediately attacking. Jaune noticed with a start that the image ofSephiroth was gone from the stain glass, as if he had clawed his way out to stand in the 'real world.' Dark wings floated at his back, and his blade was held lazily in his off hand. He wasn't concerned about them at all. "Gods have no concern for ants."
"Let Cloud go!" Tifa demanded, throwing her fists up and entering a fighting stance. "Or I'll kill you."
"I am Cloud, and he is Sephiroth. One perfect being," Sephiroth explained, his smirk deepening. "And you are within our Heart. Trespassing. Why?"
"You -"
"He sleeps?" Sephiroth said, cutting in.
Jaune snarled. He –
"Knows what is in your Hearts? Turnabout is fair play, after all," the shadowy being mocked. He readied his blade. "Only Cloud could hope to stand against me."
"GIVE HIM BACK!" Tifa snapped again, leaping forward at full speed, fists raised. She lashed out with a massive haymaker, the attack easily avoided by the former SOLDIER. She turned with the momentum to deliver a back kick that he easily caught against the flat of his sword. Sephiroth smirked and flicked his wrist, sending the girl tumbling backwards. "First Aerith, now you. I will finally be rid of any Light corrupting my power."
"Like hell!" Yang snapped, speeding behind him and bring her fist down on his head. Sephiroth turned to the side, spinning and delivering a kick with his heel to send her attack exploding against the recovering Tifa. Then he turned and raised his sword, slashing down to attack Jaune before the Keyblade could gain any momentum.
"I thought this Keyblade was worthy of my attention. But if its users are all like you, then it must be a truly poor judge of character," the villain scoffed. He pushed harder and put his face near Jaune's. "Too weak and foolish to embrace the power within you. I have no desire for such a broken tool."
"Shut up!" Jaune snapped, pushing harder. "You don't know anything!"
"I know that you are not wanted here," Sephiroth said. The world around them shook. "Tell Shinra I'll be there soon. And when I get there, I will tear the blonde in half first. Just to see your face."
Jaune felt ice explode in his veins. "Leave her alone!" he growled, pushing even harder. He fought hard, summoning as much Light to the forefront as he could. A blade exploded into being along his blade, exploding upon contact with Sephiroth's weapon. The explosion expanded, white swallowing everything around them.
And then Jaune bolted to his feet, an explosion rocking the ground of the hospital. "What the Dust!?" he growled, Keyblade coming to his hand of its own accord. He looked around, seeing that Tifa and Yang were similarly worried by the noise they had woken up to.
Unlike him and Yang, however, Tifa looked like she knew exactly what was happening. "Shinra's found us."
Sephiroth's parting taunts flew back into Jaune's mind. "And Sephiroth's on his way," the Keyblade wielder muttered worriedly. "Oh, no..."
Another explosion rocked the building, sending all three of the warriors stumbling into walls and furniture. "We need to get out there and stop this," Yang growled, forcing herself to her feet. She clenched her fists and started for the exit, Jaune and Tifa close behind. "Before they hurt anyone."
When they exited, Jaune barely had time to tackle both girls and raise a Reflect wall, saving all three of them from an explosion of Darkness that vaporized the entrance of the hospital and the ground where they'd been standing. "What the hell are they doing!?" Jaune gasped as he gazed upward. A massive airship was drifting overhead, its cannons firing off the blasts of Darkness that were destroying the city. "Isn't this Shinra's city?"
"They don't care," Tifa growled as she pushed herself up. "We've got to find some way to stop them."
As if n response to her words, the cannons topped firing. "I have a bad feeling this is because they see us," Jaune muttered, fear creeping in to his voice. The airship's front slowly slid open, and tiny flecks of light began to leap out, falling to the ground. Jaune readied his Keyblade while Yang prepared to launch herself at whatever these things were. As they approached, it became quickly clear what this was. Dozens of people dressed in the same uniform Cloud had worn back in Nibelheim, glowing three eyed helmet and gun included. And once they got in range, those guns quickly began to fire bolts of Darkness infused energy at the three on the ground.
"Yang, get them to the ground!" Jaune shouted, bringing the Keyblade around to deflect one bolt that was coming his way. He blinked and grinned inwardly. He just blocked a bullet with his own skill!
The brawler grinned and pointed her fists at the ground. "Took the idea right out of my brain," she said with an evil grin. Then she let loose a pair of massive Firagas, sending her soaring into the sky. She grinned at the surprised and terrified looks she was receiving from the Shinra soldiers before slamming her fist into one look of horror and sending him flying all the way down to the ground, shattering the concrete below with a sickening crunch that said this guy had definitely broken something. Or everything, more likely. She turned as she began to fall, hair glowing and eyes a burning red. "I'm going to give you all a break. Nah... I'm going to give you tons!" Then she fired off another Firaga, the explosion consuming a trio of enemies while also sending her at another group. She raised her robotic hand in front of her, using the weapon on it to deflect blasts coming her way while she prepared to destroy another few enemies with her off hand.
"Get to the ground!" the commander of the forces shouted as another group of his men had their bones turned to dust by a collision with the ground. The jetpacks whined and they began to descend though not fast enough for Yang to not get another few shots in, defeating another few. On one she grabbed hold of the back of his head and used him as an air sled, eventually jumping off when the screaming man slammed into the ground.
Jaune and Tifa, now that the enemy was closer, were finally able to engage. Jaune sprinted towards the Shinra soldiers, dodging and blocking blast with his Keyblade and, thankfully, finding it wasn't impossible to carve out a path for both him and Tifa to reach the enemy. He slid beneath a more concentrated burst of fire while Tifa flipped effortlessly over it, twisting her hips before snapping out her legs to kick two of the enemy across the face and sending them both into the land of sleep. Jaune pushed up to his feet as the energy flew over him. "Aurora!" The buckler on his arm expanded into being as he ran forward, a blade of yellow energy extending past his hand. He brought the weapon around and carved through the gun one soldier was holding, then spun and landed a quick and powerful blow across the woman's face. She fell backwards as Jaune tossed the Keyblade into the enemy, sending them scattering to avoid it. He rushed them, delivering blows with his fists and buckler as he caught up to Yang.
"Finally deciding to fight like the coolest person in the World?" Yang asked as he jumped forward and blocked a blow aimed at her back.
"Oh, good point!" Jaune said, and the Keyblade appeared in his hand. "There, now I'm fighting like the coolest person in the World!"
"You have healthy self esteem," the brawler muttered. She grabbed two of the enemy soldiers and slammed their heads together, knocking them unconscious. Then she spun and threw the both of them into other members of their squad, easily taking out a good chunk of the enemy forces.
Tifa, nearby, landed a massive kick to one man's chest, using him like a bowling ball to send another group flying. "You know, I kind of want to fight her all out. I think I'd win, but it'd be fun," Yang said upon seeing this. "I've been a brawler longer than she's been alive, after all."
"Ixnay on the age-ay!" Jaune hissed as he raised the Keyblade above him, summoning a Thundara that caused many of the surrounding soldiers to shriek in pain before falling unconscious. "Besides, you've only experienced a few real years of it, too."
"Ah, but I fought mind-controlled you," Yang replied. She backhanded an enemy trying to sneak up behind her, and he fell to the ground. She let her hand fall to her side, then shrugged. "I think I'd have the edge."
"If I say yes, would you not ask her to fight you?" Jaune asked. "Nox." He put both hands on the Keyblade and raised it forward, sending out a burst of ice magic that froze a few enemies in their tracks, giving Tifa ample time to send them flying.
"Hmmm... It's brawl in the air," Yang replied.
"Ugh, a joke that bad could have only come from one person!" Yang, Jaune, and Tifa turned to see a pair of newcomers deactivating their jetpacks and landing softly nearby. Mercury shook his head. "Jeez, we're bumping into you guys way too much. You stalking us or something?"
"Emerald? Mercury?" Jaune asked, confused. "What the hell are you two doing here?"
"Um, fighting for the good guys. Duh," Emerald said, gesturing with her thumb at the airship.
"Uh... no you aren't," Tifa retorted.
Mercury rolled his eyes. "Take it from me, terrorism doesn't really endear you to people," he said. He crossed his arms and glanced over at the sash tied tight around Jaune's waist. "Personal experience."
"We tried to explain that to her," Yang said, earning an annoyed growl from Tifa. "Nonetheless, your buddies are destroying the world."
"How?" Emerald asked in disbelief.
Jaune leaned closer. "They're mining the world's Heart. Heartless are appearing everywhere."
"We know, we've been hired to deal with tons of them," Emerald replied. "I -"
"Are you going to attack them?"
Emerald turned on the Shinra soldier who had asked that. Her eyes glowed for a moment, then the man sat down on the ground and began to play with a dog that wasn't there. Emerald turned back to their conversation. "I've had to deal with Heartless we've never seen before, and they get worse the closer to these Cloud and Sephiroth guys that we get."
Tifa palled at her friend's name. "The monsters are following Cloud?" she whispered worriedly. She turned back to the hospital, past the people streaming out of it and screaming. She swallowed, then sprinted towards him.
"Tifa, wait up!" Jaune shouted, sprinting with her and leaving Yang to deal with Emerald and Mercury.
"So... what now?" Yang asked of her... 'acquaintances.'
"Ugh... I can't believe we're going to help you instead of get paid," Mercury growled under his breath. "Dammit..."
Yang broke out into a grin and held her fists out to both of them. "Glad to have you."
Emerald smiled back. "Me too." She hit Yang's left fist with her own.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we're all good friends. Now, what do we do about that?" Mercury asked, gesturing over his shoulder with his thumb. Emerald and Yang followed his gesture all the way up to the ship now powering its weapons up again.
"How difficult would it be to get us in there?" Yang asked.
Emerald raised one eyebrow, then turned and summoned a portal of Darkness. "Not too hard."
"You guys have been using these a lot," Yang stated. She bit her cheek. "You guys need matching jackets." Then she walked right through, appearing within the bridge of the airship.
"What the hell!?"
Yang gave a flirty wave at the three First Class Soldiers glaring at her, hands on their weapons, as Mercury and Emerald came out of the portal to stand on either side of the brawler. "Anybody feel like getting pounded?" she asked. The bridge crew glanced nervously at her before one of the SOLDIERs decided she had enough of Yang's impudence and decided to shut her up. A thin rapier arced towards Yang's head, the white haired SOLDIER woman grunting with exertion as she forced it forward as hard as she could. "Hey... did you steal from Ice Queen?" Yang asked, her hand snapping up to catch the blade. She leaned to the side and grinned at her opponent. Yang let go of the sword, then jumped and slammed her feet into the SOLDIER woman's chest, sending her flying backwards from the dropkick's sheer force. Yang landed on her back, then used her hands to leap back onto her feet. "She wouldn't appreciate that."
The other two SOLDIERs – a man with red hair and another with black - jumped into action as soon as their comrade was sent flying, bringing out their weapons – a scythe and katana respectively – and moving to attack Emerald and Mercury. "Wha –? Are they trying to steal from team RWBY!?" the blonde brawler snapped. She looked around. "And where the hell is my copy cat!?"
"Fight now, complain later!" Mercury snapped, diving to the side to avoid a scythe swing that would have cut him in half.
"Please!" Emerald tacked on, leaping behind her opponent with chains out to coil around her black haired enemy. She landed behind him and pulled them tight, the interlocking chains capturing the man's sword in place so she could easily tear it from his hands.
"Fine. But there will be words!" Yang snapped before sprinting towards the recovering fencer. The white haired woman's eyes widened and she narrowly managed to duck out of the way of Yang's fist rushing towards her head. The SOLDIER rolled across the ground and lifted her rapier in a ready position once she hit her feet again. The rapier bobbed side to side now, constantly looking for Yang's next attack so it could be redirected until, eventually, Yang tired out and the SOLDIER could get the upper hand.
She was severely underestimating Yang.
The brawler dove forward, robotic palm extended to shove the rapier out of her way so she could tackle the SOLDIER to the ground. The rapier clattered uselessly against the wall, Yang's superior strength making the SOLDIER's grasp on the weapon offer so little noticeable resistance that Yang might have had more trouble if she had been fighting been Jaune in the gummi ship instead. Yang landed atop the SOLDIER and raised her fits. "I don't think I'll tell Weiss about you. She'd probably come here and kill you for being a bad copy."
"What the hell do you-?" But the SOLDIER wasn't allowed to finish speaking, because a robotic fist slammed into her face and the world went black.
Nearby, Mercury was succeeding where the white haired SOLDIER had failed. He was zipping around the scythe wielder like a bolt of lightning, easily avoiding the blows of the weapon that, to him, were clumsy. "Come on, Little Red was way better with her farming tool than you!" Mercury taunted, coming to a rest at a corner, arms crossed and leaning against the wall. The SOLDIER snarled and swung around, a horizontal blow to block any exits Mercury could have. The assassin scoffed and jumped, using the wall to flip over the scythe wielder and slam his foot into the SOLDIER's face. The man went down without any further damage. Mercury landed effortlessly and sighed. "That wasn't even a challenge. Em?"
She had torn the sword from her opponent, then conjured an image of spiders all over his body. He had screamed, batting at them until the chains wrapped around his throat, the spiders disappeared, and he was thrown head first into the wall, unconscious. Emerald was standing in the corner, spinning her sickle on its chain and looking bored. "Took you long enough."
Yang laughed, then turned to the bridge crew. "Now... who here is going to land this ship and deactivate its guns?"
The Shinra employees looked at one another nervously. "Let me, Goldilocks," Mercury said, pushing past Yang and causing a wellspring of annoyance to erupt within her.
Emerald scoffed. "Don't worry, I'll beat him up after all this. Or you can," she told the brawler.
"Good. I like it when it's legal," Yang snarled.
"Good people of Shinra's ship. You have two options. One, you land the ship. Or two – I toss you one at a time into whatever reactor powers the guns on this ship." Mercury grinned at the nearest member of the crew, a feral grin on his face. "Your choice."
That got a reaction. The bridge immediately began to become a hive of activity, with crew typing on their stations or beginning to maneuver the ship. The ground beneath them began to shudder and whine as the ship pitched slightly, a sign that Mercury had gotten some pretty good results. "See, it's all in how you say it. And also what. And when. And who to," Mercury said condescendingly.
"Don't make me break your leg again," Yang growled. The assassin gulped and laughed nervously. "Huh, look at that. You were right."
"Ha!" Emerald laughed at her partner. "Ha ha ha ha... ha!"
Mercury glared at her, trying and failing to ignore her laughter. "Yuk it up, Al," he spat back, the nickname turning her mirth to annoyance.
"Blue is going to pay for that one," the thief growled.
Blue..? Yang wondered, confused by the name. "Are you guys traveling with a third person?"
Mercury and Emerald traded a glance. "I, uh..."
The ship pitched more heavily to the side, sending the three sliding across the bridge. "What the hell are you doing!?" Mercury snapped at the bridge crew. "Don't make me send you to the cannon!"
"It's not us!" one of the pilots said. As if to support his statement, alarms began to scream and lights flashed red. "We're being attacked, somehow!"
The ship pitched further, forcing Yang to slam her fists through the stone. Emerald looped a chain around Mercury's ankle to hold on to him before he could slide too far away from her, then stabbed her other sickle into the metal to hold the both of them in place. "Then who!?" he snapped at the crew holding on to their stations. The SOLDIERS were all falling, slamming into beams and – luckily – held in place by the steel.
The ship went dark, the alarms silent. Everything was still, for a moment. Then Yang felt weightless. "Oh, this is bad!" she shouted, suddenly reminded of the time she and Jaune had crashed the gummi ship. Except this was a thousand times worse, because they were about to crash a ship about the size of a building. Into a city. That was about the time that the feeling of weight returned, and Yang immediately knew she was falling fast enough to deplete a chuk of her aura. "GET US OUT OF HERE!"
"Don't have to tell me twice!" Mercury snapped from the end of the wildly thrashing sickle. He swiped his hand and a portal larger than any he'd ever managed suddenly appeared, accompanied by a massive vein in his forehead, profuse sweating, and the feeling that he was about to throw up. He hated caring about people's lives, he thought before blacking out. The portal began to close, but by then it had done its job. Everyone in the bridge had been pulled through, slamming into the street fast enough to break a few bones, but not fast enough to die.
Emerald groaned and pushed herself to her feet. "Merc, could you have made that landing any worse? Merc!" Emerald snapped. She turned to see him, laying face down, unconscious on the ground. She walked over and nudged the unconscious assassin, waiting for a response. He just groaned. "Good, you're alive. Don't know what I'd do if you died."
"Because you love him?" Yang asked, creeping up behind the green haired thief.
"NO!" Emerald snapped.
"Ah, sorry. Because he... runs through your mind all the time?" Yang asked.
"God help me, if you make another stupid joke, I'll -"
"What the hell is that thing?" shouted one of the bridge crew, his frightened shriek filling the air. His finger was pointed past them and up, at something.
Something really big, it turned out. Yang and Emerald turned to where he was pointing, and saw a Heartless. A massive one. Perhaps the biggest one Yang had ever seen. It held in its hands much of the crushed remains of the ship, the rest of the exploded remnants still a deadly rain that burned as it streaked across the sky. It was mostly black and crimson, with four legs and a centaur like figure forming a more humanoid torso with two more arms. Massive claws extended from every limb, glinting with Darkness. Glowing, yellow eyes glared out from its draconian head, which rested above a crystal emblazoned with the isignia of the Heartless at the center of its chest.
Mercury chose this time to wake up, clutching his head. "Ugh, where -" he opened his eyes and fell silent, just staring at the thing. "We're going to have to fight that, aren't we?"
Yang didn't answer. She was too focused on the white haired figure soaring through the air towards the hospital. "Bad news or good news?" she asked without looking at the pair.
Emerald's mouth became a thin line. "Bad?"
"You'll have to fight it alone," Yang said, grimacing.
Mercury snorted. "And I've got a Keyblade." He paused. "Oh, shit, you're serious. Uh... good news?"
"I'm going to be fighting someone much worse."
"How is that good news!?" Mercury snapped, jumping to his feet.
Yang looked over her shoulder at them. "You don't have to fight him." Then she turned and sprinted toa
Emerald and Mercury traded glances, then turned back to Yang in the distance. "Touche," Emerald said with a shrug. She looked up at the monstrous Heartless, now tossing the ship into the island's city. "Uh... thoughts Merc?"
"You and me drinking on a beach."
"Helpful thoughts, Merc."
"Oh... Blue?"
"..."
"Well?"
"... Let's just see how we can do, first."
"You just will not spend your treasure," Merc muttered.
"Sue me," Em retorted. Then she opened a portal to the monster. "Coming?"
"Don't have to ask me twice," Merc replied. Then the two passed through the portal, leaving the incredibly stunned bridge crew to stare at the shrinking portal.
"That's it. I'm quitting. I think the Reactor radiation is getting to me."