AN:

Another update within a month? Hey, everybody! I'm happy to be posting another chapter here. Oh, and since there probably won't be a chapter next week: Happy Halloween!

Now, since Elder Scrolls: Skyrim: Fires of the DragonSouls has finished, I have also closed the poll on my profile. The next story that I will start working on is... Digimon Tamers 0/2. I'm excited about that one and hope that it can live up to my personal favorite season of Digimon. Also, the darkest. I mean, seeing the D-Reaper and Jeri was horrifying as a kid.

Now, for some responses:

To gamelover41592: I'm glad you liked the conclusion of that part of the FF VII world, and especially the horrible pun I ended it with. I hope you have fun in this chapter!

To cturner971/Chretner: My D&D is going pretty well. I'm getting only 2 or 3 consistent players, but when it's only them things actually happen and are interesting because they really care. They almost died in our last boss fight, actually! Are you changing the combat system at all for the chain of memories type campaign, or items in some way? That sounds like it would be a lot of work. I'm happy you loved the last chapter. I love working on the fight scenes, because I want them to be as fun as possible. Whenever people say that they love them, it makes me super happy because they're so much fun to write!

To G3R1k: Thanks! And I know that he has 1 wing in most appearances, but the design for the last chapters was based off of his KH2 appearance, where he had those two weird hip wings. I wanted to use more of the specifically Kingdom Hearts designs that exist when I can. I input a word or two in his description in chapter 20 to make that more clear.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and the direction things are going to be heading from here on out.

Chapter 22: Adrift

"Ugh, I can't believe we aren't going to get paid for all the work we did for Shinra," Mercury grumbled as he and Emerald walked through one of the many empty wastelands in Shinra's territory. "We spend weeks hunting down Cloud and we throw it away to save him and Keyboy. Typical." He sighed. "Not that I'd change that, but... ugh, I just wish we weren't broke in a desert waiting for the Blondes of all people to help us. Remember when we could take them both out? And now we're tied with them at best?"

Emerald didn't answer, not even looking at Mercury. He blinked. "Uh... I mean, I am. You're... crazy strong." That didn't seem to help either. "Look, Em, are you okay?"

"Merc, why did you kiss me?"

He groaned. "Do we have to talk about -"

"Yes," Emerald said firmly, stopping in place and turning to glare at him.

He stopped, too, now silent. She remained silent as well, making it clear it was his turn to speak. So he did. "I kissed you because I knew you wouldn't remember it anyways, Em," he explained with a shrug. "I mean, we've been through a lot. Despite my best efforts, we became friends. And everything that happened with Cinder, and then Xehanort, and betraying Salem. I don't let people get close, Em. Hell, I killed my asshole dad, and that was the most positive relationship I ever had. My mom died in childbirth." He kicked the dirt. "I just mean, I... Everyone close to me, Em, I... I end up killing them."

The thief stared at him for a while. "Merc, you know I -"

"And everyone close to me, too," Jaune Arc said, walking up in a long black coat. His eyes, cold and angry, glanced between the two. His eyes eventually settled on Emerald. "That was some fight you had with that Heartless. Impressive abilities."

"So, you're OJ," Emerald muttered, talking a half step back and slowly moving her hands towards her sickles.

That name caused a flash of anger to run through his eyes. "Other Jaune," he spat in disgust.

Mercury raised his fists and adopted a more balanced stance. "I don't think it does you justice," he joked, though his voice and face were completely even. "How about DJ? Dark Jaune? Ooh! Or TJ? Terrible Jaune? Wait, wait – CJ? Crappy Jaune? Em, give another letter!"

Those didn't help his mood, oddly enough.

There was a flash of energy in OJ's right hand and the mirror image of Jaune's own Keyblade sprung forth as if from nothing. Gold and silver switched with red where blue should have been. The colors, though, were muted. Rusted over and... Dark. "But the Genie... that's the most interesting," he said, an evil smile slowly creeping across his features. "I wouldn't even need the other things if I had him. I could just travel to another universe with a few words."

Mercury acted first, leaping forward and aiming his heel directly at the blonde's head, but the Keyblade appeared in his path almost before he acted. There was a loud clang as the metals met, and the grin on OJ's face grew. "I see Jaune and Yang told you that me leaving will destroy this universe. They're wrong, of course. Yang and the others, they're just filling his head with lies. Making him run from Pyrrha, his true love."

"Do you ever shut up?!" Mercury snapped, pushing as hard as he against OJ, but to no avail. It was like pushing against a building. But Mercury wasn't alone. Emerald appeared behind OJ, sickles raised, and slashed down as fast as she could.

OJ simply sidestepped the attack without looking, moving at just slow enough a speed that her blades nearly skirted along his arm. His sudden movement made Mercury's leg shoot forward, directly into the path of the sickles. Metal slammed into metal and the force of the kick sent the sickles rebounding upward while his foot slammed into Em's face. The thief yelped in pain and stumbled backwards, stunned by the sudden blow before her Aura quickly fixed the minor damage. The assassin grimaced and grabbed her arm. "You okay?"

"Oh, so when I cared for Pyrrha it was like I was a sad puppy. But you have any feelings for one another and it's cute? Romantic!?" OJ snapped, advancing on them with more rage in his eyes. They slowly turned yellow, burning with that hate. Then, he smiled, though the hate remained. "Those powers were interesting. I think Salem was right about having servants: it makes everything much easier."

Mercury felt something rage within him. "YOU DON'T TOUCH HER!" he screamed, his feet exploding with power. Light and Dark swirled at his heels as he sprinted at OJ, faster than the assassin thought he could move. His attacks trailed the energy, leaving ribbons of black and white in the air and sending explosive bolts into he distance that vaporized boulders and cacti. But, even with all that speed and power, it was like he was fighting a ghost that could simply slip past his attacks. They only managed to get him to block when Em joined in, his Keyblade moving around like lightning to take the blow of whoever had managed to get behind him this time. And, of course, he hadn't unleashed a single attack of his own yet.

"It's like fighting Sora," Emerald growled as she and Mercury dropped back after yet another failed attack. They were getting nowhere. "We have to get out of here."

"But the Darkness," Mercury pointed out. He glared at the slowly approaching OJ. "Any more and it might change both of us completely!"

OJ rushed forward, slashing with his Keyblade in a quick series of slashes, the attacks separating Mercury and Emerald before he jumped after the assassin. "And the more you run, the more you'll change," OJ said with a smirk as his Keyblade swirled right next to Mercury's head. A Thunder spell exploded from the weapon as it passed by and Mercury was frozen where he was, paralyzing electricity burning down his spine. "And then I'll have those servants, and I'll be able to send you both out to get what I need if the next universe is not the right one. And then the next. And the next." His hand shot out and wrapped around the assassin's throat. "If the Genie runs out of wishes before I get there, I'll use yours. And once I get there... I'll just kill you." His fingers tightened around Mercury as his arms flailed and clutched at OJ's hand. "Together. Because, unlike you, I'm not cruel." Mercury's struggles grew weaker and weaker, his eyes redder and redder. His vision tunneled. A silvery glow sparked across his skin.

Massive chains shot out of the ground, swirling around like a tornado around the Keyblade wielder. He glanced around for a moment, then casually tossed Mercury away. The assassin rolled and clutched at his throat, gasping and coughing as he was suddenly able to breathe again. "You're right. I'm here for you and your Genie," OJ said to the woman in front of him. Her eyes were bright yellow again, filled with bloody rage and control that was barely there. The sickles in her hands were massive, Darkness swirling along them. OJ took a step towards her, and a chain slammed into the ground where he stood. Another flew upward after him and Mercury realized that, unlike Em apparently, he hadn't seen OJ jump.

The Keyblade wielder threaded himself between links of the imaginary chains, laughing at the battle even as the chains came dangerously close to him. He slammed the Keyblade, teeth first, into one of the chains and turned along it, shooting straight for Em. Another chain shot up from the ground and he raised the Keyblade again, a long blade of Darkness growing out of it, then slammed it into the chain. The metal bent and was thrown out of his path, even as the sickles raised to block his attack. The dull gold of the Keyblade moved straight for the massive Darkness.

And then it passed through, its own Darkness cleaving through Emerald's aura and causing the chains around them to suddenly vanish. The thief was tossed backwards, bouncing and rolling across the desert. Her back slammed into a cactus and she shrieked, her arm slamming against the lamp. Genie exploded out. "Guys, I'm almost done getting everything ready so I can walk with you, okay? I just need to choose my outfit," he said, eyes shut. He opened them. "Do you think -"

"Blue! Ugh.." Emerald groaned and pushed herself up. "I wish he was dead!"

"Rules!" Genie shouted before turning. His eyes literally flew out of his head. "Jaune!?"

"OJ!" Emerald gasped out as she pushed away from the cactus on her knees. "Then... I wish Merc was with Jaune and Yang!"

The assassin's eyes widened and he rasped out, "Em, don't -" The Genie's fingers snapped and Mercury vanished just as OJ tossed a Thundaga spell at the assassin.

OJ was on top of her now, and his Keyblade slammed into her chest. She felt something inside of her roll and she screamed in pain. "I wish we were gone!"

Genie snapped his fingers, and nothing happened. "I... I can't!" he shouted in surprise. He looked at the Keyblade. "He made it so you can't leave!"

"Just like Salem did to Cinder," OJ said, grinning evilly. He raised the Keyblade again, tip swirling with a sphere of Darkness. "Isn't that some adorable symmetry?"

Em snarled up at him, desperately trying to figure a way out of this. She shouted the words before she could get much further: "Genie... I wish you were free!"

Genie's eyes widened and OJ's blue eyes turned a burning yellow. "NO!" he screamed, abandoning his attack and lunging for the lamp to try and get a single wish in. It was too late, however, as the lamp vanished before his fingers could even touch it. He whirled on the genie as the blue man's bracelets vanished in puffs of blue smoke. The Genie's eyes met Emerald's and he reached out to save her. The Keyblade met him instead and he vanished.

OJ turned towards Emerald, the yellow still burning. "That... was a very bad idea," he growled, the Darkness appearing around his Keyblade once again. "Now... I think you'll outlast him for some time."

Emerald narrowed her eyes and slowly let a smirk come across her face. She laughed once, then said, "You know what, at least if you win, I'll get to see Cereal Box's face when she sees what you did in her name." She smirked as cruelly as she could manage. "She'll hate you."

The Keyblade was in her chest as soon as she finished her sentence.

R W B Y

Jaune and Yang were at the almost finished Keyblade Academy, parked on the roof after a night of rest. While home on Remnant, they had asked Sora and Professor Ozpin for a pair of the Black Coats and had told Sora about Genie, Cloud, and Tifa. The young Keyblade Master was ecstatic, now knowing that he could soon see old friends he'd lost so long ago. Even if not everyone totally remembered him, he was happy to at least have something. And making those friends again excited him almost as much

Jaune sighed and leaned against the Gummi Ship, rubbing his eyes. "Is it weird I'm still so tired?" he asked groggily.

Yang's head was already against the ship, eyes shut. "Only if it's weird that I am." She turned her head towards him and opened her eyes. "I think my Aura is still depleted."

"Right!?" Jaune shouted, commiserating. He turned his head towards hers, chuckling at the matching purple circles around their eyes. "Could we give it another day?"

Yang groaned. "God, I wish." She forced herself to stand up and wobbled as her vision tunneled. "But OJ... he won't be resting."

"You had to remind me," Jaune grumbled through a yawn. He slowly slid up to his feet. "I'll drive, you can nap..."

"Thanks. That's nice of you," Yang said, then her brow furrowed. "Wait a second – you just don't want me to drive!"

"It can be both," Jaune muttered honestly.

"Of course it can," Sora said as he bounded out of a door on the other end of the temple's roof. He grinned and laced his fingers behind his head. "Hey, guys! Have a good night?"

The two glared at him. "You really are just that energetic," Yang growled.

"From the moment he wakes up," Jaune said. "When we traveled together, Ren would always wake him up first. He was the easiest one to wake up, and then he made all of us wake up just by being so... Sora."

"Aw, thanks, buddy!"

"Yes, Mister Nomura does have a tendency to be happy no matter the time of day," Professor Ozpin said as he walked out after the Keyblade Master, a pair of Black Coats folded over his left arm. "But if no one wakes him, he has a tendency to remain asleep."

"Jeez, you sound like Riku," Sora said, jokingly indignant. "You sleep for one year, and suddenly everyone panics whenever you take a nap!"

"Yes, well, at least you've started to wake yourself up on time," Ozpin grumbled, slightly annoyed with the younger man. He turned his attention back to Yang and Jaune, nodding at each of them in turn. "Miss Xiao Long, Mister Arc."

"Professor." Yang offered a lazy, two fingered salute.

"Hello Professor," Jaune supplied.

Said Professor patted the coats on his arm with his other hand. "Now, I would like to know exactly what you are planning to use these for. You two were not very forthcoming with that information yesterday."

"Oh, uh... well, we're planning on giving them to Mercury and Emerald," Jaune explained. He stuffed his hands into his pockets.

Yang nodded. "They've been traveling between worlds without them."

Sora frowned. "That's dangerous. Xehanort did that before he really became Xehanort," Sora supplied, placing a hand on his chin. "I don't even know what that could be doing to them."

"In Emerald's case, it's giving her tons of power," Jaune explained. He shook hs head. "She was making real things, not just illusions. Grimm she could control, massive chains, pure Darkness around her weapons the size of a person. She killed a Heartless alone that I couldn't touch."

Yang grimaced and pointed out, "But it isn't exactly easy to control. The first time it happened, she apparently went nuts and people... got hurt." It was... half a lie, Yang knew. But she was almost certain Ozpin wouldn't appreciate Emerald and Mercury's situation if she or Jaune told them that people had died at her hands. They'd probably ask the blondes to track them down and bring them back, and Yang didn't want to fight her friends.

Yang noted silently that if she'd called them her friends just a year ago, she probably would have had a horrible taste in her mouth. Now... well, lying to Sora – her sister's soulmate, if she was being honest – made her feel bad, but she knew that Emerald and Mercury were trying to make up for all the absolutely horrible things they'd done on purpose. It would be a long road, but at least they could do it if they were free. Evidently Jaune agreed, because he had yet to correct her. She was glad they had that kind of trust, now. She reached over and grabbed his shoulder, squeezing it tight. "We're worried about them."

Ozpin sighed. "I remain cautiously optimistic of their motives," he said solemnly. He cut in before the smiles on Yang and Jaune's faces could grow. "Cautious. They betrayed Salem for vengeance or for themselves. That does not mean they are heroes. But you have known them longer, so that is the opinion I shall trust. They have crimes to pay for – countless murders. But perhaps redemption can come under your watchful eyes. If they come to Remnant, however, they will be arrested."

"Believe me, they know," Jaune supplied with a laugh. "They're avoiding this place like the plague."

"That's good to hear. I think they're trying to change, too!" Sora said, grinning.

And then Mercury fell from the sky, slamming into the dirt between the four.

Sora, Oz, Jaune, and Yang all stared at him for a while, confused. Then Jaune and Yang looked at each other. Sora and Oz met gazes. Jaune and Sora looked at each other. Ozpin glanced at Yang. His eyes turned to Jaune, and Sora's to Yang. Then, all four looked down at the body, face down, smoking, and unconscious on the stone. "Uh... I guess I was wrong?" Jaune supplied with a nervous grin. He and Yang rushed to the ex-assassin's side, rolling him over to get a look at him.

Mercury was delirious, his eyes glancing in every direction. They were dull, too, like there was nothing behind them. His skin was covered in painful red burns, making it clear his Aura was completely depleted. "... Eh... Eh..." What was he trying to say, Jaune wondered. He looked around, wondering -

Jaune looked back up at Yang, asking the same question as Mercury, now. "Where's Emerald?"

They looked back down at the silver haired man just as he fell unconscious. "What the hell happened to him?" Yang asked hollowly.

"Em..." Mercury gasped before his eyes slid shut, and his breathing slowly grew more normal. Jaune grit his teeth and the Keyblade appeared, summoning an explosive burst of green energy that caused a silver glow to grow across the unconscious man's body. He waited a moment for the ex-assassin to awaken, but nothing happened.

"... He needs a doctor," Ozpin said finally. He turned and handed the coats to Sora before leaning down as well. "Healing magic will help restore his Aura, but he has significant burns that will require additional attention." He gingerly looped his arms beneath the young man's legs and neck and slowly lifted him. "We have a few doctors on staff. Hopefully one of them can help."

"It must have been OJ," Jaune snarled, slamming his fist into the stone. He pushed himself up with his Keyblade. "Dammit, he must have captured Emerald. And Genie?"

"He'd already be gone if he'd captured the Genie," Ozpin explained as he turned and led the group towards the door. "And our Universe would be vaporized between two black holes."

Or he was right, Jaune thought to himself before immediately banishing the thought. He had to hope someone like OJ didn't have Genie. He would never want to subject even an enemy to slavery like that. "You okay?" He turned to Yang, who had stayed behind with him for a moment.

His eyes fell to the ground. No, he really wasn't. "Yeah," he said, hoarse.

Yang nodded and grabbed his right hand with her real one. She squeezed his hand for a moment, then pulled him after Oz and Sora. "Come on, Merc is going to need us when he wakes up."

Jaune let himself be dragged, taking comfort in the grip on his hand. She was right, of course. He'd just been separated from the person he cared about the most, and that was something Jaune could empathize with. "Yeah, let's go," he agreed, and he began to walk side by side with her.

R W B Y

The universe is mostly Darkness, swirling around the many worlds and their peoples. A vast, deep void of power that separated countless Hearts from connecting with one another. Barely anything could survive among these swirling purples and blacks without powerful protection, either scientific or arcane. One of the few things that could survive a Darkness this complete and suffocating was a creature that had survived a far greater one and moved into the next world. Slowly pulling himself together, a creature of bright blue slowly began to appear. Smoke globbed together into small clouds that drifted closer and closer to one another, themselves forming larger clouds. Slowly, these clouds began to form the shape of a large man, at which point the shape began to grow more defined. A red sash formed around his waist. The blue of his legs grew darker and ended in golden, curling shoes. A black ponytail and pointed goatee curled out of his massive head. And a golden earing flashed into existence on either ear. The one, the only, the Genie of the Lamp took his first 'breath' once again.

He was confused for a while, blinking and terrified by this sudden change in his surroundings. He had never been disoriented before, not really. He always had some conception of what was outside his lamp, and usually behaved and joked in kind. Underwater? Appears like he's showering. In a world of samurai ghosts, show up looking like one. But to have that intuition cut off was paralyzing, debilitating for a being that had never felt that before.

After a while, he was able to force himself back together with a single thought. Where's Al and Silver?

The Genie's eyes turned wildly in every direction and he began to snap his fingers, cycling through worlds at lightning speed. First he appeared in a world with a massive wall of ice appeared and he scared a red eyed wolf. Then he was in a world of metal, watching a man in black with a red sword of light and a young man with one of blue battle on a platform. Next he caught a glimpse of young men riding dragons like they were racing bikes. He finally came to a stop on an empty world, surrounded by sands that reminded him of his home from so long ago. "Al," he whispered to himself, worried. He knew that she had likely been captured or harmed by that OJ individual, and that she'd saved him from being indirectly responsible for... infinite destruction. Al had changed so much and so little at the same time. He was glad they could still call each other 'friend.'

So he summoned all the energy he could currently summon, and he reached out to find Emerald. He tugged on the connection to her Heart, one that could only exist when both Hearts remained alive. He sent his power along that connection, following it to its source. His mind drifted through the universe, getting closer and closer, stars blurring around him until -

His mind snapped back into his body. He focused inward again, worried this snapback meant the connection had been destroyed by Emerald's death. The connection remained, though, and Genie gave a hefty sigh of relief. He ran his mind across it again, only for it to snap away again. "What the – hm, better get in the right mindset for this," Genie mumbled, his body suddenly changing so he looked like a skinny detective. Another version of him appeared just behind him, a bowler hat on his head. He and... himself paced together for a while until Detective Genie threw his finger in the air. "By jove, Watson, I've got it!"

The two Genies snapped into a single Genie once more, returned to his normal outfit. "That OJ guy must have found a way to block the connection," he shouted. He nodded. "He had a Keyblade, so he has to be powerful."

He scratched his chin. "I know Silver is okay. He's with Jaune and Yang," he told himself. He curled his sharp goatee around his finger. "And he'll probably go as crazy as Al did when he almost died when he finds out." He shook his head. "No, I'm going to give this at least a few more minutes. If I can solve it for him, then there's no reason to involve him."

He conjured a desk to sit at and began to draft up plans, quickly tossing them when he realized they wouldn't work. He leaned back on his stool. "Ugh, just freed and I can't even enjoy it because I'm so worried," the Genie groaned. He rubbed the bridge of his eyes. "Al, come on. Where are you?" He opened one eye, almost expecting his request to be honored, but he was disappointed – not surprised, though – when nothing did. He lowered his hands back to the desk. "Okay, think. You were somehow dispelled by his Keyblade, he's more cuckoo than birds are for cocoa puffs, as wily as a wabbit, and he's cut off your connection to Al. So how do you find Al?"

He waited for himself to respond for a while, then groaned and placed a hand over his eyes again. "All this nearly cosmic power and nothing to do with it," Genie sighed angrily. "Stupid Other Jaune."

His eyes opened beneath his hand. "Jaune. That's it! Jaune!" he said, a wide grin growing across his features. "He'll lead me to OJ, and that'll lead me to Al!" His grin faded. "But... I don't have a strong enough connection to him or Yang. How could I track him?"

Another him appeared across the desk and leaned on it with one elbow. He glared at the prime Genie, just waiting for it to hit him. "What?" prime Genie asked.

The other Genie shook his head and continued glaring at prime Genie. "What!?" Other Genie picked up a picture that hadn't been there before, with Mercury and Emerald standing with Jaune and Yang on Gaia. "Wh – Oh... right! They're with him. Duh. I knew that."

Other Genie rolled his eyes before vanishing.

Genie frowned and turned, staring into the distance. "Huh... I'm worried I lost my mind..." His frown deepened and he reached into his pocket, then grinned and yanked a brain out. "Never mind. Found it." The brain disappeared, as did the desk and chair, when Genie popped up to his feet. "Okay, Silver the Hedgehog. Here I come!" He raised his right hand and snapped his fingers, and he vanished from the desert.

R W B Y

When consciousness slowly began to creep back into his mind, it started with an explosion of pain. Fire burned underneath his skin and he felt the remains of a long gone pressure still constricting his throat. He tried to scream in pain, for Em, but the pressure on his throat had torn away his voice so little more than rasping came out. How injured was he? Wait, where was Emerald? He forced his eyes open, finally hearing a beeping noise increasing in rhythm. Light blinded him for a moment, then faded so the world could come into focus. He blinked against it and saw he was in a hospital, a mask pumping oxygen into his nose and mouth. He grimaced against the cold, sterile air and tried to reach up and pull it off, only for his arm to stop short. He glanced down to his wrist, where he was handcuffed to the bed. His other wrist had suffered a similar fate, he discovered when he reached over to break the chain. "Where the hell am I?" he groaned. He channeled energy into his arms and ripped upwards, shattering the handcuffs. A shaky hand came up and pulled the mask from his face.

Mercury, still only half conscious, threw his feet off of the bed and pushed himself to his feet. His legs buckled the moment he hit the ground and he fell to his knees, gasping. He pushed himself, staggering, to his feet, and stumbled towards the door, only stopping when he felt something crash into his back. He turned and saw an iv, pumping something directly into him. He snarled and dazedly yanked the iv from the needle in his hand. The smell of chemicals filled the air, but Mecury was already slamming his hand into the door's handle and trying to open it. After a while, the door slid open, and he came face to face with a guard dressed in white.

The man's eyes widened and he began to pull his gun up to aim at the former assassin, and Mercury's body responded on instinct. His arm came up, moving so much slower than he was used to, and his elbow slammed into the guard's temple while his other arm shoved the gun to the side so he wouldn't get shot. "Urgh!" The guard grunted as the elbow slammed into his head and he stumbled to the side, only for a foot to shakily but quickly rocket towards his head. The guard flipped where he was and landed facedow on the ground, a panting Mercury standing above him.

Mercury groaned and leaned against the wall. "Have to find... Em," he muttered. He shut his eyes, trying to put together what had happened after he'd vanished from the battlefield. Genie, he had to find Genie. He'd know. He wasn't going to think about the possibility OJ had him, though. Not right now. The assassin pushed off of the wall and began to walk down the hallway, bouncing between the walls as he could not walk a straight line at the moment.

"Hey! You're not supposed to be out of your bed!"

Mercury turned around, seeing a dozen guards. Though, given how his vision was blurring it might have been fewer. Probably was. "Son of a bitch," Mercury grunted. He pushed off of the wall and took off, running as fast as his body could take him, then activating his Semblance anyways. The white hallways blurred around him, and he was able to escape from these guards, even though he also managed to slam into the walls every couple of seconds.

Eventually, Mercury burst into a new area, where four massive crystals of blue, white, orange, and green dangled from the ceiling in the shape of a Heart. There was a huge mural on a wall between two staircases leading upward depicting three golden circles forming the shape on Jaune's Keychain. Mercury groaned and turned the other way, seeing a pair of large, wooden double doors with light shining through the windows above them. Mercury breathed a sigh of relief. An exit.

A hammer slammed into the ground in front of him, carrying a girl with orange hair in a pink battle outfit. The girl narrowed her eyes at him and hefted the massive, two handed hammer over her shoulders. "Mercury," she singsonged, anger running through her voice. "Been too long."

Mercury laughed nervously and clenched his fists. "Oh. Hammer. How's Pinky?" There was a whoosh behind him and he turned his head to see that the man himself had landed with little effort behind him. "Oh, good."

"You know, I never got a chance to pay you back for burning Ren way back when," Nora Valkyrie said as she twirled her hammer off of her shoulders and into a two handed grip that hovered over her right shoulder.

"Oh, well... I'm... sorry," Mercury suggested, one eyebrow raised. "But, I need to go. Em's in trouble and -"

"You aren't supposed to leave." Mercury turned only his eyes and head – Ren's weapons were around his throat now. He seemed a little angry, but nothing that had been an issue before the war with Salem. Nothing like when Nora had tried to break his legs after seeing them.

Unfortunately, he couldn't reminisce at the moment. "Look, I need to get out of here, and I'm not going to take no for an answer," Mercury said, and he grabbed the weapons at his throat, throwing them apart, then threw his head back. Ren disengaged, effortlessly dodging the attack while tearing his weapons from the weakened grasp of the former assassin. He twirled and aimed his weapons at Mercury, but the silver haired young man had already activated his Semblance and dodged to the side, barely managing to dodge a Thundaga charged hammer that sent an explosion of lightning out in every direction. The painkillers in Merc's system made him sluggish and inexact, and the magic he easily could have dodged most of the time slammed into him. Every muscle in his body went taut at the same time and he basically leaped to the top of the stairs, slamming intot he railing and tumbling over onto the second floor.

"Sling-sloth!" Nora screamed, and Mercury briefly wondered what the hell that meant in terms of a team up move.

"I am not staying here to be arrested!" Mercury growled, throwing his hand up to grab the railing and pull himself up. He had to think something up – a fight with no weapons against two Huntsman who had teamwork as good as his and Em's was a... rough prospect. No plan meant no win. And despite his own instincts, he knew running away was the closest he would get to a win. He wobbled to his feet and was immediately greeted by the sight of Nora throwing her hammer, Ren on top of it, right at him. As the hammer reached its apex, Ren pushed off and flew at Mercury while the hammer was pushed back to its wielder, landing in her outstretched hand. Mercury vaulted over the railing, dodging the Sleep riddled bullets of Ren. Merc hit the ground in front of the mural and staggered, the world going sideways for a moment. It returned to normal just in time for him to catch sight of Nora's hammer slamming into his face, sending him flying into the wall. He felt wood and stone splinter at his back and a bruise blossoming across his face as his Aura, already depleted from healing his wounds at OJ's hands, fizzled out across his form. He groaned and hit the ground, face first. "So much for a plan..."

"Well," Nora began as she walked up to the prone Mercury, "I guess that makes us even."

"I don't think we needed to get even, Nora. We just needed to keep him here," Ren pointed out. He knelt beside the immobile Mercury and handcuffed his arms and placed a magnet spell between his ankles before rolling him over and casting a healing spell. Green light flooded the room and Mercury felt the bruise on his face slowly disappear and the remaining painkillers in his system slowly fade."Are you alright?"

"Not until I know where Em is," the assassin growled at Ren. He narrowed his eyes. "Let me go."

"Sorry, but you are a criminal. You weren't supposed to come back here," Nora pointed out, hammer over her shoulders as she rocked from heel to heel. "Besides, you didn't truly apologize for hurting Ren."

"Ugh... It surprises me, but I am sorry," Mercury told her. He turned his eyes towards Ren. "It, uh... It was too far, I see that now."

Ren looked taken aback, then shook his head and smiled softly. "I suppose Sora, Jaune, and Yang are right about you: you have changed."

Mercury groaned. "Don't remind me," he muttered, slightly missing his days where he didn't have to worry about worrying about what he did. "NOW WILL YOU LET ME GO!?"

"What the heck is going on?" Yang snapped, appearing at the railing above the mural, Jaune not far behind. She turned down to Ren and Nora and laughed. "Wow, you guys took him down even faster than I thought you would!"

"I was drugged!" Mercury protested. "And I have no weapons!" He grit his teeth, knowing his next words would be ignored even while he pulled against his restraints. "Please, please, let me go?"

"Honestly? I can't. We need to talk," Jaune said from beside Yang, who was texting someone on her Scroll. Jaune's arms crossed atop the railing so he could lean against it. He pushed off and the pair walked down the stairs, stopping beside the group. "Nora, did you have to wreck the wall?"

Nora laughed holstered her hammer in its grenade launcher form on her back. "Oh, come on, Silly!"

Ren nodded. "Yes, this was her trying to not wreck the wall," he said, the ghost of a smile on his face.

"Wow, you're joking now. I like the improvement, I'm not going to Lie," Yang said, raising her eyebrows as only Jaune chuckled.

"And you've corrupted Jaune!" Nora shouted. She jumped between Yang and Jaune, hammer in her hand again. "Back, foul beast!"

"I've just given up on retaining my sense of humor. There's only so long you can be around just Yang before it happens," Jaune said with a shrug. He shook his head, disappointed in himself at this point. "Might as well enjoy it."

"Aw, love you too, Jauney," Yang said, giving his hair a ruffle despite his protests.

"Adorable, but you will you all let me go now?!"

Their heads turned towards Mercury. "Well, do you promise not to leave?" Nora asked. She gestured at the wall. "Keep in mind, lying will lead to that again."

He glared at her. "I need to find Emerald! Let me go, dammit!" He pulled uselessly against his bonds, thrashing violently.

Jaune knelt down and grabbed him by the shoulder. "Careful. When you got here, you were barely breathing. You probably need more time to heal up."

Mercury glared at him. "I can heal when I save Emerald," he retorted.

"What happened?" Jaune asked, calmly unlocking the handcuffs and dispelling the Magnet spell.

"Jaune," Ren cautioned, but he was silenced by the Keyblade wielder's hand coming up to assure him it would be okay.

Mercury stared at the Keyblade wielder with confusion, unsure if he should run away now that he was free. Finally, he decided on not betraying the trust he'd been showed by the blonde, and he simply stood up and massaged his wrists. "We were waiting for you two," Mercury said, eyes hardening as they met Jaune's and Yang's. "It was probably a day or so after you left, we were all alone in the desert. You said it would be bad to wander the Lanes without a Coat, so we couldn't leave. Or run away when OJ showed up."

Jaune and Yang immediately tensed. "So he did come after you," Jaune muttered sadly, fists clenched tight.

Ren placed his hand on his best friend's shoulder.

Jaune took a breath. "What happened?"

Mercury shook his head. "He'd seen what Em had done to that Heartless, how much energy she output," Mercury said, turning away from Jaune. He didn't want to admit it, but all he could see when he looked at the Keyblade wielder right now was OJ. He knew Jaune was 'good' and all, but... He sighed. "So he showed up and started talking about Salem and servants. How we'd be his slaves and he'd send us out to get what he needed, then kill us once he was done." He turned his gaze to Yang instead. "So I attacked him."

Jaune noticed Mercury's gaze avoiding him and felt his Heart fall into his gut. It didn't matter what good he did, did it? He would always be too much like OJ, just a heartbeat away from becoming him. After all, their lives had been the same to a point. They'd both loved Pyrrha, lost Pyrrha, and let Cinder live at her request, right? If OJ could go bad after all that, why couldn't Jaune? The Keyblade wielder sighed. "And then he tore into you," Yang continued, making an educated guess. She put a hand on Merc's shoulder. "It happened to us, too."

"It didn't even matter when Emerald did her thing. He made it look like she'd just tried on a new hat," he said angrily. He glanced at Jaune again. "He had a Keyblade like your if it was backwards."

"That's the Kingdom Key of the Realm of Darkness," Sora said as he and Ozpin entered from the closest hallway. He stopped by Mercury, arms crossed. "Hey, Merc."

Mercury blinked once. "Hi, Keyboy," he muttered, clearly not in the mood for talking with more people. Especially when they were placing themselves between him and the door.

"So he definitely has it, then," Jaune said, more to himself than Sora. The knight's fists clenched at his sides, shaking like he wanted to slam his fist into something. "Was it too much to hope it was destroyed?"

"What has happened was out of our control, Mister Arc. We can only concern ourselves with what we will do," Ozpin explained. He noticed Mercury trying to edge to get a straight line to the door and placed himself in that path. "Mister Black. Not trying to escape, are you?"

"Wonderful Wizard," Mercury responded nervously. He was literally surrounded by people his level or higher on any given day. Not where any well trained assassin wanted to be."Uh... nope."

"Hm... You are lucky that Sora, Mister Arc, and Miss Xiao Long vouched for you, or I would have reported you to General Ironwood," the ancient wizard said, eyes narrowing behind his tinted spectacles. "You have debts to repay to this world."

Mercury bared his teeth in a snarl. "It wasn't my choice to come here!" Mercury snapped, forcing himself to not step towards Ozpin. "Look, Oz, Emerald wished me away when it became obvious we were going to lose. If it were up to me, I'd be thirty worlds away with Em drinking mai tais on a beach!"

"Look, this isn't getting us anywhere," Yang cut in before Ozpin could say more. She looked at Mercury. "Mercury, we want to help you. So don't hoof it out of here without letting us."

Mercury glared into her eyes, then let them soften from steel to his namesake. "Okay." He untensed his legs and ran his hands over his black pants. He bit his cheek and kicked the ground. "What do you need?"

"Well, we don't know," Sora said sheepishly. He put his hands on his hips. "We know what he's going after, so our best bet is just to get it all first."

"That's going to be a lot more difficult if he breaks Em," Mercury snapped harshly, growing more dissatisfied with their answers. "What are your plans to save Em?!" He put his finger in Sora's face.

"We stop him, and we find him. If we get just one of those pieces, we'll know exactly where he'll head," Sora explained simply. He pointed his prosthetic's index finger at the ground. "And we can set a trap for him the moment he comes here for it."

"Is that it!?" Mercury snapped, tears streaming from his face. He grabbed Sora by the collar and brought them face to face, pulling Sora just an inch or two up. "That's not doing anything! That's not helping!" Ren, Nora, and Oz all aimed their weapons at him while Jaune and Yang stood stock still, unsure of what to do.

"I know how you feel, Mercury," Sora said, remaining calm despite what was happening. He left his hands to dangle at his side, calm and open. "I hated not being able to find my friends. I hated having to do a thousand things just to get a chance to see them again. But I realized a long time ago that doing that is the only reason that I was able to find them at all." He finally reached up and pried Mercury's fingers off of his collar so he could stand on his own. "It's not doing nothing, Mercury. It's doing whatever we can."

Mercury glared at the younger man. "Well you can do that, I'm going to go be proactive." He raised his hand to open a portal. "And I'd rather risk that Darkness than wait around."

"World three thirty eight... No sign of Silver," Genie said appearing directly in the center of the group on a stool with his eyes closed. Everyone leaped back in surprise. "I need to get better at this tracking thing."

"Blue?"

Genie's eyes flew open and he grinned wide. "Merc! I've been looking all over for you!" he shouted, leaping forward and wrapping his arms around Mercury. "I was a little discombobulated after that piece of work slapped me away."

Sora was silent as he stared at the back of the blue man hugging Mercury right in front of him. "Um... Genie?"

The blue man froze and turned slowly around, eyes wide. "Sora..." He slowly removed one hand from Mercury and looped it over the Keyblade master's shoulders. "I... Jaune said you were alive, but seeing ya... It's like a wish that never got granted."

Sora smiled wide and jumped forward, hugging Genie. "I... I know you guys are sad about Emerald, but... I'm so happy to see you."

Genie smiled. "In spite of that... I'm happy to see you, too," Genie replied, giving a one armed hug back. "Because I know my friends will help Silver get Al back."

The Genie turned to Ren and Nora. "Hi! Name's Genie-Formerly-of-the-Lamp! But you kids can call me by my first name," he said. "Are you Sora's buddies?"

R W B Y

Mercury was fiddling with his new armor as he stood atop the Keyblade temple a few days later, his wounds completely healed and his determination to find Emerald only growing. He was dressed in a short sleeved shirt, silver on the right and black on the left with his winged foot symbol in the opposite color at the back along the diagonal dividing the shirt. Long black gloves with silver armor on the knuckles, hand, forearms, and elbows ended inside the sleeve. He had black track pants with a silver stripe down the side of the right leg and onto his weapon.

Yang crossed her arms as she leaned once more against the ship, frowning at Mercury. At this point, she trusted him, but she wasn't sure how much she liked that Sora and Ozpin had said Merc should travel with them for now. Jaune was having enough trouble with how similar he was to OJ already. Having someone that saw Jaune and fought to hold back his own hate of the Keyblade wielder wasn't going to help.

Speaking of the blonde moron, Yang had no idea where he was. He had said he had an errand to do before they left and had run off without another word. That had been hours ago, and she wasn't a fan of waiting for people. "Jaune, if you don't come back soon I'm going to personally turn you into a pretzel," she growled under her breath.

"He'll be back soon, Yang," Sora said in an effort to calm her. He walked up with his hands up, trying to look nonthreatening and placating. "Don't worry, he's just doing something he and I needed done!"

"First you spend too much alone time with my sister, and now you're sending my partner out without my permission?" Yang growled. Her eyes narrowed and she cracked her knuckles.

Sora laughed nervously and took a half step back. "Er, n-no. He should be back any -"

"Hey, guys! Sorry that I'm late!" Jaune shouted, running up the stairs with his Keyblade behind him and a swirling Magnera spell swirling at its end and dragging a large box behind him. He stood beside Sora and put the box down, laughing nervously at Yang. "Er, sorry I was gone so long," he told her as her red eyed glare turned on him. He gestured at the box and shrugged. "It's heavy."

"What's in the box." Yang said, demanding that he tell her. It took everything Jaune had to not break, given how terrifying she could be.

Jaune laughed anxiously. "Um, well, that's a secret," he explained. When Yang's hair began to float upwards and spark with flames, his hand shot out to cut off her enraged words. "For just a little while more, okay?! "

Yang walked over to the box and placed a hand on it. "It will be mine," Yang whispered evilly. Her hand ran up and down the side of the box and she cooed, "My precious..."

Jaune groaned. It is a birthday present, so yeah, he grumbled inwardly. But could you be less creepy?

"So, there weren't any problems?" Sora asked the blonde warrior.

"Nah. I even got it half price when I flashed my Keyblade!" Jaune explained, pumping the Kingdom Key in front of him. "I left yours and Ruby's share in the temple."

"Cool!" Sora said, lacing his hands behind his head. He dropped his hand and slapped his forehead. "Right, almost forgot! Almost everything I had on me was destroyed when I fell to Remnant, but not this!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small charm. It was a steely circle adorned with a cruel looking wolf's head glaring out across the entire thing. It was connected to a trio of sharp, rectangular links and a latch. "When you told me about Cloud and Sephiroth, I started seeing if I could find it in any of the things I'd left on the traveling arena when we attacked Salem the first time. I got lucky and found a few of my old Keychains, and I thought this one would be better off with you for now!"

Sora tossed the Keychain over and Jaune caught it clumsily in both hands, Keyblade vanishing to make room. "I – er... Which Keyblade does this belong to?"

Sora grinned. "That would be telling!" he said jokingly. He scratched his cheek. "But it'll help you out with Cloud and Sephiroth, I think."

Jaune glanced down at the item and tightened his fist around it. "Thanks."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Can we get going?" Mercury wondered impatiently, tapping his foot angrily.

Genie appeared out of thin air and leaned against the impatient assassin's shoulder. "It'll be okay, Silver!" Genie placated. "After all, Sora always managed to save the universe even when taking his time. You have to enjoy life when you can, even when you're worried! With Keyblade Wielders, before you know it – bada boom! Everything's on track!"

"Blue, I'll worry whenever I want to," Mercury hissed. He shook his head. "Whatever. I'll be in the ship." He turned to leave, but stopped after a moment and tossed a glance at the Genie. He shook his head, then he jumped up to the cockpit in a fluid leap. He opened the cockpit and jumped in without a glance in Jaune or Yang's direction.

The Keyblade wielder's face fell. Yang walked over to him and threw an arm around his shoulder. "He'll come around," Yang said, more to comfort him than believing it.

"Silver's just missing Al," Genie explained. He leaned back and floated like he was sitting down. He tented his fingers in front of his face to hide his expression. "Which, to be fair, I'm worried about, too."

"We're going to figure it out," Yang assured him. She gestured with her right hand. "After all, OJ keeps chasing after us, too. It's only a matter of time until we run into him and Emerald."

Jaune laughed nervously. "I feel conflicted about that," he muttered. He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Sure, we can save Emerald. But a madman is trying to kill you guys so he can drive me actually insane."

"Ah, that's not a problem," Sora dismissed. He laughed and pointed at Jaune. "I'd be more worried if they weren't chasing you down, because then you'd have a hard time finding them!"

"Always looking on the 'silver lining,' huh?" Yang asked with air quotes.

Sora shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. "It makes things a lot less sour."

"That's a flavor," Jaune cut in.

Sora frowned. "Cower?"

"That's being afraid," Yang pointed out.

"He means dour," Ozpin said to cut off the conversation. The former headmaster ran a hand through his hair. "Genie, what is it you plan to do?"

"Hm..." the blue man grumbled before setting his feet on the ground. "Well, I think... I'll stay with Sora." He turned to the Keyblade Master. "We're old friends that need to catch up."

"Awesome!" Sora shouted, widely grinning. He pumped his fist in the air and began hopping like an excited five year old. "While we're planning how to beat OJ, we can talk about everything we've both missed!"

Genie cocked his head to the side and laughed. "You know, I love Al and Silver, but I missed talking with someone as optimistic as the phenomenal me!"

"Tell me about it. Oz here is such a downer," Sora replied, earning an annoyed glare from the older man.

Ozpin sighed and decided to ignore the laughing pair for Yang and Jaune. "We do not yet have a complete plan, but we are formulating one," he explained over raucous laughter coming from Sora and Genie. "Head to whatever world your Heart leads you to, but return here afterwards."

"We will. And we'll come with one of those items so we can plan a trap," Jaune said resolutely. "OJ won't beat us."

"That's right, Good Boy!" Yang said, clapping him so hard on the back he slammed face first into the box he'd brought. "Whoops!"