Chapter 34: Beginnings of a Plan

The sun was bright, shining through sparse white clouds in an otherwise bright blue sky. Jaune looked around at the rooftop of Beacon, where he had trained with Pyrrha so many times. It was a nice day. A beautiful one, and he didn't have anything he needed to do. He was just free to sit there and enjoy the heat of the sun. To enjoy a day of peace and quiet. "You look happy, Jaune."

He turned his head and nodded. "I am," he told Pyrrha as she sat down a short distance away, just beyond arm's length. He didn't reach out for her, or try to grasp her hand in his. He just remained where he was and turned his eyes back to the sky, where the two of them – he and his first friend – were alone. "It's all coming together, Pyrrha."

She smiled at him wistfully and looked at the sky as well. "Yes, it is," she agreed. She ran a hand through her hair, pulling her long ponytail over her shoulder and brushing it with her fingers absentmindedly. "I don't know if I ever would have expected things to get so much better in so little time. Everyone is so... happy. I'm happy I was able to play a part in all that."

Jaune's smile left his eyes and his mind came crashing down on him. "Oh."

Pyrrha's smile grew sad as well and she nodded. "You're asleep," she explained to him.

Jaune nodded, his smile turning bittersweet. "I think I already knew that I was dreaming," he replied with a laugh.

Pyrrha laughed, musical notes that drew his attention. "I never said you were dreaming, Jaune," she explained to his confused face. She stared at the sun filled sky. "'There are many worlds, but they all share one sky.'"

Jaune followed her gaze. "Sora said that," he pointed out. "It's how he eventually figured out this world wasn't the one he left."

"And many others before him," Pyrrha said. She shut her eyes and smiled, taking a deep breath and appreciating the sunlight's warmth. "And it's true. My Heart found a new home out there, under that sky, when you let me save you from Salem. But I still remember, beyond that sky. I remember that I loved you, and that you loved me. That we, together, made the world a better place."

"I don't know how much of that was me," Jaune said quietly, gaze dropping to his knees.

"Oh, come on, Jaune! Without you, Ren and I wouldn't be here!" He turned around, surprised as he saw Nora and Ren standing over by the window into the school. She grinned at him and bent over to look him in the eye. "We certainly wouldn't be together if you didn't help us out."

"Like you said to me, you're the brother I never had," Ren cut in from beside her. He smiled at his leader and friend. "I always knew, if I needed you that you would be there."

"And you were my first friend!" Ruby popped up, flanked by Weiss and Blake. She grinned nervously and kicked at the roof. "I mean, isn't that making the world a better place? Being a friend to someone who needs it, even when it's scary. I wish I was that brave..."

Sora fell from the sky and crashed into the roof, sending dust and people flying everywhere. "Huh? What! Oh, sorry!" He jumped forward and helped Ruby to her feet. "Sorry, I -" he turned to Jaune. "Hey, Jaune."

Jaune teared up and turned towards the horizon again. "You see? I'm happy to be the background character in your stories, but that's it," he said, laughing. "I'm just here for you guys."

"You saved all of Vale yourself," Sora pointed out, sitting down beside Jaune. He wrapped his arm around his friend's shoulder. "You stopped the DISC, you refused to kill Cinder. You keep saying that you're not a hero because you supported us? Jaune, that's what a hero is! They save someone, just because they have a chance to do it."

"Yeah, Dumb. Even if they'd really rather that someone not stick around." Kirito flew up from the edge of the building, smirking. He crossed his arms and glared at Jaune. "Come on, if you weren't a hero would you have saved me? Decided to be my friend even though we wanted to kill each other? Actually, make that want to kill each other?"

"Friends might be a strong word," he remarked dryly. He pushed himself up from the ledge, wading through the ever more crowded rooftop. "Besides, anyone would do that. Who'd just let someone die, Kirito?"

"Tons of people are more than willing to let someone they don't know or like die, Puppy." Fox police officer Nick Wilde and a rabbit officer named Judy Hopps beside him, slid down the roof to stop in front of him. "I mean, you've been to our home. True you were... shorter, and less weird looking – Oof!"

Judy had elbowed him in the gut. "What he means," she began, turning her glare from Nick and softening it as she looked at Jaune, "is you saw that people wanted to believe predators were evil. They saw suffering and... it was easier to ignore."

"Even your family won't always protect you." Jaune turned to see Ichigo and Rukia standing above Judy and Nick at the crest of the roof. Rukia smiled sadly. "Even when you were told to respect the order of the world, you broke the rules. You fought with Ichigo to save me."

"Inch wise, not the biggest save you've made," Ichigo remarked. He grinned and dodged her punch. "Saving me from myself in Hueco Mundo? Fighting against Aizen even when you – and me – thought we'd die instead of winning? Takes a hero to fight their friends to save them, and a bigger one to fight even when they're going to die." He didn't dodge her next blow to his gut. "Ach! What was that one for, Midget!?"

"You never told me you thought you wouldn't win!" she cried angrily. "Ichigo, you should always fight like you think you can win!"

Jaune turned and waited for Cloud and Tifa to appear, and they did. "Not surprising anymore?" Tifa asked. She shrugged and rolled her eyes. "This is what we get for going last, Cloud."

"I don't think we're last, Tifa," Cloud replied, arms crossed and eyes shut.

She looked around and a smile came to her face. "Right. Didn't notice at first." She returned her attention to Jaune. "You've gone out of your way to help people, and you saved each of us. All of us! Everyone on this roof."

Cloud nodded, his face as serious as ever. "From animal to human, hero to villain. If we're stronger than you, weaker than you. Happy, sad. Broken, whole. And you never asked us for anything." He glanced around. "But, could I ask one more favor?"

Jaune sighed and shrugged. "What now?"

"It's a bit crowded up here, you know?" Kirito cut in. He gestured at the roof and Jaune looked around, noticing that they were right. Every inch of the balcony like roof was covered with people trying to find an inch of space to stand, pushing against each other, leaning into the walls and some even floating in the air.

Pyrrha stood up and smiled. "I can cover that," she said, and everyone's world shifted. No longer were they on that small balcony, crowded and forced to huddle together. And no longer were they alone. There were dozens of people there besides them, everyone they had met and saved. Mercury and Emerald, the Genie. Even Zaraki, Tiffany, Yoruichi, and so many others. Now, they stood atop a new roof held up by a magnificent, emerald spire. The roof of the new Beacon, staring out at the sunrise above Vale. Pyrrha walked over to Jaune and grabbed his left wrist. "You're Heart has grown so much, Jaune. It was us once, just us, and I am so happy you've moved past that. And that you kept your promise."

Jaune felt another hand intertwine with his right hand. Jaune turned in surprise and found Yang, smiling at him. "Hey Sunshine," she said, winking at him.

Pyrrha let go of his arm. "You've grown so much, Jaune. Your Heart is so big," she said. He turned with Yang towards her and she smiled softly. "You outgrew a Heart that could only hold Ren, Nora, and I, just like you've outgrown that balcony. And you've outgrown whatever shadow you think you're in. You're not a background character in our story as heroes. You're a hero. And I'm happy to have been a part of that." She took a step back and turned her attention to Yang. "Take care of him."

"Somebody has to," Yang replied, ruffling Jaune's hair mockingly. "And I don't mind watching his backside. It's cute!"

Pyrrha laughed, the movement wracking her entire body until she threw her head back. Eventually, she settled down, fighting off the small, giggling remains of her laughing fit. "Well, I can't argue with someone who has such good taste," she agreed, grin wide. Despite the tears rushing from her eyes, Jaune knew she was happy. Content. She looked past Jaune and Yang at the crowd behind them. "I hope that OJ can understand what he's missing. And I hope you can show him, Jaune. After all, you're a hero. If he won't listen to you, he won't listen to anyone." She looked back at Jaune and Yang. "Goodbye. It's not easy to try and come back from beyond the grave, but I don't think I'll need to anymore. You don't need me to keep an eye on you when Yang's watching your backside."

And then, she faded away, leaving Jaune with Yang's hand in his and his friends behind them. "... You think my butt's cute?" Jaune asked Yang suddenly.

"In your dreams, Sunshine!" she said, shoving his head to the side before running off to join their friends.

Jaune watched her go and realized with a smile that she was right. This was a dream. And it was a good one, with all of them there. With Yang, it was probably the best one he could imagine. So he walked over to his friends, deciding to enjoy the sunrise with all of them. And especially with Yang, just one more time before he woke up.

R W B Y

Jaune took a deep breath, steadying himself as he tried to focus on anything other than the shouts of the crowd awaiting the fight. It was so loud, echoing down the tunnel from the waiting room he had been waiting in, separate from everyone, even Yang. After all, she'd joined the same tournament and that meant she was an opponent. It wouldn't do to have her mess with the outcome, even if Jaune and Sora knew she never would. Rules had to be observed, though.

Jaune and Yang were in the tournament aimed at simply wowing the people of Remnant, to give an idea of the warriors that could exist out there. Just a confidence boost, but also the one that would be most closely watched by the public at large. Mercury had joined in one that Sora, Jaune, and Ozpin had taken the most interest in: martial combat. No powers, no Dust, no magic, just pure close quarters combat. Qrow was a great warrior, but he knew he was growing old and that it was a good idea to get other teachers involved in training the swordsmanship and other forms for Keyblade combat. There were a ton of other competitions going on throughout the tournament for the next few days. Ichigo's friend Orihime was involved in one based around magical projection, and his friend Uryu in the marksmanship battle. There was another duel based on vehicular combat – a must for any Keyblade warrior utilizing a transformed Keyblade.

Of course, these fights were all well and good, but even at their most useful they were really just window dressing. Icing on the cake that was the real plan. By showing so many strong and skilled warriors here, busy and competing like there was nothing wrong in the world, then they could draw in OJ. And when Sora and the others made an 'appearance,' courtesy of hologram technology crafted by Schnee Corp and a few other companies from around Remnant, then OJ would know the Hogyoku and the Night Howler Core were unguarded and launch an impatient attack to get them. And then Ruby, Sora, and a half dozen warriors from around the worlds would capture him and this whole nightmare would finally be over.

But Jaune couldn't focus on that. He had to focus on something completely different. Jaune took a deep breath and slowly reached his right hand up to his let shoulder, where a glowing circle emblazoned with the Arc family insignia. He tapped the button, and his armor appeared around him in a flash of light. His hand came up to the mask on his face and he ran a hand along it just to make sure it was really there; wouldn't do for wanted criminal Jaune Arc to show up in the middle of a tournament streamed all over the world. Instead, Ruby had suggested they play into the cliché when it came to stuff like this: the Mystery Knight, like in old stories. A masked warrior who would fight and capture the imagination of the public! Well, that's how Ozpin explained it. Ruby had been too busy gushing over old stories her mother had told her as a child.

And so, the mysterious Keyblade Knight had come to be. He'd suggested that he be named after Pumpkin Pete, given his rabbit like appearance and love for the franchise. Qrow had immediately vetoed that idea, saying it was stupid. Ozpin had apparently agreed, as he'd placed Jaune's name under Keyblade Knight without a single word.

The armor wouldn't do too much to keep him safe in the coming fight, though. Sora told him there was a 'tournament setting' to the Keyblade Armor, something he'd heard about from Aqua, Ventus, and Terra back before his fight with Xehanort. It wouldn't protect him from damage, but it also wouldn't get visibly damaged no matter what hit him. In this state, it wasn't much more than an airtight costume, but it would get the job done.

Jaune nodded in satisfaction and moved slowly towards the light and the excitement, fists clenched as they moved at his sides. "And now for the next fight in the All Out battles!" Sora's holographic recording shouted from the VIP box for this arena. He gestured at the tunnel that Jaune was walking out of. "The Keyblade Knight, a mysterious warrior! Who knows who's under that armor? It could be anybody, even someone you know!" Jaune grimaced behind his helmet. That as absolutely terrible.

"And on the other side, the privately trained, Warrior of a Thousand Petals, Byakuya Kuchiki."

Jaune felt his blood turn to ice. Oh, right. He'd forgotten about Byakuya when he'd been thinking of people he didn't want to fight. After all, Byakuya was a monster of his own kind. And after the fight with Aizen and his apparent army, and now all this time fighting and training since then, who knew how strong he'd gotten? And now Jaune was fighting him one on one. That hadn't even turned out well for Yang the first time, even if she was stronger now.

Jaune sighed, forcing his resolve to strengthen. "And so am I," he said. He summoned his Keyblade and swapped out the Keychain after a moment of thought before dismissing it. Byakuya's greatest strength was speed. He could attack from every direction at once with thousands of swords moving fast as lightning. That meant that Jaune had to be as fast as possible, if he wanted to win. That meant Animal Accord was the only option he had. It would make him fast enough... he hoped.

He took another breath, and slowly ascended the stairs onto the arena. "It has been long since we last saw each other, Arc," Byakuya said when Jaune reached the crest of the stairs. Jaune stopped a few feet away from Byakuya, studying him intently. Byakuya had new hairpieces, but had moved them to the back of his head so the rest of his hair was loose and framing his face. His white, sleeveless long coat was different, as well, with golden trim and tassels. Jaune assumed it was a mark of nobility. Wouldn't surprise him. Byakuya also looked... kinder. His eyes were softer, and his scowl looked less angry and more habitual, like it was a mask rather than his actual feelings. He still felt taller than Jaune despite being a few inches shorter; probably force of personality. The Shinigami nodded his head softly. "I am surprised by your home. Everyone here can see me, it seems. Your world must be full of powerful individuals."

Jaune shook his head. "It's the same as everywhere else. We've got heroes, villains, and normal people," he explained. "The rules are just different here."

"Very different, it seems," Byakuya responded as he cast a gaze around. "But if you claim our worlds are similar, I will believe you. I simply expect more information later."

Jaune grimaced in disbelief. "Y-you just expect an explanation?" he asked nervously.

"As a noble, of course I do."

Jaune sighed. "Of course..."

"And now... Fight!" Sora shouted, accompanied by a loud horn.

Byakuya drew his blade and rushed Jaune, swinging upward in a deadly slash meant to end the battle in a single blow. Jaune's eyes widened and he summoned Animal Accord, his speed exceeding Byakuya's in that moment and letting him dash to the side, the world blurring around him before he came to a stop, the cartoonish weapon at his right side clanking as the orange and blue flash that accompanied it slowly disappeared. Jaune knew the two of them didn't have any more to say to each other. "Sol," he said, allowing his buckler to awaken at his left arm. He slid to place the shield between them and held his Keyblade at the ready in his right hand, then charged forward.

"Aurora!" The electrified edge glowed brightly and he stabbed at Byakuya, drawing his attention and eliciting surprise at the sudden change in the weapon's nature from defensive to offensive. But that was just a feint. As Byakuya's weapon came up to catch Saffron's edge, Jaune shouted, "NOX!" And ducked, turning and swinging under the Shinigami's guard with his Keyblade. Byakuya's eyes widened and a hint of a smile appeared on his face.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura."

The sword in his hand vanished aside from its hilt, and a cloud of pink flower petals swooped down, catching Jaune's attack and locking his weapon in place. Jaune was thrown backwards as the tiny weapons swirled around and around, slashing at him and threatening to tear his Aura down from healthy levels. Byakuya slid away as well, gaining distance from Jaune and putting the balance of the fight decisively in the Shinigami's favor. The cloud of petals flew back to Byakuya's feet and swirled around him, shifting like waves as he considered Jaune for a moment.

"Sol," Jaune said, creating the buckler again. That feint wouldn't work again, he knew that. Byakuya wasn't stupid enough to fall for the same thing twice, which meant he had to come up with new moves. Byakuya was better at a distance than Jaune was. His whole style of combat was based around the use of long range, ubiquitous attacks. He hoped that's the kind of word Byakuya would use for it. Anyways, Jaune had to get in close, where the cloud would be just as dangerous to Byakuya as it was to him.

The cloud exploded away from Byakuya in a flash, flying towards Jaune and forming a shape like ribs closing in around him. Jaune took a breath, and rushed towards the center of the trap while tossing a weak spell to the side. A gravity well exploded into being and dragged the petals to the side for the briefest moment before Byakuya's control took over again. This was just enough time for Jaune to get through the trap, diving between two ribs before rolling back up to his feet. He raised his Keyblade and got in close, his burst of speed surprising Byakuya. He twisted, dodging Jaune's stab, and twirled away. The hilt of his sword swung up, and the petals slammed into Jaune's side before he could recover from his attack. Jaune gritted his teeth and held back his cry of pain, tumbling across the arena for a moment before he could manage to stop himself. He twirled his Keyblade and charged forward again, keeping his eyes locked on the hilt of the sword. It swept to the side and he jumped, leaping over the incoming attack. So, the hilt was still a sword hilt, directing the blade. He was sure there was more to it than that, like how it created swirling vortexes or the rib cage trap. But for directing its movement to and from a location the hilt was what he had to use, in this form of his weapon at least.

Knowing this, Jaune knew that he had a chance to attack before the fight went to the next level. After all, he'd rather avoid fighting in that dome of swords again. He sprinted faster and faster, getting low when the stream of flowers condensed behind Byakuya and flew towards him, the blades skirting along his back. "Nox." The shield condensed and he reached out with his left hand, grabbing hold of Byakuya's wrist and forcing the hilt of the sword to the side. The petals, flying at Jaune, went wide.

"Clever, but not enough. Hado 11: Tsuzuri Raiden," Byakuya said calmly, and electricity exploded aceross him, flying into Jaune. The Keyblade wielder cried out and forced himself to let go, stumbling away. Byakuya took a slow breath. "I suppose you have earned my full strength once more. You have grown to deserve it when fighting me alone, then. You deserve my respect. Senbonzakura Kageyoshi Senkei." He dropped the hilt, allowing it to melt into the ground with the petal blades following it.

Jaune glared at the weapon and watched the sky around him turn black. "I guess the Schnee's cameras are going to get a test drive," Jaune muttered to himself as floating drones popped out of the ground. He stood up straight. "Sol." Pink swords appeared in the air in the form of a massive dome, slowly orbiting the fighters within so Jaune would have a harder time keeping track of their movements. One floated slowly down to Byakuya's hand and he moved his legs apart to a ready stance.

Jaune rushed to the side, sweeping around in a curve. Swords fell from the sky and slammed into the ground behind him, forcing the drones to bob and weave to avoid being impaled and destroyed. Jaune brought Saffron up and deflected one that came at his face, but he lost track of Byakuya for a moment, and spun to catch the next incoming attack from the dome. He looked around and deflected another blade before catching sight of Byakuya again, charging in and slashing at Jaune's head. He dodged, only for another blade to slam into his back and send him into the path of Byakuya's sword. Jaune hurriedly summoned a Reflega wall, the spell taking the brunt of the attack before it exploded and Jaune took the remainder. He growled and pushed away, resetting. He was running low on Aura, and he had yet to do anything serious to Byakuya. He had to finish this fast.

"Gather!" He shouted decisively, aiming the Keyblade straight up and generating a powerful magnetic field. Byakuya's eyes narrowed and he grunted in exertion, fighting to keep the dome's swords up. He was distracted enough by this effort that Jaune was finally able to get in close, coating the Keyblade with a burst of flames before slamming it into the Shinigami's gut. There was a loud explosion at the point of contact and Byakuya snarled in pain as he flew out of the cloud of smoke, tumbling through the air and to the ground. Jaune charged towards him before he could land, bringing the Keyblade around. Byakuya snarled and brought the weapon in his hand around, catching the blow but losing his concentration in resisting the Magnega. The swords around him began to flow towards the center of the dome, crashing into each other and exploding from the force. Jaune didn't waste time, though, and brought his left arm forward. "Aurora!" Caught as they were, blades connected, Byakuya couldn't do much more than try to bring his head to the side. He wasn't quite quick enough, and the edge slammed into his face, discharging a surprisingly large yellow Dust reserve and shattering his defenses. Jaune pressed his advantage, ducking and moving the tip of the Keyblade through the broken guard of the Shinigami to aim it at Byakuya's chin. "Fire!"

The explosive Firaga sent Byakuya flying, shattering through the black dome and trailing smoke out of the arena. He landed heavily on the grass, smoke rising from his face. He tiredly turned his gaze on Jaune, a look of surprise on his features. "And the winner is the Keyblade Knight!"

Jaune stared back at Byakuya. He'd done it? He'd grown that much? He turned his gaze up to the status screen, where his Aura bar showed he had barely won. Well, Yang would probably tell him something about horseshoes and hand grenades, so he'd take it. He'd won. He grinned and threw his hands up, taking in the applause and excitement around him. He'd won! A real way to compare how much he'd grown over his adventure, and he'd won!

Byakuya nodded at the young man. "You have my respect, Arc," he said simply before he began pushing himself to his feet. "Perhaps you can face whatever monster you are preparing for."

R W B Y

Jaune and Yang were gladly taking a breather while they waited for Yang's duel to begin, sitting atop one of the spires and gazing out at the ocean. They were silent. They had been for a while. Jaune didn't want to break that quiet, but he knew something was bugging Yang, and this was the first time they'd had to truly speak with one another. The preceding month had all been swept up in the passion of a brand new romance, and then in getting ready for the tournament. And even before that, there had been other problems to focus on. And now there wasn't, and the question that had been echoing in Jaune's mind for weeks finally had time to worm into forefront.

"You might as well ask it, Jaune."

He glanced over at her. She was staring at the ocean, hair cascading behind her in the wind. "It's more annoying that you keep waiting, Sunshine."

Jaune flinched. "Oh, uh... Sorry..." he stammered. He . "Yang, how do you feel. I mean, with Morrigan working with OJ."

Yang nodded, the movements slow and almost imperceptibly small. "Yeah..." she whispered hollowly. "I've been trying not to think about it, honestly." She looked over at him and grinned. "You've been a good distraction, Sunshine."

"But..?" Jaune wondered. He knew her well enough that she might have been trying not to think about it, but she definitely had. He hadn't seen it before, after Morrigan had attacked them in Bridge to Aincrad so long ago. She'd been hurting and hidden it. He wouldn't miss it again.

Yang's grin slowly disappeared and her hand tightened on his. Biting her cheek, she leaned back and stared up at the sky. After a light tug on his hand, Jaune leaned back and joined her. "It hurts to think about when you worked for Salem, doesn't it?"

Jaune felt his heart freeze for a half second as the memories ran through him at the mere mention of those days. His joints ached, his eyes and throat burned, and he felt like his hair was standing up straight on his head. "Physically," he said, his voice hollow. His empty hand clenched at his side and he shut his eyes to force the memories away. "It hurts, deep down. Even the things my body did when I wasn't in control of myself... Why?"

Yang shut her eyes and took in the breeze. "Sora said that when a Nobody and Heartless are both killed, they reform their Somebody."

"Right..." Jaune said, still not quite sure what she was getting at.

"They come back with all the memories of what they had done as a Nobody like they were their own. I mean, they are their own memories. Everything good, and everything bad." Yang pulled her free right hand up to her face to cover her eyes. "My mom was just starting to move in the right direction, Jaune. She'd just decided to come back and see us. And now she's helping someone who wants to destroy the entire universe."

Jaune gasped. "Oh... I get it."

"I don't want her to come back like this. I don't want my mom to wake up and get hit by all the emotions at once that come with this decision." She chuckled. "Look, I know she's strong. She's my mom after all. But feeling all that at once... that could break a lot of people, Jaune. I don't know if I'd even survive that..."

"Not alone, probably not." Yang turned to Jaune and raised an eyebrow. "Neither could I. But I'd be there with you, and you'd be there with me. So, I guess what I'm saying is... we'll just have to be there for her. Me and you." He stared into her eyes resolutely, knowing he'd be standing right there next to her when she went through that. Partners, in everything. He blushed and glanced away. "Oh! Uh, and your dad, and uncle, and Ruby, too."

Yang's eyes widened, then softened and watered up. "Yeah. I guess we will just have to be there for her." She smiled and moved her head so it touched his, eyes shut. She took a deep, contented breath and let the tears stream down the sides of her face. "All of us. But especially me and you."

She grabbed him and yanked him into the crook of her shoulder, causing him to blush even deeper. "I..." she trailed off. Part of her wanted to say it. The 'L' word. Instead, she said, "I'm happy you'd be with me."

Jaune laughed and nodded at her gratefully. "Me too." He smiled. "And I'm happy you'll be there with me."

"Of course you are." She smiled and pulled him into a kiss. "I'm perfect." Jaune yelped as he felt a pinch on his butt. "And handsy!" She held up her robotic hand and grinned.

R W B Y

"You look familiar," Yang told her opponent while Sora's image continued speaking.

The young man across from her finished unfurling his Dust based whip and grinned widely. "Well, I think I'd remember meeting someone as beautiful as you."

"Oh, a charmer," Yang muttered, chuckling. The guy brushed down his long, military overcoat style silver jacket, the movement revealing the black and white military style clothes beneath. Icy blue eyes and black hair... He looked familiar, he really did.

"Asimi Kravgi and Yang Xiao Long!"

Yang snapped her fingers. "Oh, right! My sister beat you up at the Mistral tournament!" she shouted.

"Your sist– Wait, you're that Ruby girl's sister?" he shouted, an edge of terror to his voice. "The Keyblade girl!?"

"Yeah, I've always been her big, scary sister. Kept her safe, beat up boys who were mean to her. You know, stuff like that. I was the big strong one. Still am, I think. Oh, and the funny one!" she said, not mustering an ounce of humility. She spun her arm around at the shoulder and stretched. "Ah, there we go."

Kravgi took a half step back. "I... I... The strong one?"

"Begin!" Sora's hologram shouted.

Yang threw her fists up, blocking the incoming blade of wind shot out from the whip, amplified in power by the whip's sonic boom. Yang snarled and shoved back, pushing through the wind and letting the force fuel her Semblance. "What happened to ladies first, Charmer?" Yang asked. She studied him carefully. He may not be a real threat in terms of... well, of any kind. She'd been fighting demi gods, so she almost felt bad for him. Almost bad enough to go easy on him.

Hey, almost.

She charged forward, keeping low to the ground. "I'm not stupid, Blondie. Your sister's scary enough, I'm not going to underestimate her older sister," he said simply, twisting the revolver of his whip before attacking the ground with it!" Icy spikes exploded from the ground, creating a huge wall while the spear like tips shot at Yang's head. She twisted between them and grabbed hold of one, using it to throw herself up to another and climb up the wall. She flipped over the top and sidestepped another sonic blast of air that came her way. The wind around Kravgi began to pick up, swirling and pushing at Yang to keep her away.

Yang smirked from the top of the wall. "Not bad, Charmer. Easily high tier for a newly graduated Huntsmen." She pointed at herself with her robotic thumb. "But heat rises, and no one's hotter than me! So I guess you could say I'm in a tier all of my own. So Yang tight and watch me take you down!" She tensed her legs, and jumped towards Kravgi, shattering the ice wall. Spells grew around her fists, flames on her right and a Reflect in her left. Another blast of air came her way and she threw her left hand out, using the spell within to reflect the blade at Kravgi. He yelped and jumped to the side, shooting an Ice Dust blast at Yang that was melted by the flame spell within her right fist.

"Sorry, Charmer! I've never been one to go easy on someone!" She landed in front of him and tornadoes blossomed into being in her open palms, then she slammed them into his chest. An Aeroga exploded between them, swirling and sending him flying away, soaring out of bounds. "Dang. That blows, huh? I guess now everyone will catch wind of how strong I am, huh? I'm not just blowing hot air, huh?"

She kept on with the puns until someone removed her so the next fight could begin. There had been a suggestion she be forced to forfeit for continuing to abuse Kravgi despite him being down.

R W B Y

OJ loved the taste of Pumpkin Pete. It had always been his favorite breakfast cereal growing up. From the sugary goodness to the rabbit mascot, he loved it all. And when he'd met Pyrrha, that love had only grown. She was the girl on the cereal box, after all. So he was excited when it turned out that Sora and Ozpin's silly tournament-trap sold the delicious bar form of the cereal. Something good finally coming out of Sora being stupid enough to think his trap would work on him. He took another bite and smirked up at the figure of Sora above, accompanied by various powerful warriors in a VIP box to watch the fights. The Hogyoku and Night Howler core were probably up there, with him. And if they weren't, they were somewhere even more secure. He returned his attention to the fight below, where Yang had just defeated Asimi Kravgi in a duel. Made sense. He couldn't even beat Ruby back before she knew how to use magic. Yang these days was an entirely different animal, and one a freshly graduated Huntsman could not deal with alone.

"What are we doing here?" Morrigan wondered beside him.

OJ raised an eyebrow and glanced over at her. "You don't want a chance to study your weakness in battle?" he asked. He glanced over at the stoic Emerald. "Doesn't seem very smart, huh?"

She didn't respond. Given she was basically a marionette at this point, he hadn't expected that much to happen. He turned back to Morrigan. "So, what did you think?"

Morrigan frowned and placed a hand on her chin. "It wasn't a good enough fight to gauge her skill, not beyond what I've already seen," she eventually explained. Morrigan moved her hand down to her waist. "She is strong, though. In a duel to the death, just the two of us, she would last for a while and get a few hits in. But I'd win in the end. But with someone else there, the outcome would become far less certain. And if Sora, Ruby, or Jaune were that ally, the certainty would simply be in the other direction."

"Well, he is me. Makes sense he'd be able to stand up to you," OJ said proudly. "Just imagine if he was at full strength!"

"He seemed quite strong in his fight earlier," Morrigan pointed out. "His command of offensive and defensive magic was impressive."

OJ rolled his eyes. "Please, I could take Byakuya in a tenth of the time. Just like you want to get rid of your weakness to get stronger, he needs to get rid of his own before he can become as strong as me." He sighed. "But you're right, it was pretty good. I'm surprised I could be that strong even if I was that weak."

"Jaune was able to fight him in that dome of swords and formulate a plan quickly and efficiently," Morrigan said simply before reaching down and picking up a bucket of popcorn to start rifling through. "His use of the Magnega was clever, and there was intense force behind his Firaga."

"Yeah..." OJ said. He shrugged. "But I'm not worried about Jaune. Not right now, at least."

"But his allies?"

OJ grimaced. "Yeah, we'll have to find a way to deal with them. I doubt we could fight everyone here." He looked over at Emerald. "Even with her Darkness enhanced Semblance."

"Then what do you recommend we do?" Morrigan wondered. "I tire of problems with no solutions offered."

OJ glared at her. "And your solutions?" he growled. This Nobody was getting on his nerves.

"You make the plans, I do the fighting. This is for your goal, after all," Morrigan retorted. She picked up a fluffy popcorn and crushed it between her fingers. "If you can't come up with one, I could gladly find a way to kill Yang myself."

OJ narrowed his eyes at her. "I suppose that's a fair truth," he said, holding in his anger and thinking it through. He turned his gaze towards the arena then up at the sky. He slowly let a smile form on his face. "I think that I have a plan, Morrigan. A good plan."

"And what makes it a good plan?"

"We can't capture anything here. So, we have to lure our prey off world," OJ explained, grinning. "Which means we take the one thing that would motivate anyone to follow, and leave a message to meet us somewhere else."

Morrigan's eyes widened slightly. "We're going to take Jaune's family?"

OJ nodded, eyes narrowing and glowing yellow. "And if he doesn't come, we'll kill them all." He turned to Morrigan and smiled. "Is that good enough for you?"

Morrigan stared at him unflinchingly. "Good enough," she agreed coolly before turning away, glad her clenched, shaking fist was hidden at her side. "... Good enough."

R W B Y

Mercury bounced lightly on the balls of his feet, getting the aches out of his stumps that sometimes came with the adrenaline leading into a fight. He wasn't too worried about the fight, but it had been a very long time since he had fought without using either his Semblance or the magic he had learned from Xehanort. He was worried he'd gotten a little rusty with his skills when he had such versatile abilities to depend upon. That Sora and the others had given him his old 'Agni' outfit back was the most magic he had going, right then. "You look a little nervous there, Silver. I mean, if I was fighting me without all that baloney magic you've got, I'd be nervous too," Kirito said, from the other side of the arena. He leaned against his oversized sword, drawn and resting with its tip against the ground. "After all, I'm a master swordsman, and you just kick people like you're a sadly unattractive Chun Li."

"... Unattractive?" Mercury asked, mock rage on his face. He scoffed and gestured at himself. "I am insulted... Miss? With the voice it's hard to tell with that voice."

Kirito's eye twitched. Mercury had to hand it to him, though; he had expected Kirito to attack before the fight actually started. "Wow. You've actually matured, haven't you?" Mercury asked the swordsman.

"Yeah, so what?"

"I'm just impressed," Mercury said. "But you look the same, fairy getup or no. Like a twelve year old girl."

The fight started, and Kirito sped towards him with rage in his eyes. Mercury grinned. Too easy. He charged Kirito, and the two of them swung their attacks around at one another. Kirito's blade met Mercury's boot and sparks flew. Both of them were fast, though, and both quickly moved into another attack without missing a beat. Kirito swung his sword around the other way, the weapon moving quickly despite what should have been its odd balance and lack of aerodynamics. Mercury smoothly moved back, allowing the blade to pass just over his face, and lashed out with his fist into Kirito's chest. The swordsman snarled and stumbled back a step, condensing into a more defensive position and placing the large flat of his blade between the two of them, managing to catch Mercury's kick and remain uninjured from the blow.

The sword's flat shoved forward, pushing Mercury off balance. He forced himself not to flail and leaned back with it, avoiding a slash from Kirito's sword and hitting his hands before flipping into the air and twisting to deliver a powerful kick midair. Kirito raised his sword and the attack slammed into it, buckling Kirito's legs and forcing him to his knees. Mercury grinned and brought his leg back, spinning to deliver a back kick. Kirito's eyes widened and he threw himself to the side, snarling when the kick glanced across his left shoulder. He growled and stumbled to his feet, left arm clutched tight. He tried to move it and hissed, instead bringing it in close.

Mercury laughed. "You're going to fight with that thing in one hand?" he asked of the giant weapon.

"You fight without legs, Gazelle. I can fight with one arm," Mercury said simply. He grinned. "All the best swordsmen do. Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader... Sekiro!"

"Right," Mercury said. He clenched his fists and slid his legs apart, readying for the fight to begin again. He dashed forward, lashing out with a kick at Kirito's head that the swordsman managed to duck beneath, then jumped and twisted, slashing in from Kirito's right with his other leg as he landed. The attack slid across the flat of the blade, sending his leg over Kirito until it arced back to the ground. Kirito stabbed forward, fast enough to hit most people. But even without his Semblance, Merc was fast. He placed his hand on the flat of the blade and moved his body out of the way, forcing the massive sword to the side to give him more breathing room. Kirito moved with his sword, dodging Mercury's counter, and slid to a ready position once more. He gave a guarded, downward slash at Mercury that was deflected to the side as it hit the ground, but Kirito lunged forward with his shoulder and Kirito slammed into Mercury's chest, forcing him back a step.

"Been a while since I fought this scrappy, Edgelord," Mercury said with a growing, wild grin on his face.

Kirito grinned back. "You finally get a chance to fight like the rest of us, Silver!"

The two charged each other again, trading blows. A sword glanced off of Mercury's boots, Kirito barely managing to dodge a kick to his head. "And it's great!" Mercury agreed when his leg crashed into Kirito's blade, locking them together. "But you aren't a match for me!" He shoved off and broke Kirito's guard. He brought his leg back to ready another to lash out at Kirito's head, when his eyes drifted off to the side. A flash of green hair and red eyes. "Is that -?"

"Too slow, Silver!" Kirito's sword slammed into his chest, sending him flying out of the ring, sliding across the ground.

Mercury snarled, eyes shut, as he rolled across the ground. He came to a stop and pushed himself up, looking around wildly. He ignored the announcer and charged for the nearest gate, ignoring Kirito's mocking and then worried questioning. Character growth didn't concern him, right now. Only Em. He activated his Semblance and charged away, blowing past crowds as he rushed towards the stands. "Em!?" he shouted, looking around wildly. "Emerald! Dammit, Em!" He slid to a stop where she had been, eyes locked on the location she had been.

Nothing was there. Nothing but the scent of fading Darkness, and a green stone that slowly vanished. An illusion. "God dammit!" he screamed, scaring the people around him. They began muttering he was a sore loser, but he ignored them. He turned his gaze upwards and screamed before falling to his knees. "Em, where are you!?"

R W B Y

"You're sure you saw her?" Sora asked outside the vault after the day's events had ended. He, Jaune, Yang, and Mercury were all together, having a debrief after Mercury had brought what he'd seen to them.

Mercury growled. "I know what I saw, Keyboy," he snapped. He threw his fists down to his side and took a step forward. "I know Emerald."

Sora raised his hands disarmingly. "Okay, I'm just making sure, Merc," he supplied calmly. "Sometimes the Heart sees what it wants to see, even when it isn't there. But if you're absolutely sure you saw her... then I believe you."

Jaune glanced between them. "So, what's the plan?" he finally asked Sora.

"If Em's here, then we can bet that OJ and Morrigan are, too," Yang supplied evenly, though her fists clenched tighter on her crossed arms. "And with Emerald's upgraded Semblance, an army of monsters."

Sora took a deep breath and sighed. His hands fell to his hips and he frowned. "Well, at the end of the day all we can do is keep trying to lure him in closer," he finally supplied. He looked around at all three of them and gave them a supportive grin. "This is a good thing, remember? It means he really does think this is his best chance to steal the Core and Hogyoku, and that means he's falling for the trap."

"Yeah," Jaune agreed. "Nothing else in this World matters to him, so he'll go for it as fast as he can."

"Not to mention he's crazy," Mercury supplied, angrily. "I'm surprised he hasn't already charged in here headfirst."

"Probably Morrigan's doing, honestly," Jaune supplied. He shrugged at Sora and Merc's confused glances. "She's always been calm and collected. She's even worked with us when she needed to, and her goal was to kill us. I think that means she's keeping him from behaving too stupidly."

"Then we'll need to amp up our attempts at drawing them in," Sora muttered, placing a hand on his chin. He glanced around again. "Uh... suggestions?"

They groaned and shook their heads. "Isn't this your job?" Mercury asked tiredly.

Sora rolled his eyes and said, "A good leader, uh... listens to his... er, allies? At least, I think Oz said something like that."

"You're an idiot," Yang sighed, shaking her head and rubbing her forehead.

Sora rolled his eyes. "Well? Suggestions?"

"I'm the punching one, not the planning one," Yang stated, offering a shrug. "Not going to be much help in this one."

Mercury's face tightened, angry with himself for his inability to help. "I'm an assassin. I get aimed, then let loose."

"You could always actually go to the arena and come down at the end of the day to congratulate the victors of the things that end tomorrow." Jaune nodded at himself. "Marksmanship and magic end tomorrow, right? If you're there, interacting with people, it's way more likely that you're there the rest of the time. Which means he'll think the Relics are unguarded and fall into the trap the next day."

"... That might work," Sora finally said after a few moments of thinking it through.

Yang grinned and slapped his back. "That's my Sunshine!" she said, shaking him by the shoulder. "We're the perfect team: the man with the plan, and the girl who will kick everyone's butt until that plan works!"

Sora smiled at the two of them, happy his friends were happy. But his smile slowly vanished. "We do have one more issue to deal with, though," he said, causing the pair's laughter to fade and Mercury's annoyed glare to turn to confusion. "There's been a surge of Heartless in the past couple days, appearing outside of the shields outside of the town. Mercury, I need you to head out with Qrow, Herus, and a few others tomorrow to make them vanish until the tournament's over. Now that we know they're here, I'm willing to bet they're responding to OJ's call. We can't risk a huge assault with all these people here, even if we do have more warriors to help out."

"I lost my fight and now I'm a babysitter?" Mercury growled. "I should be looking for Em, not -"

"Mercury, I trust you to guard Herus with Qrow. And more, I need you to do it." He shook his head. "Think about Vale and what happened. If the same happened with Heartless..."

"Tch," Mercury growled, turning away. He did know better than most anyone how things had gone down in Vale almost three years ago. Grimm couldn't turn people into Grimm, which meant... "Fine. I'll go out there and hunt with the kid and the old man." He turned begrudgingly back to Sora. "But you call us back the moment you hear about Emerald."

"I was already planning on it, Merc," Sora assured him. He smiled gratefully. "Thank you for going along with it."

"Yeah, well... Shut up." He turned and walked purposefully away. "I'll see you guys tomorrow. Hopefully not any sooner."

"Nighty night, Silver!" Yang shouted, trying her best to annoy him. He was too tired to be annoyed, though, and kept trudging towards his room.

"I'm glad you two found him and Emerald," Sora told Jaune and Yang when Mercury was out of sight, though his gaze continued to stare down the hallway. "I was worried about them after they vanished. Saving the universe is one thing you don't need to be 'good' to do. But because of you guys, they decided to continue helping people. And once Emerald vanished, he only stayed because of you two. He could have been OJ's puppet like Emerald without you two helping him."

Sora sighed and rubbed a crick in his neck. "Well, I better get back in there. We've got a few teaching jobs open that I'm hoping they can help me fill." He grinned at Yang and Jaune. "See you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah," they both nodded.

Things were looking up, and it was time for them to make sure it stayed that way.

They watched the door close behind Sora, catching sight of Qrow glaring daggers at Jaune just before it squeaked shut. Yang and Jaune stared at the door for a few moments, as if worried it would open again. Finally, Yang grabbed Jaune's arm and yanked him after her. "Let's go make out."

"Romantic," Jaune remarked dryly, though he did pick up the pace in following her.

AN: Hey, hope this chapter reaches you all well! Have a good Halloween time? Where I am, it was freezing so my little sister didn't get to do much trick or treating, sadly. She still had fun, though and ate the rest of our Halloween candy since we didn't get many trick-or-treaters either.

Now, responses:

To Gamelover41592: After all this time with Yang, Qrow, and Tai attacking Sora, of course Ruby would A: take her vengeance, and B: inherit the family rage. And as a Keyblade Wielder it would be... worse, probably.

To Chretner: Ah, D&D dies to scheduling conflicts more than anything. At least I was able to reach an actual end for the party's story arc with my last group; the one before that just slowly piled up on the scheduling conflicts until it quietly died. As for your player blowing up a hole in the middle of the universe, what else are players good for other than destroying themselves and the universe? Even well intentioned they usually end up causing more problems than they solve! I had a game that led into another later, and the decisions they made really screwed the world over and they'd been trying their best to make it better. It was a super hero one, and they ended up causing a 'Days of Future Past' style reality. I hope your players don't accidentally make it so Darkness ends up taking a few more worlds than it should... actually, scratch that. It's hilarious watching them scramble to fix their mistakes like that. I'm happy that you like this Yang and Jaune. If you spend that much time together nearly dying and saving each other, attraction is likely to develop further. And, yeah, I am from America. Colorado, in fact. That's easy enough to guess given my Digimon story, at least. Write where and what you know, right?

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Leave a review if you have any questions, criticisms, or something you liked that I can address for you and I'll get back to you next chapter!