Chapter 35: Darkness Take You
Jaune knew the universe was laughing at him. It had to be. After all, he had said that this was one of the things that he was most worried would happen. He had basically cursed himself to be stuck in this situation, facing down Kenpachi Zaraki in a one on one fight, the moment he had told Yang he didn't want to fight him. If he wasn't so terrified that Zaraki might accidentally – or, more realistically, on purpose – cut him into little pieces, he might have laughed at how bad his luck was. As it was, he was currently running away from Zaraki's swinging blade, much to the annoyance of the crowd. "Stay still and fight me!" Zaraki snapped as his sword arced close to Jaune's heels. Jaune leaped forward and whirled around, sprinting beneath another of Zaraki's slashes.
"Yeah, that sounds like an all around bad idea, Zaraki!" Jaune shouted back. He stopped on his heel as Zaraki spun and slashed in his direction. Jaune swallowed his fear as the blade passed an inch away from his masked eyes, scraping along the armor's face. "Meep!"
"You just gotta get into the flow of the fight, Kid!" Zaraki shouted, his one visible eye wide. He slashed downward before Jaune could dodge, forcing him to bring his Keyblade up to block the assault. The jagged edge of the sword seemed to sing as it scraped along Fenrir's own blade, and Jaune knew that the strength the Keychain granted him was the only reason his guard hadn't been broken and the Zanpakuto buried in his shoulder. "You see, you can fight! Have some fun!" Zaraki's weapon came up again before slamming down harder, shaking Jaune's bones with the intense force unleashed. The crowd was cheering now.
They sound like they want blood, Jaune groaned inwardly. He twisted the Keyblade so its flat was against the edge of Zaraki's sword,t hen angled it downard. The sword crashed into the ground and stone exploded upward. Jaune dashed forward and slammed his Keyblade into Zaraki's gut, a thin red line appearing on Zaraki's gut. "That's the spirit!" Zaraki shouted, a giddy laugh escaping his throat. Beside the arena, a tiny girl with pink hair cheered excitedly for 'Kenny.' Jaune took a half step back as he saw the attack hadn't even fazed the man. Zaraki's sword swept around from the side, catching Jaune in the side with what he was sure was a 'soft' blow, since it only knocked the air from his lungs and made him stumble to the side. He noted the loss of his Aura, a good third. He forced himself to ignore the fading pain in his side, then swept upward at Zaraki. The man took the blow again, his manic grin growing wider.
Jaune's voice cracked as he said, "New plan." He dove under Zaraki's arms and rolled to his feet, running again.
"I thought we were over this!"
"Freeze!" Jaune shouted as he dragged the Keyblade along the ground behind him. Ice exploded across the ground, freezing it solid and giving Jaune breathing room when Zaraki began to slide and stumble around on the ice. Taking another few steps for good measure, Jaune finally turned around and clenched his fists tight on Fenrir's handle. "I get Byakuya then you, and Yang got Kravgi? In what world is this fair?"
"Fight me!"
"Goddammit," Jaune sighed. He twirled Fenrir in his right hand and charged Zaraki while he was still off balance, the edge of the weapon crashing into the Soul Reaper's chest and carving through his uniform. The man just laughed boisterously and slid backwards across the ice for a moment, then slammed his foot down and shattered it, using that same slam to propel himself towards Jaune. Energy arced off of his body as he slammed into Jaune's guard, sending crackling, deadly waves away from them. The ground beneath them creaked from the force, and Jaune felt it begin to give beneath his feet.
He stumbled forward when that same force bearing down on him vanished, replaced with a foot slamming into his left shoulder. His mind screamed at him as he rolled across the stone, tumbling to a stop at the very edge of the arena. Jaune gasped in pain and fought the urge to pull at his helmet to get more air. After a moment, he pushed himself up to his feet, eyes narrowing with rage at the man advancing towards him. Black energy twirled around Fenrir. Darkness. But Jaune wasn't afraid of it. Sora, Ozpin, Yang. They'd all told him not to be afraid. That it was just a force.
He charged forward, and the Keyblade slammed into Zaraki's arm. The man's visible eye widened in surprise and pain as the bones in his arm shattered at the point of impact, the Darkness spiralling around Jaune and his weapon. "You want more!?" Jaune screamed in rage, pulling back. He slashed upward at Zaraki's head.
And the man grinned even wider. "I want all of it!" He dodged the attack and slashed at Jaune, sword arcing around under Jaune's nonexistent guard. Jaune ignored the attack and pressed forward, slamming his shoulder into Zaraki's chest. The man stumbled back even as his attack glanced across Jaune's back, leaving a deep scratch on his armor. But Jaune ignored it. The Darkness twirled around his hand and he shoved it forward, grabbing hold of Zaraki's throat, cutting off a manic laugh.
Jaune roared and spun, slamming his opponent on the ground. He raised his Keyblade in both hands, the Darkness swirling around his entire body now. Zaraki's grin faded. "I'm going to win this!"
Zaraki sighed. "Nah, kid. You ain't." He shot upward, grabbing Jaune's head with one hand and simply turning around and letting go. Jaune fell with a surprised glare at Zaraki's disappointed features. He fell past the arena, hitting the ground outside of the ring in a heap. Zaraki stared down at him and sighed. "Every fighter is different, Kid. It's more fun to do it like me, but I don't need those things. Tricks, skills. Useless. I'll just wreck anything in my way. But that ain't you, Kid."
Jaune stared up at Zaraki's disappointed face and felt fire grow within him. "What do you know?"
"You're smart. You're a thinker, a planner," Zaraki said, distaste growing in his mouth. "That stuff at the end made you strong, sure. But it made you stupid. And a fight with a stupid you ain't one I'm interested in having. You couldn't even remember where the edge of the arena was." He sheathed his sword and shook his head. "Come on, Yachiru. I'm hungry and I'm not allowed to fight until tomorrow..."
"Yay, Kenny!"
Jaune watched him go, rage building until... it just broke. He felt his shoulders sag and he pushed himself to his feet. He had been stupid. Airheaded. He hadn't fought like himself, he'd just... He'd decided to lose his patience when he couldn't hurt Zaraki, and... and something just... He'd been stupid. Worse than stupid, he'd shut off. Fighting Zaraki... it was like fighting a wall. He had to fight for a long time to wear the monster down, not fight like a barbarian.
"Idiot!" he snarled at himself from the grass. "What happened to you?"
R W B Y
OJ smirked to himself from atop the edge of the arena. He dismissed his Keyblade and checked over the armor he was wearing, making sure that the facsimile looked enough like Jaune's. The same Jaune who he had just sent spiraling into an easy defeat, making him more uncertain, frustrated, and weak. An easy target. He ran a hand through his newly cut hair and grinned down; everything going according to plan.
OJ waited until his counterpart had left the arena, then turned and summoned a Corridor of Darkness. He stepped through it, and appeared in the city of Vale, outside of a home he had not been in for... years, now. Filled with people he had not wanted to see for even longer. People who thought him weak. Useless. A coward. And until he found a world where he could remain, they barely even counted as real. He clenched his fists and fought off the urge to burn the building down right then and there. To get rid of another thing holding this world's Jaune back. But he calmed himself. It wasn't time for that.
He shook his thoughts off. "Now, how should I do this..?" he wondered as he stared at the door. "What would Jaune do? He's weak and held back, but... he still believes he loves them and they love him. Ugh... acting is hard..." He rubbed his forehead, groaning in annoyance. "I never thought playing myself would be so annoying."
After a few more moments of thinking, OJ sighed. "I guess I'll just have to make it up as I go," he said with a shrug. He moved up and knocked on the door. Trying to put his old, affable smile on his face before it opened, he hoped it was enough to trick them until everything was in place. He'd rather not damage the goods before the trade, after all.
After a few seconds, it was time to find out. The door slid open and OJ was greeted with a face he hadn't seen in a very long time. Argent Arc looked out in surprise, then walked forward, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him in for a hug. "Jaune," he said sympathetically. He pushed away, pride filling hie features . "That was a damn impressive fight, Son. "
OJ felt something in him constrict at those words, but shook it off after a moment. It reminded him of something he'd felt once, on one of the most satisfying days of his life. It was a distraction then, and it was a distraction now. "Thanks, Dad," he said. He hoped that sounded like how he used to be, starved for a hint of approval from the man in front of him. Oddly enough, he thought that the weird feeling he'd had a moment ago helped with that. OJ smiled bittersweetly. "I just wish I'd won."
"No one wins every time," Argent replied supportively. He gently pulled on OJ's shoulders, leading him towards the house. "Even Ozpin lost a few fights since I've known him. And Birdie may be great now, but that's only because he learned from constantly getting his ass kicked."
OJ nodded along, thinking about what to say next as he was led through the house, eventually coming to where many more familiar faces awaited. That same constricting feeling happened again, stronger this time, as he looked over each face. Seven sisters, a few husbands. A baby he didn't recognize. He froze when he saw his mother. The feeling kept twisting in him. Weakness, distraction, stupidity. Things he used to let control him. With a surge of disgust, he pushed it aside and kept his mask up. "Mom!" he said, rushing forward to hug the woman.
"Sunshine," the woman said, hugging him close. "My little boy is so strong and amazing, I'm so proud!"
"Thanks, Mom," he said, trying not to sound or feel wooden in her embrace. Realizing he should hug back, he did. "It's good to see you again."
"Where's Yang?" one of Jaune's sister's asked.
Another one smirked at OJ. "You know we like your girlfriend more than you."
OJ glowered inwardly. He'd been right. Jaune just couldn't help himself, could he? OJ supposed that made sense. He hadn't let go of this world, he thought he needed connections. Affection. "Right," OJ said quietly, glancing down so no one could see his eyes glowing yellow for a moment. He glanced back up with a faked grin. "Who wouldn't?"
"You know how to pick them," another one of his sisters said. She was... holding a baby? That was something he didn't remember from when he was around them. Well, he said baby, but by now the blonde child was a toddler. Judging by the age – Oh, after Salem's death. The little... thing was only around because of that. He wondered if his family, out there somewhere, had one of these already. The kid stared at him, and he stared back.
And then the kid started to cry. "That's weird," Jaune's mother said, moving forward to grab her grandchild. She picked him up and began to bounce him up and down softly. "What's wrong, Jaune?" She turned to OJ. "He always loves seeing his uncle, why don't you take him?" Then she handed the toddler over to OJ. He stared at it in surprise, and slowly reached out to grab it. That was a mistake, because that only made the kid scream louder.
The toddler's mom surged to her feet and pulled out a well hidden dagger from somewhere in her jeans. Ah, Journe, that was her name. Jaune's mother pulled the kid back and hid him. "That's not Jaune," Journe said, her voice like steel. She charged forward with her dagger, the edge glinting with Lightning Dust as it came at his throat.
OJ sighed and dodged the attack, then reached up and grabbed her wrist. "Damn, what gave me away?" he asked. The rest of Jaune's family jumped up, some of them pulling out weapons. Including Argent. OJ rolled his eyes and twisted Journe's wrist, forcing the dagger from her hand and eliciting a cry of pain that froze the entire Arc family in place. With his free hand, OJ caught the falling dagger and brought it up to Journe's throat. "I would be careful before I made any stupid moves."
"So, you're OJ," Argent Arc said. The shield and sword he held clanked as he readied them, analyzing his new opponent. "Convincing."
"Well, Jaune is me. Or he will be," OJ explained with a shrug. He turned to Journe. "But what gave me away?"
"Like Mom said. Jaune loves Jaune. And neither you or my son even liked each other," she snarled before he pulled further and she yelped in pain once more.
"Of course. Caught by an infant. What else would happen around the Arc family?" OJ asked, rolling his eyes.
"Why are you here!?" One of the other sisters asked.
"It's not personal," he explained. He gesticulated with the dagger at everyone in the room. "I need Jaune to come to me, and the easiest way to do that is to take something he thinks he cares about." He glanced around, then chuckled. "I guess it is kind of personal."
"You're going to let my daughter go, or I'm going to hurt you worse than I already planned to," Argent said, his voice full of a father's authority.
OJ scoffed. "You can't tell me what to do. You're not my father," he retorted, bored. The dagger edged closer to Journe's throat. "Besides, I think I have the leverage here."
And then Journe yanked her arm, snapping it. Roaring through the rage, she turned and yanked the dagger from OJ's hand, tossing it to the ground. At that point, Argent rushed in, slamming his shield into OJ's shoulder. The Keyblade Wielder stumbled forward, barely managing to avoid a stab from one of Jaune's sisters. He spun and slammed shoulder first into another sister, sending her tumbling backwards. He summoned his Keyblade and twirled it, a dark glow surrounding the blade. He twirled and sent the energy flying outward, slamming into Jaune's family and vaporizing furniture. Argent charged, putting himself to catch the wave with his own body before it could hit his wife and grandson. He screamed in pain and his Aura vanished in a burst of white, sending him into unconsciousness.
Marzenna Arc glared up at her son's counterpart, shielding her grandson from the intruder who had just destroyed her entire family of warriors in one attack. "Stay away!" she snapped, pulling out a large gun from some of the remaining furniture. She aimed it at OJ and the aim, even one handed in her off hand, was true. If he wasn't fast enough to deflect the bullet with his Keyblade, it would have struck him between his eyes. The explosive bullet flew into the ceiling and it tore out a chunk of the roof.
"Careful! I don't want any of my hostages to get too injured!" OJ said, rushing forward before the gun could fire again, knocking the gun from her hand with his Keyblade. He moved it again and it was pointed at her throat. "That wouldn't be good." He turned his head to glance at the eight unconscious warriors. "You know, I had been worried this would be more difficult. But you were all so surprised. You must expect me to be weak because I'm a Jaune."
"My son is strong!" Marz snapped at what OJ had implied about her.
OJ ignored her. The toddler in her arms wouldn't shut up. He twisted the Keyblade, casting a Silence spell over the child. The screams stopped immediately and the woman whirled, wondering if he'd done something terrible to it. "Better," OJ said, smirking evilly. He spun the Keyblade again, a wall appearing around the woman and child. He dropped the Keyblade to his side and cocked his head lazily to the right. "It's kind of surreal to see your face. Last time I saw it she said that... oh, what was it? 'When you fail, you can come home.' Not if, when. How your Jaune doesn't let his hate for you out is beyond me." The woman's face palled at what the man who looked like her son had said. She would have raged if she didn't believe it, spat at him. She believed her son was strong, as her response had been. But she'd been terrified into silence because she was worried about the same thing.
"Shut up. You don't know anything." OJ turned to Journe, struggling to stand with her destroyed Aura and broken arm, both sending fatigue and pain throughout her body. It was stubborn and headstrong. There was a good reason that the Journe he'd grown up with had always been his favorite, and the real Journe would likely be his favorite as well. Right now, though? Those same traits made her the worst one here. "Jaune isn't like you. He's strong; that's why I named my son after him. A good name can only help him be strong, too. It's a name you don't deserve, OJ!" She brandished the tiny dagger, reclaimed in her struggle to stand.
OJ thought briefly about killing her. She was getting on his nerves, speaking about things she didn't understand like that. It would be easy. She was weaker than him even when she was at full strength. Now? It would take a single, easy strike. Channeling all of his rage into a single Zantetsuken, a slash so fast she wouldn't even know she was dead until she was on the ground. Or perhaps twist that rage in her eyes and awaken the Darkness in her Heart, turning her into a Heartless he could set upon his enemies. Before he could decide, however, black corridors of Darkness erupted beneath Journe and her unconscious family, spiralling upward and capturing them. Journe fought down a pained scream as her broken arm was jammed into her side and she was lifted off the ground and placed near her family.
OJ smiled and tossed his Keyblade forward, creating a shielded cage around them, the chains clinking and sealing into knots to keep them stuck while the chains outside the cage vanished. Slowly, the portals closed one by one, leaving the central one to expand until it was large enough to let the cage that the Arcs floated within pass. "Good timing, Emerald," OJ said happily. He turned to the portal and watched the woman float upward out of it. "She was this close to getting killed."
The enslaved woman didn't respond, instead just staring ahead with empty, yellow eyes. "Well, we'll just have to work on your conversation skills," he remarked after an extended silence.
Journe glared at him. "What did you do to that girl?"
OJ turned his head and raised an eyebrow. "Believe me, it's an improvement. She was a terrorist and -"
Journe laughed mockingly. "Because what you're doing is better!"
OJ glared at her and shook his head. "I'm tired of this." He motioned with his hand and the cage drifted through the portal. Emerald went through it not long after, doing as she was silently commanded. OJ watched them go, then turned to Marzenna and the silently screaming child. He smirked and moved over to the couch, picking up the woman's private Scroll and placing it on the table just outside of the wall he had created. "When the wall wears off, I want you to call Jaune. Tell him to come to the place we first fought. Alone. And then I'll send them back here, unharmed."
Marzenna Arc glared at him, still shielding her grandson. "And if he doesn't," OJ continued, smirking as he did, "I'll kill them all starting with that baby's mother. And then I'll come back for you and the baby."
His smirk turned cheery. "Well, I guess this is goodbye!"
"How can you do this!?" she snapped as he turned to leave. "Isn't there any part of you that realizes this is wrong!?"
He shook his head. "Going where your Heart leads, to family and love, is more important than anything else. And if I have to do this a thousand times, I will make it to a world with Pyrrha."
Marzenna glared at him, then said with tears welling in her eyes, "I hope you find real happiness, because you will never find it following this path," she said sternly.
OJ raised his eyebrow then rolled his eyes. Waving his hand, coating it with magical energy, he dismissed the Silence spell. "Enjoy the screaming for the next eight hours. You deserve it." The little kid's screams began to echo loudly through the room, startling Marz with their suddenness. OJ laughed, then moved through the Corridor. "You definitely deserve it."
R W B Y
Qrow wasn't a huge fan of kids. Oh, he'd done well against the likes of a young Yang and precocious Ruby, but he'd been young. Stupid! Full of... well, back then copious, unhealthy amounts of alcohol and adrenaline from Ozpin's constant missions. But now he was, well, not old, per se. But he wasn't young. He was achey and tired. And sober. He couldn't forget sober. It really made all of a kid's questions... grating. Which meant that hearing Herus ask for maybe the eightieth time what Qrow's favorite comic book was was getting... old. And unlike when Ruby or Yang asked him, he didn't see Tai or Summer doing it. He saw a blonde who kept trying to look and dress like Sora, which reminded him Sora was dating Ruby, which... Well, he was done raising kids. No more, not one. He'd done his time. Fun time, to be fair, but he would not stress out about a kid dying in a fight, or getting their heart broken, or – no!
So then, why, despite having communicated a large chunk of this information to Sora, was he babysitting Herus with the kid of that damn assassin!?
"So, what's it like working for Sora?" Herus asked, the first-time-field-jitters getting to him as he asked more stupid questions. Mercury, upon hearing that one, began laughing from behind them, not even bothering to hide it while Qrow fumed.
"For the last time, I work with Sora!" Qrow snapped, causing the Keyblade apprentice to flinch. "Not work for, not work under, not assist. I work with Sora!"
"Yeah, listen to your teacher's aide," Mercury snorted from behind. Qrow elected not to murder him for it.
"I am a combat instructor!"
"A gym teacher. And everyone knows, those who can't do, teach. And those that can't teach... teach gym," Mercury pointed out, spinning his finger to emphasize his point.
Murder was looking significantly better to Qrow now. And then he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and grinned: a way to take out his frustrations. He turned and drew his scythe in its sword form in a single, fluid movement. The blade arced through the air and carved through an incoming Heartless, cleaving the attacking Neoshadow in two.
Herus was frozen, not only because the monster had been attacking him, but also because the sword had passed inches in front of him in its swing. "Move, Kid!" Qrow snapped as more Heartless appeared, accompanied by dozens of the Creatures of Grimm. Herus glanced at Qrow and nodded, turning on his heel to summon his backhanded Keyblade. The pair of thin, curved blades glinted gold in the sunlight, from the back blade an 'R' shaped eye formed the teeth of the blade. Its gaze was communicating a calm that Herus himself didn't feel at all. "Remember what I've taught you. Head on a swivel, keep focused, and never overextend. A split second between you recovering from your attack and defending from theirs can mean life or death." Then he charged off, swinging upward at a particularly angry looking Ursa, but making sure to keep an eye on the kid the entire time.
Mercury watched the kid, who was constantly glancing around at the Heartless that began to focus on him. He almost felt bad for him, but he understood what Qrow was doing. After all, Mercury's own father had been a fan of... well, to put it kindly would be to say 'sink or swim.' To put it as his father had put it, 'Win without a scratch, or you'll wish your enemy had killed you when I'm through with you.' To be fair, it had trained him enough to kill the monster at only the cost of his legs. And he doubted Qrow would let it go that far... but better to keep an eye on the kid himself, too. Just in case.
He yelped and stumbled backwards to avoid an incoming Oni's flame blade. "Maybe not that close," he muttered, embarrassed he dropped his guard that much. He stared down the large Heartless and its lackeys congregating around it. "Eh. I've faced worse odds."
Then he lunged forward at the nearest Heartless, landing a hard snap kick to the head of a Wrath that caused it to grow. But that assault was just to use as it a springboard, leaping off of its head to avoid the incoming Blizzard Blade of the Oni. The weapon hit the Wrath and froze it solid, then shattered it. Merc grinned and soared over the Oni, taking note of its red mask before landing behind it and engaging a Beowolf. He sidestepped its clumsy attack and scoffed. Fighting these things after going up against Heartless and monsters like OJ... honestly, it was embarrassingly easy. After another swipe, he decided he was bored and kicked its head clean off, the decaying snout crashing into a Ronin and knocking it off balance.
Mercury sidestepped another flaming sword from the Oni when the heat began to burn the back of his neck, alerting him to its path. He knocked an incoming Soldier into the sword's path and it vanished in a puff of smoke, even while he turned to the Oni, summoning an Aeroga around him with his momentum that sent all the other Heartless spiraling away and simply causing the larger Heartless to flinch while its mask turned green. Using his newfound space to its best extent, Mercury slammed his heel into the ground and began to pour his magic into the ground, pulling it with him as he leaped towards the Oni's head, swinging his leg around. The ground followed, a spear of stone and dirt impaling the Heartless where his leg pointed. "Terraga!" The Heartless raised its swords and attempted to deflect the blow while it tried to move out of the way, but its guard was overpowered. The spear of stone punctured its shoulder, tearing off its arm carrying the flaming sword. Mercury didn't waste time with that small victory and landed on the spear he had created, sprinting up before leaping towards the Heartless' head. "Aerora!" His wind infused heel slammed into the wheeling monster's head and he crashed straight through, the Heartless vanishing while he tumbled to the ground.
Qrow watched Herus for a moment before biting his cheek and sighing. The kid just kept dodging, blocking, and desperately avoiding attacks. He wasn't surprised. Herus, unlike Gaius and Neptunia, wasn't from Remnant. He wasn't born knowing there were monsters trying to exterminate humanity. It bred a fear you got over or died to pretty quickly. He'd grown up pretty cushy, from what Sora had told him, before the Heartless killed his parents and younger siblings. Probably why he took to the other kids so well. Knowing that he'd seen everything he needed to, Qrow decided to change his tactics. He carved off the arm of a Neoshadow, then beheaded the monster before he rushed to stand back to back with Herus.
"You know you can only dodge for so long, Kid?" he supplied when he slid to a stop.
"But you said if I overextend -"
"Oh, my God, not extending at all is just as dangerous!" Qrow pointed out, exhausted by his charge's protests. "Look, if you don't attack back, eventually something will kill you. And I don't think I get paid if you die, so could you please just attack the Shadows coming at you, and I'll deal with the rest?"
Herus sighed and steeled himself, taking a deep breath. Master Sora wouldn't be scared of a fight like this... so he'd just pretend he was Master Sora, at least until he could fight as himself. So Herus opened his eyes and charged forward, slashing downward with his Keyblade at the shadow. The creature simply melted into the ground and he stumbled over it, barely managing to catch himself in time to block another one's claws.
"Well, he isn't a natural," Mercury told Qrow when he got close, killing a pair of Soldiers that had tried to attack him from behind. "But he isn't hopeless."
Herus meanwhile continued his brawl with the weaker Grimm and Heartless, keeping his Keyblade ready behind him. He stabbed forward when a Soldier got too close, his Keyblade clattering noisily against its metallic armor, but the hit was good. The Heartless was sent stumbling backwards, and Herus' confidence grew. He followed his attack up with a downward slash and then a third hit, twisting his entire body and sending the Heartless' Heart upwards. "I did it!" he cried out before a Razorback Grimm spun into his back.
"And then you stopped watching," Qrow remarked as the boy stopped rolling at his feet. The Razorback made a loud screech and pounded the ground, more monsters congregating behind it.
Herus popped up, looking a little dazed. "I'm okay!" he shouted. "I'm okay!" He summoned the Keyblade back to his hand and shook his dazed head. "Okay, now..."
"Back to the fight!" Mercury shouted, pointing at the Boarbatusk once more spinning towards them.
"Right!" Herus acknowledged, turning and raising his Keyblade. The natural Reflect wall it produced sent the Grimm ricocheting upward and away from the fight. Herus charged forward when he recovered, swinging the golden weapon upward and sending a blade of Aero magic at a Shadow, then slashed again while it was stunned, destroying it. He jumped forward in a roll, avoiding a Soldier's spinning attack that had been coming from his right, then slashed at and killed a minor Beowolf that popped up in his path. He turned to the rest of the Heartless and Grimm, then glanced up and grinned. He charged the monsters and leaped into the air, landing on top of an Ursa's shoulders. It stood up straight in an effort to throw him off, but he simply used that momentum to soar higher into the air.
Right at the incoming, spinning, plummeting Boarbatusk. Herus raised his Keyblade above him in a two handed fore grip, and brought its flat down on the Grimm. The monster squealed as it was sent rocketing towards the ground like a comet, crashing into the Heartless and Grimm below and vaporizing them instantly. Black Dust and crystal Hearts drifted towards the sky as he fell to the ground, landing next to Mercury and Qrow with a force only a Keyblade Wielder could survive. Right on his face.
"Did ya see that!?" he shouted, surging to his feet and throwing his fists above his head. "I did it!"
"Not bad, Kid," Qrow said approvingly.
Mercury was about to chime in, but caught sight of something in the distance. Green hair and dark skin. "Time to head back," Qrow commanded as he sheathed his weapon on his back. "Maybe Sora will give you a reward for your first successful mission." Herus' eyes widened and brightened with excitement.
"You head back without me," Mercury said coolly, eyes still fixed on the figure in the distance. "I, uh... I don't feel like hanging out around Sora and a bunch of kids."
"Hey!" Herus exclaimed angrily.
Qrow, though, chuckled. "I understand that. I'd stay out if I could, but the old ball and chain wants dinner tonight." He grinned lecherously. "But I think that's as far as I'll go in front of a kid..."
"Too much information, Man," Mercury muttered, glancing towards the Huntsman. He began walking towards Em, who had yet to vanish. Was that a sign of a problem? No, better not think about that. "Tell Jaune and Yang I said hey."
Qrow watched the kid go and moved to say something, but looked over at Herus' wide eyes. He had to get the kid home, even if Mercury was planning to do something stupid. Mercury wasn't his student after all. But he still had to offer the guy advice. "Just get out of there if anything happens," he ordered coolly. "Anything."
"Okay, Dad," Mercury waved him off. "I'll be home by curfew, jeez."
Qrow groaned. "I hate kids..."
R W B Y
"You know, I've been wondering what this fight would be like for a while," Yang said, grinning and slamming her fists together as she matched her gaze with her opponent's.
Tifa crossed her arms and grinned back at Yang. "Oh, you aren't the only one," she agreed, an edge of excitement in her voice. "I've wondered if I can measure up to you. Everything I learned about fighting has got me wondering if I can brawl with the best."
"Stop, you'll make me blush," Yang joked. She clenched her fists and slid her legs into a fighting stance, Tifa doing the same. And then the fight began, and she charged Tifa. Tifa grinned wildly and charged as well, both of them lashing out with their right fists. Force exploded between them, whipping their hair wildly in the resulting wind. Their left fists came around and crashed into each other, sending another pressure wave from the point of contact.
"Nice, you can hit hard!" Yang noted. "But can you change it up?" She opened her fist and slapped Tifa's arm to the side, grabbing hold of her wrist to hold her in place. Yang's knee came up and slammed into Tifa's own raised shin.
"Duh!" Tifa snapped, then slammed her head into Yang's, stunning the blonde and forcing her to stumble back. Tifa charged Yang again, slamming a powerful kick into Yang's side that would have sent anyone else flying out of the ring. Yang stumbled to the side and narrowed her eyes; her natural resilience and the strength of her flexing muscles kept the blow from taking her breath away. Thankfully, that same blow was now fueling her Semblance. With a roar, Yang slammed her foot down, then lashed out with her left fist. Tifa dodged the attack, but it wasn't meant for her. Terra magic shot upward, creating a massive block of stone that streaked towards Tifa. She snarled and dove to the side, avoiding the small, house sized block and tolling to her feet.
Tifa lashed out at her flaming opponent with a blast of Blizzard Magic. The spell crashed into Yang and evaporated into a blast of steam, obscuring the arena from view. Tifa used the mist to hide herself from Yang, whose eyes had instinctively shut from the explosion happening in her face, and slammed her leg into the back of Yang's knees. The blonde yeped and fell to the ground on her hands, springing forward with her momentum to flip back to her feet while Tifa slammed her fist down on empty stone, shattering the ground.
"Nice try!" Yang growled as she turned around. She shot a Firaga from the base of her foot and flew forward, throwing a haymaker at Tifa that was going too fast for the girl to dodge, forcing her to cross her arms and simply take the brunt of the blow. Tifa grunted in pain and was sent sliding backwards across the arena, her feet leaving behind tracks from where the stone had been cut away by her movement. Yang hit the ground in a three point stance, and used the remaining momentum to throw herself forward again, lashing out at Tifa with punches that would end the fight if they landed. But Tifa wasn't going to let those attacks hit her, not after the blow she'd just taken had made her bones creak. She slapped a blow past her and ducked beneath another, landing a blow on Yang's side that barely made her flinch. Another on the other side before Yang could land a hit and the flinch was harder. Hard enough for Tifa to spin around Yang at least.
But Yang was fast on recovery, and delivered a back kick before Tifa could recover her stance. Tifa clutched at her gut and gasped, stunned, until Yang turned and slammed her fist into Tifa's face, sending her at the stone block. Tifa forced herself to recover and spun, aiming her feet at the block. She hit it hard, feet shattering stone as she crouched into a three point stance and glared at Yang. She set her feet again before gravity could take her, and leaped towards Yang. The blonde tried to bring her fist around to hit Tifa before she could get close, but the brunette was past her guard before it could happen, hand on Yang's face and slamming her into the ground, dragging her until all momentum was gone, at which point Tifa flipped off and landed ready to fight again.
Yang groaned for a moment. "Okay, she's pretty good," she told herself before placing her hands next to her head. She leaned towards them, then shoved and flipped up to her feet, spinning in the air to face Tifa. "But I'm better." She rushed Tifa and they traded blows again. Yang's fist soared over Tifa, and the other girl countered with a punch towards Yang's head. Yang's arm came around, blocking the attack and causing Tifa to rebound slightly, leaving her open. She threw herself into a roll before Yang could retaliate, then swung her leg around at the back of Yang's legs again. She was ready this time and jumped over them, lashing out and launching a Fira at Tifa's head. Tifa slammed her own uppercut into the attack, a small reflect field sending it rocketing upward, and Yang had to jump back to avoid it herself. The fireball twirled upward, eventually exploding in the air above them in a way that caused the crowd to 'ooh' and 'aah!'
Realizing a full on frontal attack was pointless, Yang knew she had to come up with another plan. Sure, she hadn't been lying when she said it was Jaune's specialty, but she wasn't an idiot. So, she did the first thing that came to mind. "That's it, gloves are off!" She shouted, eyes flickering a deep, ruby red. Yang slammed her fists together and summoned a pillar of flame around her, leaving nothing but a human shaped glow within.
Tifa growled, recognizing this from one of Yang's stories she'd told over the past month. She had to get close before Yang's fire magic got any stronger. She charged forward, leaping and delivering a powerful kick to the flames, lacing it with Blizzard magic that froze the flames solid. But Tifa's kick didn't hit anything but flames.
"Like I said, I'm better!" Yang shouted, coming out from around the frozen flames before Tifa could land and recover, swinging her fist around and into Tifa's face. Tifa's lights went out and she soared across the arena, tumbling across the ground and coming to a stop, unconscious, at the edge. Yang panted heavily where she stood, fist still clenched. The shockwave of her blow had shattered the ice pillar beside her, leaving finely powdered snow drifting down around the arena. Yang stood up straight and clenched her fist in victory. "But you were pretty good. Close second isn't bad."
She blinked as she realized that Tifa was still unconscious. "Crap!" She shouted, a Cure spell already in hand. "You didn't hear my gloating!"
R W B Y
Yang had been excited ever since her win against Tifa. It hadn't been easy, but the best fights never were. She didn't want to have another boring battle like with that Kravgi guy. She was in another league than him, now. Even Jaune had been excited for her, even with as depressed as he was by his own fight. He'd been excited about her shows of power and skill. And he'd loved her feint. Yang knew she was going to get a big head from that.
But he'd also been a little... off. Ever since he'd lost his fight with Zaraki, he'd been quiet and introspective. Not nearly enough stuttering and anxiety from him. So she'd decided to distract him until he was ready to talk about whatever was wrong. And the day had more than enough news in that regard, especially when they had spent some extra time with all their friends from off world. But they had all been called away by other duties. Yui had forced Kirito to feed her. Cloud and Tifa went of to... something? Ichigo and Rukia had needed to meet up with Kisuka; apparently some news was beginning to come in from their home. And when they'd seen Qrow earlier... Nothing had happened yet, but it sounded like they needed to be ready when they went home.
So now, it was just the two of them, sitting alone outside of a cafe. "I don't think I've ever seen your uncle look more terrified, but also excited," Jaune remarked with a laugh. "I mean... what do you think? Big wedding, or eloping?"
"Oh, it's going to be huge. So many people. A Schnee wedding?" Yang asked. She laughed and slammed her fist into the table. "And it's going to have to be soon. Or else... well, it'd be way too big a scandal for her to be showing before they're married."
"Can you imagine Weiss' reaction to just knowing she's pregnant at all?" Jaune pointed out, snickering despite his attempts not to. "I mean... I bet Winter gave her so many talks about 'ruffians taking advantage' that she'll make fun of Winter for ages!"
"I hope so. Both of them could use a sense of humor about it. About anything, actually," Yang noted. She grinned wider. "But I'm excited! I finally get to be Aunt Yang!"
"Well, Cousi -"
She shot forward, her face inches from his own. "Aunt Yang."
He blinked and slowly leaned back. "Uh r-right! Aunt Yang!" he agreed placatingly. He put his hands up. "Auntie Yang, that has got quite the ring to it!"
Yang, satisfied by his agreement, leaned back and nodded in approval. "But won't you be an actual Aunt if – if, uh..." Jaune trailed off, deciding it would be significantly healthier not to continue this avenue of discussion. "Weiss or Blake! Yeah, if they have kids? I mean, you wouldn't be those kids cousin by blood! You're basically Weiss and Blake's sister, so..."
The glare he got was significantly better than mentioning the possibility that Ruby could one day have children. Children resulted from things Yang threatened Sora about, and the mention of it had a tendency to set her entire family off. And apparently it set Ruby off if the target was her own sister. "What a family you have," Jaune said as diplomatically as possible.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" she asked quietly. Threateningly.
"Heh... I, uh... You guys are really cool!" Jaune said, this time earnest in his words. And terrified. Earnest and terrified. "You'll love being an aunt, too! If it's like being an uncle, it's the best!"
Yang's face warmed into a content smile. "Then judging by your stupid face when you see Jaune, I'm more excited than ever," she said, grabbing his hand. "I mean, it's a cute stupid face."
Jaune grinned at her and began to reply, but stopped when his Scroll began ringing. He pulled it out and stood up. "It's my mom. I'll be back in a second," he said, moving away from the shop. Yang watched him for a while. He tried to hide it, but he was a terrible liar. To her at least. She could see that something was wrong in the way his shoulders tensed and his grip on his Scroll tightened. When the call ended, he put his Scroll away and took a heavy breath. So when he turned around, his face was even.
"Hey, uh, something came up. Mom, uh, Journe – I need to babysit Jaune. I'm going to, uh... See ya," he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and ran off.
Yang narrowed her eyes. Something else was going on here...
Twenty minutes later, Jaune was charging towards the Gummi Hangar on his own. He'd stopped off to pick up potions, ethers, and more things he would need for what he was about to do. Alone. He had also checked his Scroll and took out the Gummi piece that would let him be tracked by Sora and the others. He'd left a note for Yang to find, because he had to. His Heart wouldn't let him do otherwise. And if she found it, or someone else did... Well, they'd come after him eventually. He was in a corner, but he wasn't an idiot.
Of course, when he found Yang outside of the Gummi Hangar, he realized he wasn't exactly surprised. She knew him better than himself, at least that's what it seemed like ever since they'd started their journey. And he knew he couldn't get into the door she was leaning beside without causing huge problems. "Yang, get out of my way. Please," he asked her as he shouldered his bag.
She uncrossed her arms and shook her head. "Come on, Sunshine, we both know that isn't happening," she responded simply. Her lilac eyes narrowed on him. "Now, are you going to tell me what's going on? We promised each other we'd talk when we needed to, and you need to."
Jaune glared at her, but he couldn't deny that she was right. So, with a heavy sigh, he dropped his pack to the ground, staring at it. His hair hid his face from Yang; he didn't want to cry in front of her. "Yang... he has them."
Yang moved up and grabbed his shoulder. "What do you mean, Sunshine?"
He glanced further down. "OJ, Yang. OJ has my family. He made my mom call and said if I don't come to save them... he'll kill all of them then come back for her and Jaune."
Yang's eyes widened and she pulled him immediately into a hug. "Oh, God," she suppplied, holding his head into her shoulder. He didn't want to accept it at first, but soon clutched her tight and began to sob. "Jaune... It's going to be okay."
"No, Yang, it's not!" he said as he continued to sob. "He... he took them to get to me! He has them because he used my face to get close! I have to go after him!"
Yang pushed him to arm's length and furrowed her brow. "Then we go. We take Sora and -"
"Alone, Yang," he said, pushing her away completely. "He... he said alone or he kills them anyways."
Yang put her hands in her pockets and looked towards the hangar. "I... I'm so sorry, Sunshine..." she said quietly. She turned back to him, wiping his face and steeling himself. "... But you can't go alone. You aren't thinking clearly like this, and he's definitely going to try to ambush you! This is a trap!"
"I know!" he shouted back at her. "But what's my alternative? Letting them die!?"
She grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight, stopping his growl in its tracks. "I'm going with you, Jaune. No arguments allowed."
He stared into her eyes, trying to come up with a reason to say no. "Fine..." he agreed, blushing at the feeling within her gaze.
Yang smiled and nodded. "What did he tell you to bring?" she asked, letting go so she could pick up his bag. She opened it and began rifling through it.
"Me and only me," he explained. He looked to the side. "The Relics... he must not think I can get them."
"Then he's an idiot," she said, shutting his bag. "And we're lucky. We'll go, beat him up, and get your family. Easy peasy."
"I think there's more to it than that," Jaune suggested dryly. Then he smiled and grabbed her hand again. "Thank you."
Yang stared at him, eyebrow raised, then gave him a dazzling grin. "You couldn't keep me away," she suggested, squeezing his hand back. Then: "Dibs on flying! Which reminds me, where we going?"
"The first place that we fought him," Jaune explained as he gazed up at the ship.
Yang groaned. "Why does it seem like everything always goes back to the Keyblade Graveyard?"
Jaune chuckled joylessly. "Yeah... every time."
R W B Y
Jaune and Yang had just managed to make into the empty Darkness between worlds, and Jaune hadn't said a word. He'd just kept checking he had things in his pack, then summoning his Kingdom Key and looking it over. He kept nodding to himself while he tried to come up with a plan of attack that could give him the upper hand, but would quickly shake his head when he realized it was something at OJ would be able to figure out quickly given how similar their minds were. In fact, the only benefit to his dour mood was that he hadn't been incessantly complaining about Yang's ability to fly a Gummi Ship. He was too focused on his worry and trying to find a way out of the entire situation to let it ruin his day.
But Yang wished he would brighten up a little, surrounded as they were by the entire universe. It was beautiful, and... "We've explored for so long, but we've barely seen anything," Yang said as she caught sight of worlds they had seen before but never visited. Worlds with ice walls or massive cathedrals. It was amazing.
Jaune looked up and his eyes softened. "We will," she said adamantly. "You and me, we'll see all of them one day. I make big promises, eh, Sunshine?" Yang supplied winking at him.
Jaune couldn't help but smile at her, but it quickly disappeared. "Only if we beat OJ," he pointed out, mood souring once again. "Otherwise... there might not be anything here to see."
"No, no, Sunshine. Not if," she began to berate him. "When. After all, he can't get to the relics now, and he never will."
Jaune smiled again at her optimism. "Yeah, maybe you're right," he agreed. He dismissed the Kingdom Key. "And... and we'll save my family, too."
"Duh. You know, I was worried you were having a blonde moment, being dumb enough to worry like that," Yang supplied jokingly, getting Jaune to full blown laugh now. "And who knows, maybe -"
She didn't get a chance to finish, as something slammed into them. The Gummi Ship twirled out of control through space for a moment, warning sirens blaring in the cockpit even after Yang managed to wrestle it back under her control. "What the hell was that!?" she snapped while Jaune turned to a radar and weapon station.
"It looks like we were hit by one thing. Small, and – It's coming in again!"
And Yang saw it was. A silver streak shooting towards them. Yang snarled and forced the engines into full gear, shooting out of the thing's path. "Get a lock on it and I'll take evasive action!" she ordered, but Jaune had already begun. "I can't believe we haven't had to do anything like this yet!"
"Maybe there weren't enough Gummi Heartless yet," he suggested while trying to get a lock on the silver streak's head, where whatever was controlling it would be. He fired a volley from the turrets and white dots flew through space into its path. The thing spun around in a corkscrew, passing through the stream effortlessly, and continued its pursuit. Jaune grimaced and kept it in his sights while zooming in on the screen. His eyes widened. "That's –!"
The streak shot forward again, deflecting his next volley from the turret with a massive, spinning spear of gold. The silver, blocky wings on his back propelled him faster than even the Gummi Ship could manage, damaged as it was by his assault. "OJ!" Jaune snarled before unleashing a locked missile. The spear spun again and slashed to the side, slapping it away to tumble and explode in the distance. He closed in faster and crashed into the ship once more, shredding its wing and a directional booster with his spear before coming to an immediate stop in front of the ship. He turned, hood up to keep him safe from the Darkness pervading the space between worlds. But even through that, Jaune could tell he was mocking them. Laughing. He spun the spear in his hand and Jaune finally recognized it. Sure, the teeth of the Kingdom Key were present on the blade, but otherwise it was an exact replica. Milou, Pyrrha's weapon, in its spear form.
"See, Jaune? Trap, just like I told you!" Yang growled while trying to maneuver the crippled ship. She slammed a button and the wings ejected, revealing smaller ones beneath them. But more importantly, another smaller, weaker booster. She engaged them at full throttle and turned towards Remnant. "We need to get out of here."
But OJ was already in front of them, trailing silver light from his wings shaped like the basket of the Kingdom Key. He twirled the spear once more, and it slowly transformed into a large, powerful rifle. It fired twice before the ship could move, destroying the boosters. He streaked behind them and destroyed the normal engines before lazily drifting in front of them once more. Yang was frozen, enraged at how little she could do now. "Jaune... plan," she hissed out nervously.
Jaune just stared at the rifle slowly drifting up to them. Plan? He ran through a thousand ideas in those seconds that felt like hours. And all plans had one glaring, horrible possibility that he couldn't live with, even if they did beat OJ by some miracle.
There was a good chance Yang could die. And he finally realized exactly what that would do to him, and what he felt. No, what filled his Heart whenever they were together. Not a feeling, but more. It was... a part of who he was, now.
So he instead went with a plan that would never let them beat OJ. He slammed his fist onto his Keyblade Armor pauldron, then threw his hand at Yang. She turned in surprise as a glowing, white light exploded around her body. "Jaune?"
And then the rifle fired, and the cockpit exploded around them. Jaune's words were audible for the briefest moment before the Light and oxygen keeping them safe vanished, pulled into the void of Darkness: "I love you."
Jaune gasped as that air was pulled from his own body, leaving him drifting away from a Keyblade Armor clad Yang. She reached out for him, their fingers brushing for a moment. Her head bobbed up and down; she was screaming something at him. He didn't have to hear it to know that much. She was probably telling him he was an idiot, or asking why he had done that, or... or maybe even telling him the same thing he had told her. He just smiled at her... and shoved her away, the Light guarding him from the Darkness slowly fading, even as OJ grabbed him, then shot away at full speed...
Yang watched him go, hoarse from screaming at Jaune. Obscenities, begging, promises, threats. She'd screamed them all. But as she drifted away, the only thing keeping her safe from the Darkness also the only thing Jaune could have used to defend himself, her hoarse voice died on her lips. He was gone, stolen away. The cold emptiness began to creep in on her. Just her and the Darkness. Her and the silence. Her and no one else. Her... and no Jaune. She clenched her fists as she glared in the direction the silver streak had taken him and screamed again, flames appearing around the armor and burning away the Darkness. She kept screaming, kept channeling her rage, kept burning with a flame like a sun. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" she screamed harder, tightening her fists and curling up. The flames grew brighter and brighter until, finally, she had been drained entirely of energy. The flames sputtered and died, cutting out completely like a candle smothered by the wind's movement. The Darkness stayed away from the patch of Light she had formed for a moment, then swarmed in again and the cold returned.
Still staring after OJ and Jaune, Yang felt her eyelids grow heavy even while tears began to blur her vision. "J-Jaune..." she sobbed. "I... love you... too..." And her eyes shut entirely. She slept, adrift in the Darkness of the space between worlds, nothing but a tiny, flashing, red light in the nearby wreckage to keep watch over her, and her Darkness induced nightmares of what OJ would do to Jaune to break through her mind and leave her quaking with rage and fear in her sleep.
AN: Well, here we go, entering into the final lap of this story, so to speak. OJ has Emerald and Morrigan on his side, Yang is lost and alone, and Jaune and his family are in the clutches of the madman himself. Suffice to say, it's looking bleak, isn't it? After this, we have a 'breather' chapter, then full force into the final battles!
Anyways, I'm sorry it's been a little while. I hope you all had a good November. For the other Americans, Happy Belated Thanksgiving! And now it's December. Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah, even though those are both still two weeks away. Probably not going to be another chapter before then, but you never know. Sometimes they come fast and I bust out two in as many weeks, other times it's once a month.
Anyways, time for some responses:
To Gamelover41592: I hope you enjoyed the second half of the Tournament, too. I'm excited for what comes next, and I hope you like it even more!
To Chretner: I'm glad the last line of the last chapter was that funny! It certainly felt that way when I was writing it, but I know my sense of humor is hit or miss. In my personal life it's about fifty-fifty. I'm sorry about your D&D, but those are some cool ideas! Ansem-Style Heartless have a great Backstory built in, since it (at least used to be) hinted that Ansem was only sapient because he took his own Heart to become a Heartless. And there's definitely nothing better than a PC turned BBEG. After all, most PCs are an inch-and-a-half away from BBEG already... Anyways, good evening, I guess? (Posted 6AM UTC)
Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you as soon as I can!