Chapter 38: Bifurcation of a Heart

Jaune rushed his counterpart, moving faster than he usually could with the Keychain maximizing his speed. It was just enough to let him match OJ's swift movements, bringing his weapon around and over the lip of his opponent's. OJ snarled and dashed back, avoiding the attack that came faster than he had expected. Jaune continued with his momentum, chasing OJ down before he had a chance to fully recover. Their Keyblades slammed into each other, gold and silver blades sparking as their wielders pushed against one another. Jaune snarled and shoved, but it did nothing. His feet slid behind him while OJ just stared at him impassively. Like it was useless. Jaune growled and shoved as hard as he could, failing to make his opponent budge even an inch. Then OJ shoved his Keyblade forward, and Jaune yelped as he was sent rolling backwards, the little effort behind the force overwhelming his strength completely. He slammed Animal Accord's teeth into the roof and used it to catapult up to his feet.

OJ rolled his eyes and refused to move, simply raising his Keyblade up in one hand defensively. "That Keychain won't work against me again."

"I'm more than my Keychain. I have my Semblance!" Jaune retorted. He tensed his legs. "I can block your attacks!"

OJ let his weapon drift to his side. "So, you figured it out," OJ muttered. Then he rushed forward at the same speed Jaune had. Jaune growled and brought his Keyblade up, channeling his Aura into it just as OJ did the same with to his own Keyblade. The weapons crashed into one another and, just as Jaune had said, OJ's did not phase through Jaune's. Both grunted as their Auras clashed and drained suddenly, emptying as they tried and failed to supply energy to the Semblances. OJ snarled. "Guess I'll have to break your guard the old fashioned way, then!" He shoved harder, and Jaune's arms crumpled. OJ's weapon slammed into his gut and Jaune doubled over, just in time for his head to get in the way of OJ's knee that came up and into his temple.

Jaune spun, and the world around him did so even more. Stars shined in his swirling vision until it slowly cleared. He didn't have much time, and so forced himself to dodge rather than block. Just because his Keyblade could block OJ's didn't mean Jaune could, so dodging it was. With how fast he was now, he just managed it. He swung his Keyblade at OJ's legs, but his counterpart jumped over the attack and slammed his foot into Jaune's face. Jaune flew backwards, Keyblade tumbling from his hand and onto the roof beside OJ's feet.

OJ turned to the Keyblade and scoffed. "Relying on others to give you any measure of real power. You're a disappointment, Jaune." He leaned down and picked up Animal Accord, looking it over for a moment while Jaune struggled to his feet. "You don't need crutches!" He tore the Keychain from the Keyblade's base, and the weapon vanished, reappearing as the Kingdom Key in Jaune's hand. Jaune's eyes widened as OJ threw the Keychain on the ground. "And I'll show you that." OJ raised the Kingdom Key D above his head, summoning a sphere of Darkness to its tip, and brought it down just as Jaune had once done to Ozpin's Keychain. The source of power exploded, and Jaune felt the oppressive weight of Darkness on him.

He blinked, and he was once more in Zootopia. He saw the shadow growing around Judy, swallowing her up in her own Darkness given form. The massive claws dug into the cement and energy sparked from her shadow as she approached him and Nick. "Carrots!" Nick shouted, terrified for her more than himself. "Carrots, it's me!" She kept prowling towards them, eyes bright yellow with Darkness. Her own.

Jaune blinked again and he was back in the present, watching a disappointed OJ bring his Keyblade up again. "That was important to me!" Jaune snaled. He reached into his pocket and yanked out another Keychain, slamming it into place. The Keyblade flashed gray and red, and reappeared as Fenrir. If speed wasn't the answer, he'd just have to hope brute force could do it. He leaped forward and brought the Keyblade down, the force of his blow causing the ceiling below OJ to dent inwards. OJ gasped in surprise, arms shaking as he struggled to hold Jaune back. "You'll pay for that!"

"That's more like it!" OJ laughed. The ceiling beneath his feet gave way and the two tumbled inside, slamming into the room not far from one another. Jaune recovered first, scrambling off the couch he had crashed upon and summoning Fenrir back into his hand. OJ shook his dazed head and yelped, rolling to the side to avoid the weapon before it crushed his skull. He came up to his feet and the Kingdom Key D appeared in his right hand with a flash of Light and Dark.

The two cautiously circled one another for a moment, then Jaune dodged to the left, kicking a table up at OJ. OJ brought his Keyblade up, carving it in two pieces that shattered the windows they hit. The wind blew in and hit threw Jaune off balance, just in time for OJ to use the wind to rush forward. Jaune growled and twisted his Keyblade, trying to block the incoming attack. The Keyblade scraped past his defenses, moving too fast for him to do anything against. Fenrir's tip clanged against the attack, redirecting it just enough to keep him from suffering a more painful blow. But it did hit him, and he stumbled to the side, swinging his Keyblade wildly to keep OJ from getting too close. It worked, and OJ was forced to back off a step while Jaune recovered.

But that was what OJ needed. With some room, he was able to come up with a plan of attack. He charged to the right, leaping into the air and bouncing off of the wall, hitting the ground rolling to his feet behind Jaune before he could even react. OJ brought his Keyblade over his left shoulder and swung at Jaune's back just as he began to turn, and the Keyblade shattered the white armor across Jaune's chest. Metal flew into the air as Jaune was sent spinning forward, crashing into the metal that had once been between two window panes. His head smacked into the metal pole and he fell forward, dazed and injured on his chest. He could barely think, vision tunneling and mind darkening. "Have to... stay awake..."

OJ walked up to him and placed his foot on Jaune's wrist. Jaune yelped in pain and the tunnel vision vanished, just as OJ reached down and grabbed the Keychain from Fenrir, causing it to appear as the Kingdom Key once again. He pulled the silver coin up and stared at it, eyes meeting those of the wolf. "... Worthless. You're relying on things that make you worthless!" His fist clenched around the Keychain, and it exploded.

Jaune was on the floor, staring up at the only thing in the world that was happening. Zack was on the ground nearby. Dead? Unconscious? He wasn't sure. Either way, he was responsive. Cloud was standing alone against the most powerful person in his world. Cloud stumbled backwards with every step Sephiroth took forward, each of his attacks causing Cloud's arms to shudder and shake with pain. But he kept standing, kept fighting. He fought back despite the fact it was hopeless, that his Darkness in the form of another person was stronger than him. And, Jaune remembered, he would win.

Jaune snarled and tried to stand up, freezing when he looked out of the destroyed windows. The arena was about to crash into the tower. And then it did, and everything was chaos.

R W B Y

The first thing the Demon Tides had done was to separate their opponents, diving into the doorway and spreading them apart from one another so they couldn't work together. After all, a horder of Shadow Heartless was still only as brave as the bravest Shadow there, and the tiny things would prefer to fight a few rather than many. And so, when that wave of tiny creatures flooded over them, all anyone in the group could do was to grab on to those they wanted most to stay with. Ren and Nora grabbed one another, the Light that connected them keeping them safe even under the swarm. Cloud and Tifa had experienced worse and been tossed to fate by it; they wouldn't let it happen again. Ichigo and Rukia had died and come back for one another, this was nothing. And Kirito wouldn't let anyone hurt his daughter, never again.

Ren and Nora were spit out with only one another, surrounded by a swirling wall of solid Heartless keeping them in a circle and separated from the others. Nora and Ren stood up and looked at one another. "No problem," he said confidently.

Nora laughed. "Pfft! Compared to what we've fought before, this is nothing!" Nora agreed. She hefted her hammer over her shoulder and began bouncing up and down. "We're going to destroy them!" She twirled her hammer to the ground and hopped on its head just before firing the grenade launcher soared into the air, bringing the hammer around at the wall of Heartless. She crushed a group of Shadows, but her hammer mostly passed through the Demon Tide's combined form. Ren jumped up as she began to fall, landing effortlessly on the head of her hammer. She swung forward again and he was sent soaring. Ren flipped and aimed his guns down at the swirling mass. His eyes narrowed and he turned one to his side, creating a Firaga that sent him to the side, the sudden red eyed stream just passing by him. He turned his head with it, catching sight of a similarly glowing core within the horde.

"Nora, the core!" he shouted down to her as he turned his falling body to fire at the core. Dust and magic peppered the energy holding the Shadows together, causing Darkness to fly off the Heartless and the swirling mass at the head of the Tide to swirl and thrash about angrily. It whirled on the falling Huntsman and rushed him again, only for a tiny woman with a big hammer to fly up between them, She slammed her hammer into its core as it got close, an explosion crashing into the core and sending it flying upward. Nora grinned at her partner and gabbed hold of him, swinging him up onto her shoulders. Her hammer turned into a grenade launcher, and the two of them aimed together at the Heartless. Electicity and Wind magic began to swirl in front of them, then shot in a single, solid beam up at the Demon Tide's core, slamming into the sphere. The mass of Heartless writhed angrily, screeching in rage and pain as the spells burned through it. But it wouldn't fall.

Nearby, Cloud and Tifa had been fighting their own Demon Tide. They had been tossed out and surrounded near the cliff at the edge of Beacon, accompanied by an annoyed swordsman with wings. "How is it that everything is always like this when Dumb and Dumber are involved?" Kirito hissed as he summoned his ethereal wings to his back and flapped them, rising slightly off of the ground. "Do I always have to be saving their patooties?"

"It's only fair. After all, they've done the same for each of us," Cloud pointed out as he readied himself to Kirito's right.

"I say we ditch them!" Yui snapped, pushing her way out of Kirito's hair. "Who cares about fair!?"

"Yui!" Kirito groaned disapprovingly. "We are helping young lady, I will have none of this bull pootie about not helping!"

The river of Heartless suddenly began to shake, agitated ad hungry, and it charged tthem at full speed. Kirito looked up and snarled. "Let's worry about this later, Yui!"

"Ready to handle this, Cloud?" Tifa asked as she stepped forward.

He shouldered his weapon and also moved in front of Kirito. "We hit it up and the annoying girl hits it high?"

Kirito flinched and nearly stabbed his blade through the spiky blonde's chest. If he hadn't become friends with Yang and Jaune, he probably would have been unable to resist that urge. "I'm a guy," he growled. "But the plan's good with me." Then he shot upward, the wind buffeting his new team mates as he soared upward.

"We can handle this thing, right?"

"Now that it's gotten us out of that building? Yes," Cloud replied simply. He nodded at her. "With the two of us together, I don't doubt it." Then he shot towards the incoming wave of Heartless, he and Tifa trusting the other to keep safe. He brought the flat of his massive, combined weapon up and slammed it at an angle into the tendrils of Heartless that were lashing out. An Aura of Light surrounded him, sparking from Tifa's Heart before being echoed by his own. The Heartless pushed against the glow spreading across Cloud's body, the overwhelming force slowly pushing him backwards towards the cliff's edge. "... Tifa!?"

She rushed up beside him, appearing as if out of thin air. "Come on, you know I'll keep you safe, Cloud," she said, bringing her leg back up then swinging it into the glowing core pushing against Cloud, blazing flames trailing from her heel and toes. The spell exploded and the Demon Core faltered for a moment, flinching upward just enough for Cloud and Tifa to spin back to back, setting their back feet. Tifa winked at Cloud and grabbed hold of the sword's handle with him. "Like you said, the two of us together. I don't doubt it either." The core recovered from Tifa's blow and spun around, gaining momentum before it shot straight at the pair. Tifa and Cloud shared a smile, then leaped at the core. The Light around them glowed brighter and began to mix, running inside of Cloud's blade until a brilliant glow shined through the faults between the component blades. The massive weapon came up and slammed into the Demon Tide once more, and the Light within overcame the mass of monsters ability to resist the strength of the two humans, sending it spiraling into the sky.

Kirito, flying above, was muttering to himself. "Calling me a girl! Tons of guys have high pitched voices when they're young, it's common. COMMON, YUI!" he screamed, his voice capable of shattering glass when it broke. Yui was feeding his rage and nodding along with his ranting as he let himself get angrier and angrier. Black Lightning began to swirl around the edge of his sword, shooting into the sky all around him. He screamed at the Heartless and shot down, flying between incoming, deadly tendrils the Tide was sending his way. He carved through one and dodged another, then bounced off another with the flat of his blade as he approached the Demon Core. His gaze fixed on the glowing sphere covered with writhing Heartless, he added in a scream that did shatter glass, "But I can't kill him, I can only kill YOU!" And he slammed his Dark Thundaga covered weapon into the sphere. The Demon Tide's entire form shook with pain and rage as the heart of the Heartless was sent flying tot he side, damaged but not destroyed.

Ichigo and Rukia vanished and reappeared throughout the air, constantly dodging the Demon Tide that had sent them away from the others, backed up against a wall of the school. A school that Ichigo, the 'King of Collateral Damage' given his fighting style consisted of shooting massive blades of energy in every direction, distinctly remembered Jaune had said had just been repaired. He'd rather not be the reason it needed to be fixed again.

"Are you going to start fighting, Ichigo, or are you just going to stand there looking all anxious!?" Rukia snapped at him. "Focus!"

"Focus? Rukia, I'm focused on not destroying a school!" he snapped back. The Heartless swirled and shot at them, slamming into the ground when they vanished. It passed into the stone and shot upward before whirling on their new location with a red glow. "Well, not again, at least..."

"Sounds like you just aren't trying to me," Rukia harrumphed. She twisted around the incoming attack and jammed her sword into the mass as it passed her. A wave of ice shot through it, jumping from Heartless to Heartless until they tumbled to the ground below, shattering and dying. But the Tide kept going, undeterred by the loss of some of its components. Ichigo growled as it spun around at the tiny being who had stabbed it, coiling like a snake.

"And it looks like you're just trying to force me to do something," Ichigo growled. He launched himself faster than the eye could see, appearing beside Rukia in a blink of an eye. "Some people might call you a jerk, Midget." He glanced around, catching sight of the Core as it moved, its path getting ready to take it away from the school. "But you do make it easier to see what I'm looking for."

"Say when, she said, readying her sword over her shoulder.

"When!" he shouted immediately, and he swung his sword in the path of the Demon Tide's core while Rukia stabbed forward. A blade of white energy and a wave of ice shot towards the core, freezing and annihilating Shadows as they carved a path forward. The attacks slammed into the core and every Heartless in the Demon Tide screamed at once, rattling the air itself as the energy pushed against the core and threatened to pop it. Eventually, the core managed to roll out of the way, trailing barely enough Heartless to stay together. Ichigo and Rukia rushed towards it, prepared to end things, when the other Demon Tides rushed towards it, slamming into them and sending them tumbling to the ground, shattering stone at the feet of the others. The Demon Tides subsumed the injured core, then turned on one another. The sky began to grow darker, and the orange glow of the Demon Tide slowly gave way to a bloody red. Ren looked past the growing mass of Heartless towards the source of the shadow – the Arena, slamming into the upper layers of Beacon Academy. Stone fell but was destroyed, turned to dust by the mass of Heartless that it came near.

And then Heartless stopped moving, and tornado like tendrils slammed into the ground, spinning in every direction and writhing with Heartless. "What's bigger than a Tide?" Nora muttered, her eyes locked on the blood red, Heart shaped crystal at the center of the mass slowly blanketing the sky above them.

"A Demon Sky," Ren stated, a cold fear running down his spine. He and the others slowly raised their weapons, preparing to defend themselves from the Demon Tower-like tornadoes coming their way, and the spiky tendrils preparing to attack from above. He hoped Jaune, Yang, and Mercury could survive the Arena hitting the school without them. They might be a while.

R W B Y

Mercury kept himself low and ready in Ruby's office, at least trying to look like he was focusing on how to fight Emerald. But he was sure it was obvious he was just staring at her longingly. Genie floated up beside him, in his normal form once more. "So, what's the plan, Silver?"

Or maybe it wasn't obvious. "I'm figuring it out," he muttered. He spared a glance at Genie and the tiny dog – Zwei, he remembered – that was growling at Emerald. The dog was the only one of them with any sense. Emerald was a brainwashed doll spawning an army of monsters killing dozens below in pursuit of a goal that would kill the entire universe, and Mercury couldn't do anything but watch her.

Emerald stared back at him, Grimm materializing out of her shoulders and flying off towards the Arena in the distance.

And then he remembered Yang, in a coma for days. And Jaune, above and captured by OJ. All because Mercury wasn't there to help. All because Mercury had been distracted by Emerald. He clenched his fists. "Genie, help the dog cover me."

"You got it, Silver!" the blue man shouted. He snapped his fingers, and vanished, reappearing around the dog in a puff of smoke. The dog was now clad in a combat vest, a blue and silver dagger in his mouth. Zwei whined in confusion before a helmet and goggles, Genie's face on the top of the helmet, came over his eyes. "Combat Doggo is a go!"

Mercury chuckled, then shot forward. He brought his foot up and down in a hammer strike that slammed into a Gryphon that was too slow to get away, but ended up nowhere near Emerald. She had flipped into the air, her golden eyes still locked on Mercury. He glanced up and snarled; the chains of her Kurasigama were spread everywhere around him, a dangerous trap ready to be pulled tight to cut him into pieces. She yanked her arms back and the chains went taut, dragging backwards and closing in around him. Mercury spread his legs and threw his arms out, channeling that spark of Light that Xehanort had showed him to use. The warmth jolted down his arms and exploded outward to create a reflect circle that held the chains back and saved his life.

Zwei rushed in just as Emerald landed on the ground, swiping with the dagger in his mouth. Even in her mind controlled state, the appearance of a dog with a knife in a bright blue combat vest and helmet was enough to give her pause. Zwei nearly carved through her face before she dodged backwards, avoiding the dog's knife. Her daggers came up and the shadow creating creatures around her vanished; she was focused on the fight, now. Mercury charged in from her left again, slamming his foot into arm, but he pulled back at the last moment and she was able to easily block. "Dammit!" he growled at his subconscious decision to hold back. She pushed him back and slashed at his throat, forcing him to fall to his back and roll away back up to his feet.

Emerald was on him without any time for rest and he was forced to dodge between her lightning fast slashes, the dog and Genie unable to do much without risking getting in the way right then. So Mercury had to bide his time, slapping slashing blades away from his face. He jumped over a low sweep of her legs and slammed his foot into her shoulder in a back kick. Emerald cried out in pain as she hit the elevator shaft, and Mercury flinched upon landing. "Em!" he shouted, his concern ringing out. Her eyes opened, no rage at being injured, and she stood up slowly. One of the kurasigama chains extended and she began to swing the blade around, carving a silver ribbon through the air that Mercury knew could fly at him without a warning or stay close and carve him up when he tried to attack.

Then Zwei bolted around form the other side, Genie screaming, "GERONIMO!" The dog swept around, but Genie's shout had alerted Emerald. The chain shot upward, carving through the ceiling and pulling her up, swinging just over the dog's knife. She pulled it from the ceiling and her feet hit it a half second later, at which point she rebounded and shot at the dog. Zwei yelped when the densely muscular girl slammed into him, and he bounced off the ground. She ignored the dog and brought her weapons up to block Mercury's next attack. A spray of Blizzard spells flew at her, and she carved them to bits in a swirling vortex of chains and blades that destroyed any spells that came close. She rushed at him just as he rushed at her, the two slamming into one another at full speed. The remaining windows shattered, and the small dog whined as he was pushed away, dragging his claws in the ground. Genie yelped and a hand came out of the combat vest, pushing them back inside as Zwei's legs began to dangle. A toy of Ruby and one of Sora flew out of the room, tumbling to the ground far below.

Mercury leaped and flipped, bringing his leg up and around in an ax kick that crashed into her guard and shattered it, heel slamming into her shoulder and sending her to one knee with a grunt. Mercury forced the worry down and swung his leg around at her right side, but she threw herself to the ground and rolled to her feet behind Mercury. Her leg looped around his and yanked, and Mercury hissed when the ground suddenly came up to meet his face. He threw his hands out and stopped his face a few inches from the floor. Didn't matter to Emerald, however, and her heel slammed into his back. He hit the ground with a heavy thud and began to struggle against her weight. She reached down and looped a blade around his throat, the other hand yanking his head up by the hair.

And then a tiny dog hit her in the back when she forgot about him again. The weapon fell from her hand, cluttering against the ground and leaving Mercury perfectly safe. Even when a surprisingly dense dog landed on his back. "Oof!" He breathed easily when the dog bounced off of him and he could push himself up. He glanced down at the dog and grinned. "Oh, right." The dog yelped as he was picked up and then lightly tossed in front of Mercury. "And here comes the boom!" His foot began to trail flames as he kicked the dog straight at Emerald, the animal a rocket of deadly flames that crashed into her before she could respond. The explosion threw her out of the room, and the backspin on the dog had him bounce lightly back to the ground. Genie was screaming about being lit on fire, but Mercury wasn't listening. He walked up to the window, eyes wide.

A cloud of Grimm and Heartless had shoved the arena towards the school, and it was just about to crash into the spire. "Oh, shi -" A chain flew up and wrapped around his throat. Mercury choked in surprise as he was torn into the empty air, tumbling towards the floating form of Mercury just as the arena slammed into the spire. He struggled against the chain... and everything slowly went black.

R W B Y

The flames of Yang's hair warped and melted the roof as she ran, creating a bubbling wake in the green. "COME ON!" she screamed. Morrigan sprinted towards her as well, the blade carving a gash in the metal behind her. The two leaped at one another and the force of their blows caused the air to explode away from them, sending the flames of Yang's hair to drift wildly in every direction. The two were tossed away from one another after a moment, the force carrying them away. But the two of them didn't let it stay that way, and were on one another again. Flames warped metal and Metal-Nothing carved flames away. Yang grabbed hold of the sword that came in and wrenched it to the side, then brought her forehead down on the mask Morrigan wore. Morrigan snarled in surprise as the bone mask cracked and she reeled a step back. "You were talking big a moment ago, but you aren't living up to the hype without a Heart!"

Morrigan jumped backwards to dodge the wave of flames that shot out from Yang's shoulders, and she slid away. The metal beneath Yang was boiling in the flames, the hot and angry heat even turning the air dry and hard to breathe. Morrigan glanced down at her own blade, crafted from the fundamental Absence in the universe. It was warped along one edge from the heat Yang was giving off, perhaps the hottest and most harsh fire in the universe. And, in fact, one that Morrigan knew was draining Yang. Sooner or later the girl would get tired and she would be unable to continue with the flames. She charged forward and Morrigan felt the mask on her face overheat to the point of glowing. "Damn." She couldn't wait that long. She summoned the power of Darkness, letting the energy coat her body and blade. The two crashed into one another, and their fight began anew.

The Fire boiled the Darkness coating Morrigan, but the flames didn't reach her through that power. Likewise, the Darkness tried to smother the flames but Yang's output was too great for them to even get close to her. Morrigan flipped over Yang and vanished through a Corridor of Darkness, leaving Yang alone on the roof. She glanced around carefully, waiting for the telltale 'whoosh' of the Corridor opening that would signal Morrigan's next attack. The whoosh came from her right, and Yang brought her arms up in an 'X' to block the blow. There was a loud 'clang' and Yang was forced backwards. The flames melting the metal beneath her made the movement easier, frictionless almost. Yang just slammed her foot down to stop herself, casting a Blizzard spell that froze the ground beneath her so she could stop.

"Teleporting," she growled to herself. Morrigan had vanished again, preparing her next assault. It came from behind, and Yang curled up as she turned, the blow hitting her arm and leg instead of her side before Morrigan summoned another Corridor and vanished a third time. Yang reeled and stumbled to the side, just in time for another kick to slam into her shoulder and send her the other direction. "I... hate... teleporting!" The flames erupted out further, and Morrigan's next appearance was in an inferno that burned through the aura she had created around herself.

The Nobody shrieked in pain and tried to open another rportal, but the flames devoured it long before the portal could be stabilized enough for her to escape. She doubled over and tried to stumble out of the flames, but couldn't quite tell if she was doing that or getting deeper. And then the flames shrank back and Yang was right behind her, fists clasped low. She smirked and brought them up hard, slamming them into Morrigan's chin and sending her rocketing upward with stars swirling behind her eyes. Yang stood beneath her and condensed Fire magic in her fists, intensifying the flames around her shoulders. As Morrigan's momentum slowed to nothing and she began to fall once more, she lashed out upwards and the spells crashed into her one after the other. Morrigan snarled in pain and curled up into a ball to keep herself safe, avoiding some of the spells but keeping herself safe from the worst of it. With some concentration, she managed to summon another Corridor, though not one that would save her. This one would endanger Yang, for it had appeared right beneath her feet.

Yang's next attack went wide when the floor beneath her vanished and she began to sink. "What the hell!?" She snapped as her knees vanished, quickly followed by the rest of her.

Morrigan stretched out and landed softly in a three point stance before slowly and carefully standing up. "You've improved," she said quietly. She twirled her blade at her side and aimed it for where the Corridor would soon open. When it opened, Yang fell through sideways, gravity from before entering the Corridor still in control of her movement. Morrigan charged forward and slashed upward just as the Corridor vanished. The attack was blocked by Yang's bracer, a testament to the girl's speed and skill that she had anticipated the blow. Yang used the force and momentum to flip over Morrigan and to her feet again, the flames burning bright once more.

Yang unclenched and then clenched her fists once more. She glanced past the Nobody and frowned. The arena was getting closer for some reason, a swarm of Darkness at its back. "Shit."

Morrigan followed her gaze and growled. "It would seem that my partner is an idiot. Though given his similarities to your partner, I suppose that is a given," the Nobody muttered coolly. She sighed and turned back to Yang. "I suppose that simply means we have to hurry."

"I'm game," Yang growled. She charged at Morrigan, flames flaring once more. She threw a fist at the Nobody, who barely managed to dodge. Morrigan returned with her own attack, this one blocked by Yang's right bracer. The metals creaked against one another, and Morrigan's blade carved a gash in Yang's weapon. Yang spun and delivered a back kick into Morrigan's gut. The woman gasped when the air rushed from her lungs, but she kept herself upright. She brought her sword around vertically, the flat managing to block Yang's next blow. Morrigan collected herself and leaped up and back, swinging a Dark Blizzaga at Yang to cover her escape.

Yang slammed into the spell and her flames sputtered but kept going, having melted through the attack. She flew through the steam and threw her fist at Morrigan. The attack was easily dodged, but the kick that followed up with the punch's momentum was less easily dodged. Her foot crashed into Morrigan's sword and sent her flying to the ground, shattering the warped and weakened metal where she landed. Yang twisted midair and created a pair of exploding Firaga at her heels, turning into a rocket that shot towards her mother's Nobody. "This is going to be a big hit!" Morrigan growled and raised her sword's tip upward, preparing to slash at her attacker.

And then the flames around Yang vanished and her unguarded weapon crashed into the edge of Morrigan's blade. The bracer was cleaved into two clean pieces and a deep gash was carved into the metallic body of Yang's prosthesis. Morrigan flew past Yang, her sword moving behind her, and Yang crashed into the ground, rolling to the edge of the tower.

Yang panted on the ground, trying to ignore the twinging pain running through the false nerves in her arm. She opened her now lilac eyes and reached up to rub her head. It was at that point she noticed. Her hair, her long, gorgeous, beautiful hair. It was shoulder length, at best now. She tried to muster up any more rage for her hair. She hated when it got damaged. She usually flew into a blind rage over it. But she couldn't now. She was already as angry as she could get, being held up from rescuing Jaune, from fighting her own mother, and from a thousand other things. She was tired. She pushed herself up to her feet, glaring at her mother's Nobody and ignoring the cloud of her hair drifting through the wind and off the rooftop. "I guess this fight got a little hairy," she growled. "Not cool, Mom. You of all people know how much I love my hair."

Morrigan turned and her eyes widened behind her mask. "No!" She returned her attention to Yang and sprinted towards her.

The ground beneath them shattered and gave way. Yang turned her head as she fell past the Heartless and Arena that had slammed into the tower. "... Dammit," Yang growled as she fell towards the school so far below.

R W B Y

Jaune groaned when consciousness returned to him. "Owowowow," he muttered. Everything hurt like hell. He summoned his Keyblade and slammed the tip into the ground like a cane, then used that to push himself up to his feet. He wondered why he hurt so much, until he opened his eyes. He was in the Arena. The one where the tournament had been held during the failed trap for OJ. It was a wreck, though, with massive slabs of green metal everywhere. "Right. The arena crashed into the spire."

"Leaving just us," a similarly groaning voice remarked. Jaune whipped around and held his Keyblade at the ready, ready to fight. But OJ was just waking up, rubbing his neck. "I really thought that would turn out better, you know?" He opened one eye and then shut it. "Can you just calm down for a second? We did just get hit by a flying building."

"And whose fault is that?"

OJ grinned sheepishly before standing up straight. "Yeah... That's fair."

Jaune lowered his Keyblade slightly and reached around to his pocket, hand brushing against his Wayfinder as he grabbed his... His face fell. His final Keychain. He shook off his despair – it wouldn't be any help right then – and grabbed the weapon component. He shoved it onto the Keyblade and it flashed, turning into the thin, blade like form of Black Sun.

OJ huffed. With a shake of his head, he replied, "Really?" The Kingdom Key D appeared in his hand.

"Light-Dark Getsuga Tenshou!" Jaune snapped. He slashed upward with the Keyblade and a blade of Light and Darkness shot out at OJ. The Fallen Keyblade wielder sighed and slashed sideways at the attack, his own blade of Darkness carving through and keeping him safe. OJ had already charged ahead, slashing uselessly at OJ as his attack was dodged. He continued with the assault and summoned another Light-Dark blade. OJ's eyes widened at the change in attack patterns, and he was greeted with an explosion to the face. OJ stumbled backwards, clutching at his eyes.

"That hurt!" he snapped. He removed his hand and grinned at Jaune, freezing him in place. "Finally!" He shot forward, attacking Jaune now. Jaune forced himself from his stupor and dodged to his left, barely managing to avoid OJ's attack by guessing from his own patterns where it would come from.

But OJ was just as prepared as Jaune had been. His attack may have missed, but the spell that he summoned the moment his Keyblade touched the ground did not. A dome of black Gravity energy hit Jaune and he began to buckle under his own weight, the Pumpkin Pete on his sweatshirt shaking from the waves of force. "You just don't get it, Jaune!" OJ snapped, angling his Keyblade at his opponent's throat. "Keychains bring out your strength. It's the same Keyblade, after all. I could use all of these and it wouldn't do anything for one simple reason." He turned and slammed the Keyblade's base into Jaune's temple, and the hero went down.

OJ then slammed the Kingdom Key D down on the Keychain and the Keyblade vanished once more. "I already use all my strength."

Jaune was dumbfounded by Ichigo's strength, in that moment. He was radiating Darkness, to the point where Jaune was certain it could have suffocated him if he wasn't already experienced with that particular force of nature. But that wasn't really what left Jaune so in awe. No, it was everything else that this represented. After all, Jaune had seen that same Darkness not only control Ichigo, but devour him completely, leaving behind nothing but a maniac of a creature bent on the annihilation of everything around him. His enemies, his friends, and even the people he loved the most, none were safe from that evil. But now he was using that Darkness in defense of his friends and family, controlling it even. And it made him stronger when leashed like that, just another tool. One that let him destroy Aizen with a single slash of power.

Jaune grunted and rolled onto his chest, pushing up to his knees. He summoned the Kingdom Key back to his hand and moved to stand, only to freeze as a Keyblade came to his throat once more. "I don't understand," OJ said. Jaune looked up at his clearly frustrated counterpart. OJ's blue eyes were hard and confused. "We lived the same life, so why are you not like me. Why don't you use all your strength?"

OJ shook his head and sighed before continuing. "We had the same father and sisters growing up. Disappointed in our weakness and cowardice. The baby who would never amount to anything in his life. The baby who they told he would fail, no matter how hard he tried. An embarrassment," OJ pointed out.

Jaune's gaze fell to the Keyblade. "... You're right," he admitted sadly.

"The same life at Beacon, bullied and beaten by idiots like Cardin. Viewed as useless by so-called friends like Weiss.

"We both missed Pyrrha's love until it was too late, and she was torn from us forever." The Keyblade moved away from Jaune and OJ crouched, placing a hand on Jaune's shoulder supportively. "We both suffered from that."

Jaune held OJ's gaze. "We both were lied to and betrayed by those we trusted. Sora sided with Qrow against us when the truth about what they did to Pyrrha came to Light. He lied to us about Ruby's mother and nearly killed us because of it. And he fought to keep us from Pyrrha."

Jaune's gaze fell to the ground. "I know," he said sadly. They were the same. "We both let a monster loose on Vale."

"Necessary to save Pyrrha. That's what you thought, once." Jaune didn't reply to that, so OJ sighed and stood up. "Jaune, we do what is necessary for Pyrrha, no matter the cost. Sometimes it hurts. I didn't want to kidnap this version of our family, but the final version, the real version won't even know I did it!" He grinned savagely. "But sometimes it feels good, doesn't it?"

OJ turned away from Jaune and threw his hands into the air, breathing in the memory"Just like when we killed the one who killed her. When we separated Cinder's pit of a Heart from her body!" OJ said, his words growing louder until he was shouting.

Jaune shut his eyes. "I know. I know we -" He froze and looked up at OJ's back. "You what?"

"Don't pretend you didn't enjoy killing Cinder as much as I did," he said, turning his disapproving glare at Jaune.

Jaune's eyes fell to the ground. OJ had killed Cinder. He had killed Cinder even when Pyrrha's Heart had tried to save him. But Jaune...

Jaune began to laugh, a harsh and sharp noise that made OJ jump away in surprise. "Wh-what?" OJ asked, his voice quiet and very Jaune-like in the moment.

Jaune just kept laughing as he pushed himself to his feet, a weight seemingly lifted from his shoulders. "I get it now!" Jaune shouted between bouts of laughter. "I can't believe it, but I get it now!"

OJ glanced around nervously, suddenly slightly worried that he had somehow driven Jaune insane.

"We're not the same!"

OJ stared at Jaune in confusion. "Wh- Don't lie to yourself, Jaune. It's stupid," he growled, forcing himself from his stupor. "Just because your Sora somehow managed to survive and destroy DISC doesn't mean we're different. You still tried to kill Vale for Pyrrha. As you should."

Jaune glared at OJ with a new fire that the Fallen Keyblade Wielder hadn't ever seen in those warm blue eyes before. "I'm better than you, for one simple reason." The Keyblade glowed in his right hand and his exhaustion seemed to leak out of him. "I listened to Pyrrha. I didn't kill Cinder. Unlike you... I actually loved Pyrrha enough to listen when she stopped me."

OJ glared at Jaune, and his fists began to shake. His eyes turned a brilliant, enraged yellow. "So, the truth comes out. I thought you were denying who you were, but I understand now." He raised the Keyblade and aimed it at Jaune's chest. "You aren't me! You aren't real! You never loved Pyrrha, which is why you fought me so hard... You're nothing more than the last test put in my path before I can find Pyrrha again."

"Well if there's one thing I know about any version of Jaune Arc, it's that he fails tests," Jaune said simply. He grinned and readied his Keyblade as well. "And a failed version of me especially."

OJ's vision went red and he roared, charging his enemy, finally with the intent to kill. Jaune set his jaw, realizing he could control his own Darkness now. After all, he and OJ..?

They weren't remotely the same.

He charged as well, swinging his Keyblade up to meet OJ's, and their battle resumed with a massive clang. When it ended, they both knew that only one of them would survive this fight.

R W B Y

Mercury groaned and sat slowly up, eyes drifting open. He looked around, seeing he was somewhere in a forest. Probably the one outside of Beacon, but with Emerald's Corridors of Darkness, he had no way of really knowing for sure. He could be on that world where she'd stolen those shiny keys, setting him up to get pummeled by those weird wizards for a crime he committed over a year ago his own time. Who knows how much time had passed there, but they seemed the kind to hold a grudge. He pushed himself up and cupped his hands to his mouth, about to call out for Genie or Zwei, but stopped himself. He was a trained assassin, he knew not to act stupid. He wasn't any of the Keyboys, after all. Besides, Genie had an uncanny ability to find him, and the dog was indestructible. They'd be fine for a little while.

On the other hand, he knew that Emerald, especially as she was now, was way more dangerous in an area with so many places to hide. Even without the weird super Darkness powers, her illusions would make it dangerous to see the Emerald for the Trees, but he could deal with that. Real monsters and chains were a different story. And she definitely knew where he was, since his last memory was of her grabbing him with a chain. He slammed his foot into the dirt behind him and the white swirling of an Aeroga spell came to his heel. He brought it up and spun around, tightening the energy into a blade that would fly further and stronger away from him. The spell carved through the surrounding trees, cleanly carving through the trunks so they immediately fell t onto the severed stumps and remained upright... until a natural breeze came along and they all began to fall in the same direction. Mercurey threw his arms out and summoned a Reflega, keeping himself safe from the many falling trees. The sunlight soon beamed down on him, and he could see into the distance, somewhat. Beacon, in the middle of a war.

There was a quiet whoosh and he turned towards it. Emerald, her empty gaze locked on him. "Em. You didn't take me to another world. You kept me safe."

She didn't respond. Locked away as she was, Mercury knew she wouldn't. She raised her arms in a cross and swung them down to her sides, the blades extending into massive sickles of Darkness. Huge chains, each link the size of the woman who had summoned them, erupted from the ground and rose into nothingness behind her, forming a wall of metal. Mercury looked at her and realized that, out here, he was now too far from Beacon for him to help, even if he won with a single strike. He had the option to summon a Corridor, but he wasn't even sure if he could still summon sufficient Darkness to do that. A simple Fire spell was not the same as wrenching a hole in space, after all. So, he decided to take a page from the book that Jaune, Sora, and Ruby had written. "I'll snap you out of this, Em. Even if it kills me. But I'll probably have to tire you out first." He crouched and spread his legs, entering a combat stance once more. He slammed his foot into a nearby tree trunk and it flipped into the air, at which point he bicycle kicked it right at her.

Her chains rushed forward to meet the attack, and it all began again.

R W B Y

Yang hit the roof of the school's cafeteria much harder than she would have liked, even with the explosive Firaga spells she had used to slow her descent. She rolled across the stone shingles, each blow she took harming her Aura more than she expected. She eventually hit the raised edge of the building with a painful thud that left a large bruise on her kidney, visible under the torn left side of her jacket. "Ow..." she hissed.

Yang looked over at her right arm, now devoid of Ember Celica's protection. "This has to stop happening," she growled at the remains of the weapon on her left hand. Predictably, the inanimate object just took her anger, so she tired of cursing at it pretty quickly. She pushed herself up onto her elbows and dragged herself slowly up the slope of the roof until she reached the apex and hid behind it, hoping to catch sight of something before she was attacked again. She looked into the sky. Just Heartless and Grimm, the occasional Huntsman fighting them off. Her gaze drifted down and froze. Her hand shot out and her fingers wrapped around what she had seen, and she clutched it close, her last defense.

After a moment, she pushed herself upright and held her mother's sword at the ready, then walked around a bit until she found its scabbard not far off. It still had a harness for a human to wear it, so she strapped it across her back and sheathed the weapon, sliding the Dust chamber to Fire. At which point she drew it and turned, slashing at the presence she had felt with the hair on the back of her neck. Which just reminded her of her ruined hair and made her angrier, so she tried all the harder to hurt who she knew the presence had to be.

Morrigan's blade deflected Yang's blow with a practiced grace. Unsurprising, given Yang's lack of experience with a sword. She could use one, but it wasn't the one that echoed in her Heart. It was still, even when wielded against Morrigan, her mother's sword.

The two women stared at one another wordlessly, refusing to move and give away the high ground on the roof. Yang's hands untightened and tightened on the hilt of the telescoping katana, and she cursed her bad luck. She hadn't just failed to get close to Jaune, she'd actually gotten further from him. And with the arena's recent crash, she had no idea where he even was anymore.

Morrigan, meanwhile, stared at the sword in her d – in Yang's hands. Her sword, with all the memories associated running through her mind once more. And now her daugh – now Yang held it like an inheritance, wielding it against Morrigan in the interest of returning Raven to her whole self. Morrigan fought the tension from her muscles to keep her stance loose and useful, lest that purpose be fulfilled. She wouldn't, no she couldn't let that purpose be fulfilled. And so all she could do was fight. She acted first, and her blade arced down at Yang. The blonde's shorter hair dragged behind her as she moved forward to meet the blow with the sword she held, and so Raven's Heart and Raven's Body clashed as well, neither willing to be broken and both needing the other to yield.

AN: Hey guys, I got this chapter out faster than I thought, huh? I had some job training and I had to stay in a hotel. Not a lot to do in that case, but it's nice I got to do this. It's fun to write this story and I hope you have as much fun reading it.

Now, to respond to some reviews:

To Chretner: I'm glad you had a good time reading the last chapter. If anything I write makes someone's day good – not to mention awesome! – then that means I've done exactly what any writer – Fanfiction or Professional – should do. I'm happy you don't want this story to end, but it's important, huh? And way better than something overstaying its welcome by a couple decades. I hope you enjoyed reading through the first story again. I still do it from time to time to get a better handle on what's set up as this AU's rules, history, and ideology. And, like last chapter, to get specific events perfect. After all, to show OJ's exact point of divergence was important, especially after this chapter.

To Gamelover41592: I hope this chapter was just as epic!