In all honesty you can thank Asura Boss and his/her story Thorns of a Rose for spurring me to continue this crossover (I honestly thought I had marked it as "Complete") and I wholeheartedly encourage any RWBY fans to give a read, just be prepared for some dark and heavy feels.
Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth, otherwise Cinder would be evil enough to resurrect Summer Rose to fight for her.
Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square-Enix, otherwise this whole time travel business wouldn't be happening. Time Travel muddies the waters Nomura!
Any other characters, companies, or their subsidiaries mentioned within are the property of their parent corporation.
It would be nearly a month before Cinder sent for the Master once more, although this time she had been forced to drag along a very unconscious slab of dead weight with her in the form of an unconscious Pentagon Jr. Saving the downed champion of the Underground had been a rather swift judgment call in the wake of the silver haired Faunus's efforts to save the life of an innocent, she had hoped to use the luchador's mantra of "Cero Miedo"- Zero Fear as a catalyst towards accepting the darkness in his heart and eventually being able to bring him into the fold as an integral part of her larger plan to conquer Remnant for herself.
"Impudent cur, risking life and limb for some hapless child whose only real threat was a perceived broken arm!" Cinder would mutter to herself before summoning a "viewing globe" sized fireball that acted as a communications hub between her and Master Xehanort, a sight that would no doubt be a strange one to anyone who happened to pass by the alley where she was now situated. "I need a Corridor opened at my location immediately, our little project seems to have a few flaws that desire some much needed attention and fixing" The raven haired woman would bite her lip in annoyance as the scarred face of Xigbar appeared on the other end of the viewing globe, his was a most unwelcome sight at this particular time as she was already in a rather foul mood.
"Cindy Cindy Cindy, now the last I was informed you told me that our boy was well in hand. That all he needed was one good push to get him set up on the path towards becoming a perfect vessel." The Freeshooter would grin mockingly even as Cinder's lovely features morphed into a monstrous scowl, her amber eyes blazing in response to her fearsome anger. "Now you say that there are flaws that require our dear master's attention, this COULD be conceived as a rather massive failure on your part my dear." It took the raven haired pyromancer immense effort not to lose her cool and detonate the viewing globe she was currently projecting, no doubt the sight of such a flash would be enough to send the Atleasian Knights that regularly guarded the area towards her location plus it would probably damage the unconscious soul that now rested at her feet. Nevertheless she longed for the day that she could set the cocky bastard ablaze, normally she would have assigned the task to Mercury or Emerald but seeing as they had been forced to step up in the wake of Roman's capture, and with Adam Taurus busy leading his group of renegade Faunus in the southeast the task would no doubt be left to her.
And she reveled as the very thought of seeing the one eyed Nobody being reduced to ash brought a chill to her spine, even as a Dark Corridor opened up to allow her passage into the World that Never Was.
"Soon enough, I will have the means to topple that man and his disgusting smirk." She would sigh as she hefted the sleeping Pentagon Jr. over her shoulder and made her way through the corridor.
The Master would be waiting for Cinder upon her arrival into the throne room, a contemplative look upon his weathered face as Xigbar had informed him of the details of their communication and rather then being angered at what had occurred, he would be rather intrigued as the Raven haired pyromancer approached him while hefting an unconscious man dressed in strange garb over her shoulder.
"Cinder, what is the meaning of this? I remember the agreement being that I would be the one summoning you, and yet here you stand after having beckoned to me like a common house pet with a stranger in our midst."
The amber eyed woman would lay the fallen Luchador before him with a satisfied smirk as she took a seat in the adjacent throne, which would quickly rise so that she stood at eye level with the elder Keyblade bearer.
"Master, the boy is becoming belligerent..deviating from the strategy you so richly intended for him. He is being drawn towards the Sisters' bright light despite the anger and fury his life imbued within, at this rate he will soon be unworthy of being any sort of use to us!" Her fist would be enveloped in flame before projecting a viewing globe and displaying the events of what had transpired at The Underground, from Pentagon Jr's darkened entrance to Bálor's interference which resulted in his protecting the outmatched Sub Shop employee, Xehanort would watch on quietly as the wolf Faunus demonstrated mastery of his telekinetic abilities.
Truly, the child had come a long way from his rabid beginnings.
"He's bound to become a liability, if he decides to stand with those who defend Remnant then that will make achieving our goals much more difficult!" Her amber eyes would flare once more before dispelling the viewing globe with a wave of her hand. "I need something more to sway him, which brings us to the pathetic fool below us." She would gesture to the now stirring Luchador who groaned in agony as he tried to stand. "I need soldiers, empowered by Darkness and fully under my sway. If we can't turn the boy by manipulation, then we do it through force!"
Master Xehanort would wave his hand dismissively, even as Pentagon Jr. tried sounding out for help in his native tongue.
"Force will not solve this Cinder; battle has been the one constant in the child's life and will no doubt force him to lean upon the people around him for support, such actions would no doubt send him further into Light's embrace." He would look down onto the lower floor with a wicked sneer as Heartless surrounded the injured man, restraining and bringing him to his knees. "However, if we were to instead turn those closest to his heart against him then Bálor would no doubt forced to turn to the Darkness in his hour of need, such power would no doubt prove intoxicating to someone of his disposition." Cinder's brow would furrow in thought as she contemplated his words, only for her face to return to a scowl as one very blatant oversight came to her attention.
"That won't work; the sisters would never turn against him, love is a powerful bond that can't be overwritten by cheap words and tricks!" The pyromancer's display of anger annoyed the older man visibly, but she would press on regardless. "The only reason they're currently at each other's throats is due to their own emotions and that fool's inability to stand beside one over the other! But no doubt that if he were to be threatened now they would band together to shield him from assault, thus why I need soldiers strong enough to overpower them and force him to draw out the darkness in defense of them!"
Xehanort would see the wisdom in her words, for however short sighted her planning was it nonetheless would prove valuable to keeping the woman distracted, thus making it easier for him to move about with his own machinations for the wolf without having to prematurely show his hand.
"Very well Miss Fall you may have your soldiers, however consider this a mere test of your theory of brute force." The Elder Keybearer would direct the Heartless to force Pentagon Jr. into a throne, which would immediately rise to meet the villainous duo as he summoned his Keyblade. "Let what was once weakened by the failings mankind be washed away by darkness, and be reborn anew as a vanguard of The Fall!"
Cinder would watch as Xehanort's Keyblade streamed power into the heart of the man who embodied Cero Miedo, chuckling as the darkness covered the masked man completely before adding her own power to the cocoon with a burst of flames.
"The Fall…a tad blunt, but nonetheless it fits as a member of my Army."
The shell would slowly begin to harden into a glistening crystal before shrinking down to a more manageable form as it landed in the palm of her outstretched hand, leaving the pyromancer somewhat annoyed as she looked to the older man for an explanation.
"I miniaturized your soldier in order to help you further maintain your cover in Remnant, the last thing we need is for you to be discovered and compromised." He would smile slightly as he opened a Corridor closer to Beacon Academy, leaving the raven haired woman with her prize. "Now, proceed with your theory Cinder..may it bring you good fortune." He would watch as the pyromancer stood upon her throne gracefully before leaping through the Corridor as Xigbar appeared on his throne, a smart-alecky grin on his face as it dissipated.
"Well that was quite the unexpected development, bequeathing her a dark soldier might come back to bite us Master."
The older man would lean back against his throne, nonplussed by his subordinate's words of warning.
"Please, this is simply a test of theories: Brute force vs. Manipulation. Cinder has chosen that masked man as her test subject, no doubt a hastily picked one at that." With a flick of his wrist, a cluster of images would appear before them as they were captured by the various Shadow Orbs that the Freeshooter had placed throughout Vale. "Meanwhile, we have the luxury of time, a much needed commodity if we are to pick the proper test subject: Someone with the ability to sway the hearts and mind of those closest to the boy, without him being ever the wiser."
So it's become a scientific battle of philosophies as both Cinder Fall and Master Xehanort look to exploit others on the road to creating a proper vessel from our unsuspecting hero.
Which do you think has the better chance of success: Brute Force? Subtle Manipulation? Or do you have your own dastardly method for creating a perfect vessel?
As always review if you want, PM if you must, and a huge HUGE thank you to Asura Boss and her story Thorns of a Rose for helping reinvigorate this fic.
Until then, I bid you adieu