Some of you have caught on that I'm using characters from other medias in this story. Some of you have even taken guesses as to who exactly they are. One person in particular has decided to turn their guess into an entire fic! A fic of a fic if you will...
If you want to see Sora2131's take on how Makoto Niijima of Persona 5 became a Keyblade Wielder, hop on over to Archive of Our Own and check out their story, 'Kingdom Hearts: Tokyo'!
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Without further ado, please enjoy!
After leaving the vault, Ruby searched for her team. She found them holding a small meeting between themselves near the mission selection terminals. "What are you three talking about?"
Yang noted Ruby's arrival. "Were thinking we should take a mission out toward the southeast."
"Why the southeast?" Ruby asked.
"The White Fang rally?" Blake reminded her. "Torchwick said they were moving to 'the southeast'."
"Oh. Right," Ruby nodded. With Ozpin, his Maiden Thief, and all my concerns lately with the heatless and darkness… I completely forgot about all that. "But is our chaperone just going to let us investigate?"
"That's why I was thinking something simple, like a Search and Destroy," Weiss told her. "A bunch of angry faunus are probably going to attract Grimm anyway, and search and destroy jobs are simple enough that we could easily find time to slip away."
"Noble huntresses doing our duty by day, and vigilante detectives by night!" Yang seemed a little too excited. "I'm looking forward to this!"
The group moved to the console and quickly found a Search and Destroy mission close to the mountains southeast of Vale. Ruby typed their team name to accept the mission.
Mission restricted from first-year students
"Drat!" Weiss huffed.
"What do we do now?" Blake asked. "I don't see another mission anywhere near there."
"What are you lot fretting about now?"
Yang turned excitedly as the sound of the new arrival. "Uncle Qrow! When did you get here!?"
"Just flew in this morning," Qrow smiled. "Thought I'd stop by and see my nieces." Yang leapt into a hug with her uncle. "So," he continued, "what's holding the lot of you up here?"
Weiss and Blake shared a look. They weren't sure what they could or couldn't say in this situation since their investigation isn't exactly sanctioned.
They didn't know what Ruby knew. "The mission we wanted is restricted from first year teams."
"Ruby!" Weiss's eyes went wide.
"Then just pick another mission?" Qrow shrugged. "There are plenty."
"We… really wanted this mission," Ruby repeated, hoping Qrow would understand her.
Qrow studied Ruby's gaze. "Oh! My scroll is vibrating, I should probably take this call." Qrow walked past the team. Ruby noticed him dialing Ozpin.
"Ruby, what are you doing?" Blake asked.
"Trust me," Ruby pleaded.
Blake and Weiss fell silent. They knew their leader was keeping secrets. They also knew she had only ever tried to protect them. They knew that they trusted her despite her secrets. "Alright."
"So," Qrow announced his return, "hunting the White Fang, huh?"
"What!?" Blake looked shocked.
"Oh, please," Qrow smirked. "The docks, that rally. You girls fought a giant robot with the White Fang's symbol on its shoulder. It didn't take a phone call to figure that much out."
"Then what was the phone call about?" Weiss asked.
Qrow looked the terminal still displaying the southeast mission. "Give it a try."
Ruby stepped forward and typed in her team name again.
Mission accepted
"How did you pull that…?" Yang asked.
"Let's just say I'm tight with the headmaster," Qrow winked. "And if you lot are going to look into this anyways, it's safer to keep things above board if we can. Try bending the rules before you break them."
"That still doesn't explain why," Blake pointed out.
"The White Fang. Torchwick, Neopolitan. You girls have been getting results," Qrow explained. "Let's just say Oz and I are betting on team RWBY."
Yang smiled. "Thank you!"
Qrow's chuckled, "don't thank me yet. It's not going to be easy. I hope you're all prepared to fight like your lives depend on it. We leave immediately."
"We?" Ruby caught.
"That's right. You aren't just getting' any old teacher-chaperone. You're getting a bona-fide field huntsman," Qrow pointed to himself with his thumb. "Pack light and load up. Airship leaves in fifteen. Got it?"
"Yes, sir!"
Weiss, Blake, and Yang hurried away excitedly. Ruby made to follow. "Wait up," Qrow held her back. "The White Fang work for Torchwick and Neopolitan. Who work for our Maiden Thief. It all ties together. That's why we're doing this, right?"
"That's right," Ruby nodded.
"What if we run into her?" Qrow asked. "I could lead the girls away, but you said you weren't sure you could fight her alone. Is there any way I could help?"
"I'm not sure," Ruby frowned. "Uncle Qrow, do you trust me?"
"I do," Qrow nodded.
"Then if I tell you to run… Do it. Without question," Ruby told him.
"You got it, kiddo," Qrow nodded.
"I can't believe it!" Yang's excitement kept even as the airship left Beacon airspace. "We're actually on a mission to track down the White Fang! We don't even have to lie about it!"
"You might want to save your energy," Qrow smirked. "This could take a while, y'know."
"Days?" Weiss asked cautiously.
"Weeks," Qrow corrected. "Maybe even more. 'The southeast' isn't exactly a narrow search zone."
"Well, we must be able to figure something out," Weiss frowned. "The reason we picked Search and Destroy was because we figured the White Fang's negativity might be drawing Grimm."
"That does help," Qrow nodded. "We also should consider what a group that size needs day-to-day. Shelter, easy access for supplies or the room to store supplies long term."
"A large concentration of Grimm near an area large enough to house an army long-term," Blake thought through. "We're going to Mountain Glenn, aren't we?"
"Mountain Glenn?" Weiss asked.
"A failed expansion of Vale built around a local mountain of the same name," Yang explained. "They couldn't hold back the Grimm and… it was left behind. An entire city's worth of abandoned buildings and empty streets."
"I don't remember this coming up in class?" Weiss questioned.
Yang smirked. "Benefit of growing up in the area, Ice Queen."
It wasn't long before Mountain Glenn could be seen from the windows. A suburb of collapsing buildings and cracked streets. The airship slowed down to do a low pass near one of the outer-most roads. The group opened the door and jumped out of the still-moving ship. Weiss, Blake, and Yang landed weapons drawn and combat ready. Ruby and Qrow simply landed and began a visual survey of the nearby area.
After the airship left the air grew exceedingly still. The quiet was pervasive. Yang's excitement that had carried her all the way from Beacon's airyard finally began to die down. "So… what now…?" the blonde asked.
"We begin looking," Qrow told them as though it were obvious.
Even Weiss seemed surprised at the reality of what lie ahead. "What, we just… comb a few dozen square miles city?"
"Sounds like we better get started," Qrow smirked.
"There has to be a better way," Yang shook her head.
"There is," Qrow nodded. "Can any of 'ya tell me what?"
The four girls fell quiet as they thought. It was Blake who spoke up, "we follow the Grimm."
"Precisely," Qrow smiled. "We find a small pack, Creepers or Beowolves. We make sure they don't see us, and we see if they're attracted to our terrorist friends."
"Um, speaking of Beowolves…" Yang pointed past Qrow. The gruff huntsmen turned around and noticed an entire pack advancing on them.
"See, the problem with these ones… is that they already know we're here," Qrow sighed.
"So… we fight them?" Weiss double checked.
"We fight them," Qrow nodded, drawing his own weapon.
After a long day of attempting to tail Grimm only to end up destroying most of them, the sun finally began setting on a tired RWBY. They had found a collapsed building that provided no roof, but did provide walls and one solitary entry into the space. Qrow noted Weiss, Blake, and Yang's exhaustion. "Alright, you three," he gestured to them, "set up the camp. The pipsqueak and I are going to check the perimeter." The trio nodded and Ruby followed Qrow onto the street.
When they had made some distance from the team, Ruby turned to her uncle. "Do you think we made any progress today?"
"We managed to follow that third pack for a good while before they spotted us," Qrow told her. "Did it take us in the right direction? That's another question."
Ruby held her fist up to her heart. "I think we're closer."
"Anyways, I wanted to ask…" Qrow looked past the curious action, "you never did get the chance to elaborate on what you know our Maiden Thief is capable of. If we do encounter her… I don't like going in blind."
"Right…" Ruby sighed. "The easy answer is… while I get my power from my light, she draws her strength from darkness."
"'Darkness'?" Qrow questioned. "Just 'darkness'? As a magic power?"
"It's incredibly powerful, and incredibly dangerous," Ruby explained, "not the least to the user. Letting it in changes you, amplifies all the worst parts of yourself. And if you're not careful, it can consume you… You become lost to the darkness, and those who do usually become something even more dangerous. Bestial."
"Damn…" Qrow seemed lost for a more elaborate comment. "And she can control it?"
"That's just it…" Ruby shook her head. "She thinks she does, and she's doing a decent job commanding what she has… but I don't think she understands what she has. She's on the path to losing herself."
"Can anyone control darkness?" Qrow followed up.
"There's been a few," Ruby admitted. "Master Riku is a unique case where he's managed to make his darkness serve his light. But he's the only person I've ever known to manage that, and he went through a lot to gain that resistance. Mostly, those who can 'control' their darkness are still slaves to their darker instincts. They don't risk 'losing themselves to darkness', but in a way they're still lost."
"No matter how good you are at it, it's still a corrupting influence," Qrow pieced together.
They had finished their lap around the building and were nearing camp, prompting the both of them to end the conversation. The fire had indeed been started, and five sleeping bags set out.
"I'll take first watch," Qrow offered, "you four get some rest."
"You won't hear me argue," Yang yawned. The girls did a combination of drawing straws and rock-paper-scissors to decide watch order and settled down to catch some sleep.
The sun had long since set when Weiss woke Ruby up for the third watch. She found a comfortable spot higher up the wall that was far enough away from the fire that there was no light pollution clouding her vision. With pure starlight and her elevated position, she would be able to see threats long before they could even become threats. Case in point, a lone Beowolf stalked into view a block and a half west.
As long as it doesn't move our direction, I can let it be, Ruby planned. There was a noise that almost sounded like a loud cough in the distance. The beast suddenly seemed to jump backward and fell on its side. Ruby watched, curious, and noticed as it began to fade away.
Did someone shoot it!? Ruby made quick deductions regarding the direction the Beowolf fell and the sound of the 'cough' before leaping down to collect binoculars from their group supplies. Scopes in hand, she hopped back up to a cropping with a clear view of the north and began scanning with the binoculars. Sure enough, it wasn't long before she spotted white tunics. They were walking away from the camp's position, and Ruby could plainly see the White Fang logo on their backs.
She quickly jumped back down again, landing next to where Qrow slept. She slowly gripped his left shoulder, their agreed upon signal that it was one of them waking the other up. Qrow suppressed a yawn as his eyes finally opened, his foggy brain adjusting to consciousness. "Ruby?" He knew it wasn't time to wake up if Ruby was waking him. "Did you spot something?"
Ruby nodded. "Two tunics, patrolling toward the north. About three miles away according to the distance tracker."
"Let's wake the others," Qrow ordered.
Camp was packed up as quickly and as quietly as possible. Team RWBY plus Qrow were walking the streets again in less than five minutes. Thankfully, the White Fang Ruby spotted hadn't disappeared in that time and the group was able to follow them back to a heavily guarded structure. They snuck into a nearby dark alley to observe.
Weiss narrowed her eyes at the building. "That almost looks like an underground transit station."
"A what?" Ruby asked bluntly.
"A subway, Rubes," Yang clarified.
"What's a subway doing out here?" The young wielder questioned.
"This was an expansion, not a whole new kingdom," Qrow explained. "Filled with Valen citizens who had to get to their jobs in the main kingdom somehow."
"So, is that their goal?" Weiss wondered. "To sneak into the kingdom using forgotten railways?"
"That'd be impossible," Yang argued. "They sealed off those tunnels."
"They have to be doing something all the way out here," Blake was adamant. "It's far too out of the way for any of their standard operations."
"Alright," Qrow thought to himself for a moment, "think we could find a way inside without raising any alarms?"
"I'll go with Blake," Ruby called out. "Two people can be quieter than five, plus she's good at being sneaky, plus plus she knows White Fang stuff."
"Sure, good for Blake, but why you?" Qrow questioned.
"I can fly?" Ruby reminded them. "If stuff hits the fan, I can use my Glider to escape and get the rest of you."
"You can what?" Qrow had yet to see that part of Ruby's power.
"I've been on it," Weiss confirmed.
"Alright," Qrow nodded, "fair point."
Blake and Ruby filed out of the alley, with the young leader following the faunus ninja's lead through the patrol. They managed to reach a door without anyone guarding it. Blake tested the door. "Locked… I knew this was too good to be true."
"I got this," Ruby summoned her Keyblade and tapped the door.
Click
Blake watched the door swing open and turned a raised eyebrow to Ruby.
"Spatial Manipulation," Ruby tried to shrug off.
"Right." Blake didn't exactly buy it, but this wasn't the time to argue.
The pair continued through the door and down a flight of stairs. They came upon the main platform which was filled with crates of Dust and White Fang agents. This was no doubt the heart of the operation. Ruby was the one to spot the train. "Are they loading the crates onto that train?"
"This doesn't make any sense…" Blake frowned.
The pair silently decided to get closer, keeping low and pressing themselves against one of the larger crates. They had gotten close enough to eavesdrop on the man in charge.
"Hey, what are you trying to do, blow us to the moon!? Be careful with that stuff!"
"But, sir, I thought you said we were behind schedule…"
"It's called a happy medium. You can be fast… and careful!"
Blake's bow twitched. "Is that…?"
"Torchwick," Ruby confirmed, recognizing his voice even after so many months.
"Are these all explosives?" Blake wondered.
"Or the Dust they've stolen," Ruby shrugged.
"I still don't see what the plan could possibly be…" Blake frowned.
Ruby decided to try and get a closer look. She placed her hand on the corner of the crate to steady herself and leaned forward to peek out…
CRACK!
Suddenly, the piece Ruby was using to support herself snapped off the crate and tumbled onto the railway. The Keyblade wielder herself jumped back behind the crate, her heart hammering in her chest.
"Who's there?" Torchwick's voice was calm and furious. The girls stayed quiet. "That crate your hiding against is filled with Dust by the way. Did you know that? I'd rather not shoot it, but if you test my patience… well, it's not exactly the most peaceful demise."
Ruby turned to Blake and spoke so quietly she might as well be mouthing, go get the others.
Blake reluctantly nodded.
"Running out of patience in three! Two!"
Ruby took a deep breath and stepped into Torchwick's view. A moment of silence followed her reveal.
"Hey," Ruby finally spoke. "Long time, no see, Torchwick."