(Play Kingdom Hearts ost world map)

"Woooooow~! I'm actually In space!"

Ruby cried out as she looked out the window of Eda's ship. Her face smooshed against the glass and her eyes sparkled just bright as the stars she was admiring.

Watching her was an unamused King who simply shook his head in disappointment.

"Silly mortals," King scoffed. "So easily excited over trivial things."

"Oh wow, a shooting star!" Ruby cried out in amazement, catching King's attention.

"Shooting star!?" Screamed King as he quickly joined Ruby in looking out the window. "Where!? where!? I want to make my wish!"

The scene made Eda chuckle as she relaxed on her couch with a hot drink.

"Ah, I remember when I was that easily distracted," Eda said as she sipped her drink and popped off her legs as if she was a toy with easily removable parts. This almost made Ruby scream when she saw it, but with how relaxed Eda was Ruby just figured it was normal. "So kid, how much do you know about magic?"

Shaking off her surprise Ruby left King to his star gazing as she walked to her magic teacher. Something Ruby never thought she would have in her life.

"Well Miss Eda-" Ruby began to say but was interrupted by Eda gagging.

"Ugh no Miss anything kid, I can feel my skin peel from just hearing my name being said in such a proper way," Eda said with a green tint to her face. "Just Eda will do."

Blinking in surprise, Ruby nodded as continued with her answer.

"Well… besides what I read in fairy tales I don't know all that much about magic," Ruby admitted. "All I can do is make a fireball."

"Hmm so a novice, oh well I can work with this!" Eda said as she set down her drink and popped her legs back on and got up. "Come with me kid, I got a room in the gummy ship where I practice magic when I'm bored."

"Really!?" Ruby said with a smile. The chance to learn more magic exited the girl as she and Eda made their way through the ship. "By the way, who's flying the ship?"

"Oh Hooty is," Eda said with a shrug. This made Ruby stop in her tracks.

"Wait… the owl face on the door?" Ruby asked in shock. "How?"

"Ah not important, besides he's a great driver," Eda said nonchalantly as they continued to the training room. It wasn't much to look at. A wide room with a big mat in the center. And a box of stuff in the corner next to a folding chair.

(song end)

"Ok kid," Eda said as she led Ruby to the center of the room. "Right, so you can only cast fire a few times before tuckering out. We need to get the magical stamina up! So I'm going to use a method I came up with to help with that."

Eda then walked away and sat down in the folding chair and reached into the box next to her before pulling out a… rubber band ball?

(play Kingdom Hearts OST Merlin's House)

"Uuuhhh…," Ruby made a noise as she looked at her teacher with a bewildered look.

"Now… I'm going to throw junk at you and you need to shoot it out of the air before it hits you," Eda said with an impish grin. "The more you use a spell the better you get at it. It's like a muscle you just need to work out!"

"Wait what?" Ruby asked in shock but winced when the rubber band ball hit the top of her head. "Hey!"

"Too slow!" Eda laughed as she reached inside the box. "Might want to pull out the Keyblade kiddo!"

Before Ruby could voice out her complaints, Eda grabbed an alarm clock and tossed it at Ruby.

Ruby let out an "eep!" and swatted the clock with the Remnant's Heart, shattering the machine into tiny pieces.

"Nope!" Eda said. "You need to block everything else and just use your magic."

"It's… sorry," Ruby muttered. "I'm not used to this."

"You just gotta act before thinking," Eda said. Much to Ruby's surprise as the young girl blinks in confusion.

"I have to… not think? But magic isn't something you just do… is it?"

"Meh!" Eda scoffed. "That's what someone in an overpriced magic school would say, but the real way of magic is to feel it. You got to understand the magic like you do a friend, spend time with it, and get to know it via casting it a lot. Not only will you help build up stamina but you'll be able to cast spells like second nature."

Ruby thought about that for a moment. It was true she didn't really know what she was doing when she cast Fire, that it was a 'feeling', but she thought that it was more like how to swing a sword. Something like that just 'felt' right. "Okay, I believe that for simpler stuff. But what about big complicated spells? Like, I dunno, making a tree grow from a seed or something?... Or is that kinda magic, not a thing?"

Eda laughed as she grabbed a pillow from the box.

"That involves a little more thought put in and even fire could be overthought, but I can tell by just looking at you you're like me. You go by your own groove, not sitting at a desk and taking notes, but if you NEED something to latch onto…," Eda thought before asking. "Tell me, kid, what's your favorite hobby?"

Ruby's face brightened. "Oh… It's so hard to choose! I love baking, and I love crafting and tweaking weapons and stuff! Fighting is pretty fun, too!" She then paused to think about it. "... But… If I had to pick one…" her mind went back to her earliest days for a moment, a familiar and caring voice ringing in her head. "... I'd have to say I love books. I love reading about stories, and hearing tales of heroes, monsters, and wild magical lands! They always inspire me to keep going."

"Ok ok," Eda said, stopping her student's ramblings. "How about that weapon stuff, not much of an expert but it seems like something you like to do and involves making stuff. So imagine magic like making a weapon or something and see where that gets you."

(music end)

Ruby looked a little miffed that her honest talk about stories was brushed off as "ramblings" but took her advice anyway. She thought about the idea of crafting while pointing her weapon at one of the walls of the room. She could probably shoot a fireball without thinking, but she tried to apply the crafting idea anyway.

She thought of what to craft. For a moment she thought of her pride and joy, Crescent Rose, but soon she realized that assembling every piece of her was taking too long. So she stripped down the idea to just her rifle functions. The barrel, the grip, the trigger, the bolt, the hammer, each one settling in her mind. Then she imagined it being loaded with a magazine cartridge. In her mind, she cocked back the bolt. She opened her eyes and in her mind, she pulled the trigger… and much to her confusion a small flame came out but soon dispersed into smoke. "... Huh?"

"Looks like you might have forgotten a part of the method kiddo," Eda commented. "Whatever you were thinking about… maybe you skipped a step?"

"... Skipped…" she muttered then closed her eyes again. The construct of the gun was there, in its basest form. Once again she loaded the magazine with dust car-

She stopped. 'The cartridges.'

In her head, the magazine disassembled itself and could see the bullets inside. She focused on one and took it apart. The shell casing, the primer, the slug, and then, most importantly, the Dust powder itself. She imagined preparing a new one, filling it with Fire Dust (that seemed appropriate), and the small bit of Combustion Dust needed for propellant. The cartridge was securely assembled. This time, she cocked back the bolt and loaded it directly into the barrel. She opened her eyes again and pulled the trigger in her mind.

As soon as she did, a bolt of fire shot out of the tip of the Keyblade with such speed that it outpaced the previous times she cast fire before. She watched as it shot across the room and hit the wall, thankfully not burning a hole in it.

Ruby blinked in surprise. Not only from how the fire spell reacted this time but also from how she barely felt drained from casting it. Her attention was soon drawn towards Eda as the older woman whistled at the display.

"Dang girl," Eda said with a smirk that showed off her golden tooth. "It's rare to see a fireball spell go off like that. Your mental image must have changed how the spell was used. Usually, that spell is used for its damage and mid-range fighting, you pretty much turned it into a fastball special AND increased its range.

Eda laughed as Ruby looked at the smoking tip of her Keyblade.

"Was it… really that impressive? I mean, it was definitely stronger than the last time I used it." Ruby noted.

"Yep! Not only did you find a visualization that works so fast but you got a talent for magic," Eda said. "Now we're going to keep up with the training method now that you know how to cast by feeling. You just need to train it to the point that you're so used to it, that it will take only a second to cast."

Ruby nodded. Understanding that while she can cast the spell with not as much drain, she would still need to be able to cast it faster instead of slowly going step by step with her visualization.

"Though for now how about you go get King, it's almost for lunch and King gets rowdy when he gets hungry," Eda said with a smile with Ruby nodding and running out of the room. As soon as she does Eda slouches into her chair and lets out a nervous breath.

Looking towards the scorch mark Eda sighed.

(Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX -Magical Mystery)

"Man… and I thought I was a monster at her age," Eda muttered. She was a prodigy in the ways of magic back home, much to her sister's and former teachers back at the school on the Boiling Isles annoyance…, but even she took a week or two to use the visualization method to get the hang of her magic. But Ruby only had a slight hiccup before getting it! "Is this the Keyblade? Or is this just… her?"

That much raw talent in magic would have both made her famous and painted a target on her back.

"I mean… it's a good thing right?" Eda asked herself. With how dangerous being a Keyblade master was supposed to be, you would need that kind of strength… Now the question was, how would Eda go about this?

"Well for starters I'm not going to start putting her on a pedestal," Eda said. She would give credit where credit was due, but she wasn't going to fill the kid's head with overblown praise. She saw how that turned out back in her younger years and even she admitted she was an example of having an ego that was a bit too big. Besides, the kid already had to be a Keyblade master rattling in her head. Don't want to put too much pressure on her by making her think she needs to live up to the idea of being a magic prodigy.

(song end)

"Hm… Maybe… I'll treat it as a game? Just toss ideas her way and see what she does. Keep it all… loosey-goosey." She wiggled her shoulders a bit as if testing the idea. "...Dang it Baltheir you owe me double for this!" she growled but her anger was washed away when she heard the sounds of King and Ruby.

(play Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 OST ~ At Dusk, I Will Think of You)

"Eda save me! This red mortal wishes to give me a bath!" King cried out as the sound of things being knocked over could be heard.

"King! You need a bath! You're too dirty and need to wash up before eating!" Ruby said as the sound of her chasing him soon followed.

Eda sighed… but smiled as she walked out of her training room, only stopping to look at a picture on the wall.

"Maybe… just need to take this one step at a time and just let her be a kid, and let her enjoy the thrill of learning… like you kiddo," Eda said as she stopped looking at the picture and made her way to where the noise of things being knocked around was getting louder.

The picture was of her and King with one other, the third person in the picture was a teenage girl with tan skin, dark brown short hair styled in a pixie cut, and brown eyes, Her clothing consists of a pair of ebony earrings, a short-sleeved half-white, and half-indigo hooded shirt with cat ears attached to the hood, high-waisted jean shorts, dark gray capris leggings, and a pair of white loafers. She was snuggling with King while Eda was ruffling the young girl's hair.

"Eda, why did you even put a bath in this thing!?" King yelled in anguish.

"Ugh… this is gonna be a long trip," Eda said as she hurried up to keep a mess from happening.

Either way. All she knew was that she was so going to rub it into that old coot Merlin's face that she got a Keyblade user as a student.

And there was no way he could come even close to that!

(song end)

(meanwhile in Traverse Town.)

(play Kingdom Hearts OST - Traverse Town)

"Welp, whaddya think, Missy? Not my most aesthetic work, but I promise it won't fall apart just because it hit a rock." Cid asked. "Leon built the frame well enough but of course, that boy had to go do something so I was left to finish the job."

Weiss was silent as she looked over the weapon in her hands with some mixed emotions. While she was happy to have a weapon in her hands, she could help but feel odd as she held it.

"It's… heavier than I'm used to…" She held up the blade and examined it. "And I'm used to rapiers. It'll take some adjustment to get used to a weapon more suited to slash than stab. Not to mention the odd angle of the grip…"

Cid scoffed. "Just say you don't like it."

Weiss flinched. "N-No! I apologize, that's not what I meant! Just… thinking out loud. It is still a remarkable piece of work, just… different, is all."

The weapon bore a general resemblance to Leon's Revolver: A pistol with a hand angled backward to make it more usable as a melee weapon. However, while Leon's was based on the classic wheel-gun design, hers was based on a modern semi-auto magazine loader. Colored appropriate gunmetal black with a solid black handle, aside from the more steel-colored finish of the ejection port. It was a bit utilitarian in appearance, but it also had a bit of professionalism to it. The blonde however was a bit more exotic, not in the sense of flourishes but in shape. Unlike Leon's Revolver which looked like someone crafted a classic single-edged blade onto a gun, the blade of Weiss' weapon almost looked like a fin. From the pointed edge, it expanded as it grew closer to the handle, only to quickly cut back in, like a kitchen knife that had been removed from the handle and grafted on. Its shape would ensure that nothing sliding down the blade would strike her hand easily though, and it meant that the deeper a stab she could make the greater the wound would be. The last notable thing was three small holes arranged in a triangle formation near the widest part of the blade, likely to reduce weight without sacrificing structural integrity.

"Peh!" the old man scoffed while scratching his chin. "Well I will admit it was a rush job but it will get the job done."

"I trust in your judgment Mr. Highwind," Weiss said. "Though I do wish my partner was here, she would have loved your and Squall's work. Probably would've talked your ear off, though."

"Heh, sounds like a good lass," Cid said with a smirk. "Also none of that Mr crap, just call me Cid."

She resisted rolling her eyes as she took a few practice swings, trying to get a feel for the weapon. She could tell her other teammate Yang would get along with Cid as well.

'They would all love seeing this place,' the Schnee heiress thought somberly before shaking her head. 'No! You need to focus! You need to find Ruby and stop these Heartless and find a way to get our home back!'

She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the door to Cid's shop being opened. Walking in again was Leon who looked at her and her weapon.

"Couldn't get anything in her style?" Leon asked, all he got was a scoff from the older man who turned to get back to work by sorting out some things for the shop to sell.

"It was a rush job that you left half-finished," Cid said as he sorted through his supplies. "But trust me, it might not be as pretty as yours but it will do, what it lacks in fanciness it makes up for reliability."

Leon simply nodded before his gaze landed on Weiss. Making her freeze as she looked back at him.

"Now that we got you a weapon, we can go meet with Merlin," the young adult said as he started walking out of the store. Forcing Weiss to rush to holster her weapon and thank Cid.

"Thank you Cid for the gun blade!" Weiss said in a hurry as she tried to catch up to Leon.

"No problem kid! Just take care of Hyperion and it will keep you safe," Cid yelled out as Weiss ran out of his store.

(song end)

Thankfully Weiss was able to catch up with Leon as the man walked down the streets of Traverse Town,, all the while keeping an eye out for any heartless or anyone trying to cause trouble. She heard Leon grunt. She glared at him a bit. "What?" she asked curtly.

"... Just good to see you have your head on a swivel," he said. As they made their way down the back alleys. This made Weiss glare at his back,

"How rude," Weiss huffed as they kept walking. Even with how annoyed she was she still kept her eyes open for any Heartless. Maybe it was exactly for that reason. She had learned a bit about the Heartless, and how like Grimm they were attracted to the dark emotions in one's heart. "I know you're a brute but you could at least pretend to be a gentleman."

This just made Leon roll his eyes as they made it a red door with a flame symbol on it.

"Me? A gentleman? Don't hold your breath," Leon muttered. "Besides we made it… and right on time it seems."

(play Merlin's Magical House - Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX OST)

In front of the door was an elderly man with pale skin and thin arms and legs. His nose is a bit large and his black eyes are rather small and close-set. He wears spectacles with circular lenses. He seems to be balding and has short, white hair on the sides and back of his head. He also has bushy eyebrows, a walrus mustache, and a long, floor-length beard, all of which are white. He wore a sky-blue cloak that stops just above his ankles and has large, hanging sleeves. He wears pointed slippers and a tall, floppy, conical hat, both of which are the same sky-blue color as his cloak. Merlin's wand is a very long, featureless, brown rod with a small bump on one end.

"... Is… Is that-?" Weiss asked, looking almost dumbfounded at his outfit.

"Merlin," Leon called out. Catching the elderly man's attention, turning towards them and smiled as he adjusted his glasses.

"Ah Leon, it's to see you," he said as he walked towards the two. "It's good to see you in good health, I'm sorry that I haven't been around as much, constantly on the move and all that!"

"It's fine. We've actually made a little progress… sort of," the Gunbalde wielder said as he gestured towards Weiss who had been silent as the two talked. Merlin looked at the young Schnee as he adjusted his glasses to get a better look at her.

"My… and who is this young Lady?" Merlin asked. "Is she possibly the Keyblade wielder we have been looking for?

Shaking his head, Leon had Weiss step forward and stand in front of him. "No. But she is one of their friends, so that means the Keyblade will find their way here soon."

"What am I, a Keyblade magnet?" Weiss grumbled.

"You're getting something out of it, so no need to whine," Leon said in a flat tone. "Speaking of which, before you head out again, I would like you to teach Weiss here some magic."

"Really?" the old wizard asked. "I mean, I could, but it would take a while Leon, Magic isn't something you just pick up unless you are a prodigy or, from what research I learned, a Keyblade master. That artifact could bring out the latent magic talent of someone.

'That would explain a few things.' Weiss thought. She sighed and summoned a glyph, producing the arm of the armor gigas from it. "It's not exactly magic, but I'd like to think it would at least give me some kind of base to work from."

Merlin gasped as he looked at Weiss's Glyphs

"Amazing," Merlin said as he adjusted his glasses. "I see the formula on each one of them with different ways to come together to do something."

"Yeah," Leon muttered. "Makes her a pain to fight."

"Fight?" Merlin asked before giving Leon a stern look. "Are you attacking people out of the blue over the smallest hint of suspicion!? I and the others told you not to do that anymore Leon!"

Weiss could only watch in shock and amusement as Merlin lectured Leon for his attack first ask questions later method. All the while she could see Leon was trying to act cool, but the slight twitch in his eyes showed that the lecture was going somewhere in that head of his.

"Well, I see you and I are going to get along swimmingly, Master Merlin." She said smugly.

Leon just scoffed. "Don't forget you asked ME how to use a Gunblade kid."

Weiss curtsied almost sarcastically. "Of course, Sir Leon."

This got an eye roll and another scoff, but Weiss could tell there was no malice. "Later," he said as he turned and left.

Weiss turned to Merlin. "So, Ruby-Uh, that's my friend, the one with the Keyblade. Anyway, she was able to shoot fireballs from her weapon. That's all the magic I saw her use though. I assume that's a basic spell?"

The older man nodded.

"Ah yes! Fireball is the most basic offense spell, easy to pick up and use. Though like all magic you should be careful." Merlin answered and also warned. "Spells are not toys. They could easily kill you if misused."

"Of course, just like Dust!" she replied confidently. "... Uh, that's the, uh, name of a fuel we have back home. It's used for everything from electricity to firearms."

"Ah, I see, I see!" Merlin said with a laugh as he used a basic fireball spell to unlock his door. "Come in! We can talk about this over some hot tea haha."

He guided her into what looked like a cavern that had a small lake in it with a house in the center. He had them glide over the water and onto the bit of land and into the building. Inside was nothing but cobwebs and darkness.

"That… is quite an interesting abode you have," Weiss said with a polite tone. Not knowing how to feel about the place. Even more so for the condition of the house. It had seen better days for sure. "I see you live quite… minimalistic," She looked at the almost complete lack of any furnishings. Not even lighting.

Merlin laughed as he set his bag down and open it. He then goes to the center of the house onto a small stage-like area made of stone and starts waving his magic rod. As he does, furniture and other things start to float out of his bag, things both small and way too big to have been in that bag came out as they all sorted themselves in the proper place. Then with one final sweep of his arms and a glow from his magic rod, the room lit up before dying down. As soon as Weiss opened her eyes she was shocked to see the once barren building now well-furnished and lit with a comforting glow from both the fireplace and candles.

"... Oh, please tell me I can learn this. The convenience… The organization… Oh, it's a thing of beauty." Weiss said with a voice of pure bliss and eyes filled with stars as she imagined using the spell she just saw.

Merlin laughed as he went to the table now in the center and sat down in his big chair. He poured some tea for himself and for Weiss.

Merlin took a sip before speaking. "Ah, all in good time my dear. Now let us talk, I did say it would take a while for someone to learn magic without the help of a magic item like the Keyblade. But after you showed me those glyphs I think you might just have a knack for the arts only seen in a handful of people, my dear."

(song ends)

As he explained this he had a few books for beginners float from the bookshelf and places themselves on the table for her to read as she sat down and took the offered tea.

"But before we begin there is one all-important question I must ask," Merlin said in a serious tone. "This question is the most important thing I can ask of someone."

Weiss stood at attention, looking nervous. "Y-Yes?"

Merlin took another sip of his tea.

"Magic is one of the greatest gifts someone like me can teach someone. It is a force of both good and evil depending on the hands that use it. So when I ask you this my dear I must know… What will you use your magic for?" Merlin asked as he looked into Weiss's eyes.

The atmosphere was tense as the only sound that could be heard was the crackling of the fire.

(play Missing You ~ Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5)

"Uh… I assume you're not asking me if I'd use it for good or evil. That'd be a bit too direct." she chuckled nervously. "Um… Let's see…" She thought about it for a while. 'What do I want magic for? Well, first I would probably say to grow more powerful. But… Why do I want to grow more powerful? So I can be a better Huntress. And why do I want to be a better Huntress? To honor the family-' She stopped, her thoughts getting cut off. Her dream, or rather a nightmare, from just today, came into her mind. What stuck with her most… was the feeling of absolute terror, of the hopelessness of seeing Ruby going off to fight those Heartless on her own. But more than she remembered… the frustration, the shame, the feeling of the utter worthlessness of not being able to help… and the horrible cold emptiness when her team was gone.

"... More than anything… I want magic… To protect those who are dear to me. To be strong enough to stand by their side. To not have to stand on the sidelines when they risk their lives. I want… to protect them and support them. To always be there for them." She looked him in the eye. "That's why I want to learn magic. If it'll help me protect my friends and family, I'll do anything to get stronger… for them."

Merlin was silent for a second before he set his tea down and got up from his seat and walked to the corner of his room as the beginner books floated away. Weiss looked down with worry. Was that not the best answer? Should she have gotten to the point? Or maybe…

Her thoughts were interrupted as a much larger book was dropped in front of her. Making the poor girl jump as she looked to see Merlin whipping his hands clean from the dust that had gathered on that book.

(Song end)

"Wh-What?" she asked dumbly.

"Sorry for that, I just needed to find the more advanced beginner tome," Merlin said with a chuckle. "I have to say my dear your words were pure and true, you thought of your answer and went with what the heart wanted, and for that, I say I am sorry for underestimating your drive child!"

He then handed her a pure white version of his magic wand.

"But enough talk let's get started on your crash course to magic!" He cheered. His eyes twinkled with wonder and excitement that was contagious to the young Schnee.

Weiss smiled and took it. "Yes, Profess-... Oh wait, sorry, force of habit. Um… is it Master? Teacher?"

Merlin laughed as patted her on the head.

"Just call me Merlin my dear, never had anyone call me master," Merlin laughed. "Now no time like the present! Let's get to work!"

"Merlin it is! How do we start?" Weiss asked with excitement that would usually belong to her leader.

"Haha well my dear we will start by teaching you the three basic magics, Fire, Blizzard, and finally Thunder!" Merlin said as he cast each of the three basic spells to show Weiss what she would be learning. A basketball-sized fireball out one window and into the lake, a gunshot blast of pure frost and ice into the air, and a lightning bolt summoned from the sky and into a box shattering it with its great power.

Weiss felt her heart thump with excitement. This was like finding out there was an entirely new field of science and physics to study, and she was getting a crash course in an exclusive class.

"Now Weiss, follow my lead!" Merlin said with a cheer.

Soon the caverns were filled with flashing lights and the sound of magic being cast… and the laughter of a young maiden whose life even at a low point was able to find wonder and excitement that kept her heart strong.

Chapter Done!

Sorry for the wait, my computer broke, worked on a chapter only for THAT one to break on me!
Got a heavy-duty one this time so I pray it works. Sorry for the long wait and i hope you enjoy the chapter!