Remnant of Dreams
"What's this?"
Wooden tendrils softly held up the body of a young girl for her to see. The girl had recently died, the stab wound on her chest being the main and obvious reason.
And yet the scent of magic still remained on her and something else.
"You have been touched by the Spirit of Creation." She smiled as she waved a hand over the deceased girl's face. "Well, look at that. You are an artificial construct, given an actual soul. Ambrosius really outdid himself this time. He removed the mechanical parts and left your soul behind…and your soul combined with Ambrosius' magic created a breathing and living body. Oh, the imagination and creativity of mortals never ceases to astound me. It's too bad you died so soon."
She softly ran her hand across the dead girl's cheek.
"So pretty…So innocent…" She grinned as she considered the ramifications. "Perhaps you'd need not have died in vain…Perhaps you can become something greater than you ever were before."
With that in mind, the blue wispy form she normally took the few times she actually had visitors faded and a blue orb floated in its place. The orb slowly entered the girl's body through her stab wound and there was a bright light. Immediately the wounds started healing and the sound of a heart beat would have been heard.
And slowly, the eyes of the deceased Penny Polendina slowly opened, formerly green but now shining with a divine azure light.
"And now, I walk alongside the mortals." She whispered as she slowly stood up.
She walked over to the edge of platform of the chamber her core resided in and looked down at her reflection, taking in her appearance.
"Still a pretty face but the blood has to go."
With a wave of her hand, the blood and Penny's former were gone in a flash of light, replaced by a white gothic Lolita style dress with six wings even sticking out of her back, a golden belt around her waist, frills decorating the end of her sleeves and skirt and white high heeled shoes covering her feet while white thigh high stockings covered her legs.
"There now." She smiled at her reflection, summoning the same white staff she had held before and looking at the orb that rested on top of it. "Much better. Now let's see what we can do to help those poor lost Maidens…"
Xxx
"They found a way to restore Remnant!"
He was looking at the three girls before him, all of their eyes blazing with magical fire.
"How can you be so sure?" The girl in red held the blade of her scythe at his neck.
"Because I saw Pyrrha!"
This stunned the three girls, making the red one lower her scythe.
"And Penny too." Oscar, or rather Jaune had shouted, having returned from the depths of his mind much like Ozpin had during Atlas. "I saw them both alive with us…The portal she showed me…It was showing visions of us on Remnant."
The three girls looked at him and then at each other…
Xxx
"So this is where you fell?"
Aqua had used the Horn of Passage to bring them back to the island of Drasil, believing it was hidden enough from Xehanort for the time being.
She nodded in response to Terra's question. "Yeah. This world…It exists outside the universe as we know. I know that these two brother Gods named Izanagi and Erebus created it as part of an experiment. They create one world and gave its people the gift of magic and this world was apparently born from it as a response."
"This place feels nothing like any world I have been to. It feels less like a world and more like a…construct. Something else aside from a world's heart is keeping it together. Not to mention it feels smaller than any other world I have been to." Terra looked around as they walked along the beach, looking at the giant tree in the center of the island. "This world exists in the Realm of Darkness?"
"I think so…The people used some sort of magic that created a path in space and time and I fell through it when I gave you my armor and Keyblade to return you to the Realm of Light." Aqua answered, looking to the tree. "That's Yggdrasil but she called herself Drasil for short. I think she is the one keeping this world together."
Terra paused as he looked at Aqua. "…You risked falling in the darkness for me?"
"Of course I did. I would have done the same for Ven and again for you in a heartbeat." Aqua answered with resolute in her voice, glancing at him over her shoulder. "I just wish we could have got your body back."
Terra was silent as he considered Aqua's words before shaking his head. "I can handle being in this armor. It's far better than being trapped in Xehanort's monster."
"How did you end up in there?" Aqua asked.
"I'm not sure. I remembered Xehanort trying to take control of me when I summoned my armor but I was too late. My heart, it was shunted from my body and placed in something, something dark. I think Xehanort was trying to expel me from my own body." Terra answered, trying to recall everything that happened. "I spent so long, waiting in the dark, trying to find my way out…"
"Terra…" Aqua glanced away. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. I fell for Xehanort's tricks and you, Ven and the Master suffered for it." Terra stated.
"I fell for them too so don't blame yourself for all of it…" Aqua's eyes narrowed. "But I blame Xehanort the most for what happened."
"…Me too." Terra nodded. "So what happened afterwards? I know you said it's been like…ten years since we were together."
Aqua looked at Ansem who been traveling behind them with Neo. "I think someone here can fill in the blanks."
"Very well." Ansem looked at Terra. "I believe, young man, you were also the man I found unconscious in Radiant Garden all those years ago. The man remembered nothing of his past, aside from the name…Xehanort."
Xxx
And so, Ansem explained to Terra what had happened since the supposed battle Aqua had with Xehanort who was controlling his body. From the experiments, the Heartless invasion, the Nobodies forming Organization XIII and up to when he had Aqua and Neo in the Realm of Darkness.
"I see…" Terra whispered once Ansem was done explaining.
They had taken shelter under a few palm trees with a fire cooking some fish that Aqua and Neo had caught as Ansem told his tale.
Terra then looked at Aqua. "And Ven is still in the castle that is now named Castle Oblivion?"
"Apparently." Aqua answered. "I would have gone to wake him up but I don't know where his heart is and I lost the Master's Keyblade after I helped to restore the worlds."
Terra then looked at Neo. "And you gained a Keyblade left behind by someone."
"Yep." Neo answered, summoning the Way to the Dawn. "Still not my color or the dark coat," She gestured to the dark coat she kept wearing. "But they both kind of grown on me."
And the dark coat was at least in prime condition while her old outfit was torn up from her days here on the island before she had met Aqua.
"So what is the plan now?" Terra asked.
Aqua sighed. "To be honest, I haven't been making plans lately. Everything has been done on an impulse, reacting to one crisis after the other. The island, meeting the spirits, the world these gods came from, Neo and the others and then trying to restore the worlds. I've been pretty much just reacting to everything on instinct."
"It's true. Everywhere we've gone, someone or something has tried to kill us." Neo started eating her fish. "If she wasn't so good and I didn't get some perks out of it, I might not have come along."
Terra looked at Neo and then Aqua who shrugged. "She is what I like to call a 'diamond in the rough.'"
"Still a diamond, sweetheart." Neo smirked. "And I graduated from a school meant to turn little girls into classical ladies as well as being spies and assassins."
Aqua rolled her eyes as she looked away. "A very rough diamond."
"I see." Terra simply said.
"Perhaps we should see this Drasil then and see if the world Miss Neo came from has indeed been restored like the other worlds." Ansem suggested.
The three looked at him and then at each other.
"Seems like the only plan." Terra shrugged.
"Why not?" Neo shrugged as well. "Might as well see how those Maidens are holding up."
Aqua looked at the group and nodded. "All right. I know the quickest way."
With that, Aqua led the group to the base of the massive tree. On the way, they encountered some hostile animals that were easily fended off.
"How long were you on this island?" Terra asked, sending an animal fleeing with a simple Earth spell.
"Me? I guess a few days at first before I appeared in the far past of Remnant…At least from the perspective of Neo and the others." Aqua answered. "I spent a month trying to help stave off the chaos before I returned here and met Neo."
"And how long were you here, Miss Neo?" Ansem asked politely.
"Who knows? This place has two suns so the days are longer and hotter, I could barely keep track of the time between fighting off any hostile animals or fighting Red and her friends. Then when they heard Remnant was destroyed when they got their powers Red was constantly hunting me I could barely keep track of the time. Maybe a month since we got here." Neo answered as they reached the base of the tree. "Before Aqua showed up, I was sure that I would eventually slip up and Red would have my head."
Just as they reached the entrance suddenly an ice wall appeared in front of them, blocking them off. They spun around and watched as four girls emerged from the woods, their eyes blazing with magical fire.
The Four Maidens:
Weiss Schnee the Winter Maiden.
Yang Xiao Long the Spring Maiden.
Blake Belladonna the Summer Maiden.
And Ruby Rose the Fall Maiden.
"Friends?" Terra asked as they slowly approached.
"I was kind of hoping they would be eventually." Aqua answered, noting the angered looks the four were showing.
"You…" Ruby pointed her Crescent Rose at them, Aqua and Neo specifically. "What did you do?!"
Aqua and Neo blinked, glancing at each other for a second before Aqua spoke for them. "What are you talking about?"
"Jaune said our world was restored but when he got there…" Weiss began, clenching a fist as a whirlwind of snow and ice slowly began to form around and spread along the trees. "He changed into a monster!"
Aqua's eyes widened in surprise. "What?"
Xxx
"Let me go first." Jaune said to the girls as they stood before the portal leading back to Remnant. "It's hard to say what will happen on the other side."
The girls looked at each other, wanting argue but Jaune took the first step into the portal. They watched as he reappeared in Remnant…
At Beacon of all places.
Only it looked exactly like it did before the Fall.
Before everything had fallen apart.
At first everything seemed fine, Jaune was even hugging Pyrrha but he noticed a strange crest appearing on his hand. The girls then watched as strange crack like markings began appearing on his body.
If that wasn't odd enough, they saw themselves, back before Beacon fell with Jaune and his team.
"So did Jaune travel back in time?" Yang asked.
"Maybe he did." Weiss slowly answered.
Blake walked up to the portal on all fours, sniffing the portal at first before she hissed. "Something's wrong."
Then the girls screamed as they saw what happened next.
The crest on Jaune's hand disappeared and then reappeared on his chest before his body began breaking apart into some sort of horse like monster with glowing red eyes like a Grimm. The creature let out a roar and went on the prowl.
All the while the four surviving Maidens looked on in horror.
Xxx
"Jaune and Oscar said you two went to restore our world." Ruby glared at Aqua and Neo. "What did you two do?!"
"I…We…I followed the instructions for restoring the worlds perfectly." Aqua stuttered, stunned by what she had been told and her mind raced to try and find where she might have gone wrong.
"Well, you messed up somewhere because our friend, our two remaining friends have changed into a beast." Yang's eyes blazed with red fire as she glared at them, particularly Neo. "Maybe because you allowed her of all people to come along to try and save the world! Her, a murdering psychopath!"
"Takes one to know one, Blondie." Neo retorted as she stepped forward.
The four Maidens were suddenly standing in stunned silence for moment before Yang found her voice again. "Holy shit…It talks."
"Oh look, she actually can hear and understand me. I guess you have a brain after all." Neo retorted with a taunting smirk. "Try not to be too jealous. Yeah, I helped Bluey save the world because she knew unlike the rest of you; I wouldn't screw it up like you guys always do."
Ruby growled. "Unlike us?! You helped destroy Beacon and then you tried to kill us at Atlas! Who in their right mind would trust you of all people?!"
"Maybe because out of everyone here, I'm the only one still in their right mind, Little Red." Neo retorted. "And besides, it's not like I'm the only one here guilty of destroying a whole kingdom."
"What?!"
"Don't forget, Little Red. I know you guys pretty much made Irondouche go mad when he found you lied to him, went behind his back and pretty much kept it all hush-hush right until Salem was right at his doorstep and pretty doomed Atlas. And you have the nerve to justify trying to save everyone when the real truth is you guys are just a bunch of hero-wannabees that thought yourselves the only moral authority in all of Remnant." Neo taunted with a smile before it turned into an angered sneer. "Just another reason to hate you."
"That's not true!" Ruby shouted.
"Is it? Like I said, you lied to and distrusted your allies, the same way you condemned Irondaddy and Ozpin for. You helped create the situation that let to Atlas being destroyed, costing thousands of people their homes." Neo continued on, smirking as she placed one hand on her hip. "And when you couldn't live with the truth you all turned on each other and broke off. The only reason you're standing here now is because you found out Remnant was back and it wasn't your doing, it was me and Aqua doing the grunt work. Truth be told, I actually went with her because I knew if I stayed here you four would have tried to kill me again but I got a lot more out of it than I thought. Maybe this hero gig isn't so bad when you're working with the right people."
Ruby growled as a gust of wind blasted from her. "YOU TRIED TO KILL ME! YOU TOOK MY SISTER FROM ME AND YOU HAVE THE GALL TO ACT LIKE YOU'RE BETTER THAN US! HOW DARE YOU WHEN YOU WORKED WITH SALEM AND CINDER WHO WANT TO DESTROY THE WORLD?!"
"Don't get your panties in a twist, Red. I didn't know what Cinder and her boss were really planning. I only came along because I wanted to avenge Roman's death. You know Roman? My best friend who you took me away from when you sent me into that pack of Gryphons?" Neo narrowed her eyes.
"HE WAS TRYING TO KILL ME AND SO WERE YOU! I DIDN'T KILL HIM…BUT I WISH I KILLED YOU WHEN I HAD THE CHANCE!" Ruby spun her Crescent Rose in one hand as she shot at Neo. "YOU WON'T ESCAPE THIS TIME!"
Neo held out her hand and summoned the Way to the Dawn, blocking Ruby's strike and shocking her and her friends.
"That's right; I got a Keyblade now too." Neo smirked at the surprised look on Ruby's face. "So now, the playing field's just about even like before…Oh wait."
Neo dismissed the Way to the Dawn and grabbed Crescent Rose, pulling it down and Ruby along with it as Neo slammed the weapon into the ground with her hands on top of it and her feet came up, kicking Ruby back.
"You don't have a cheap trick to pull on me this time." Neo then jumped back, avoiding a blast of fire from Yang and landed perfectly on the ground next to Aqua and Terra as they rushed up.
"Stop this now." Aqua demanded. "Fighting like this isn't going to solve whatever problem your world has."
"Maybe not but it can't be worse than what you've done." Yang retorted, bringing up her fists and coating them with fire. "So we'll work on it once you're out of the way."
"Aqua, they can't be reasoned with." Terra said as he summoned his End of the Earth Keyblade.
Aqua sighed and summoned Stormfall while Neo summoned her Keyblade as well.
(Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep OST Black Garden)
Ansem stepped back, seeing this was a fight that could not be avoided and he couldn't offer much help regardless.
"So now there are three of you now?" Blake snickered before snarling, her mind having somewhat returned but she still allowed her Faunus instincts to take over. "Don't think it will be enough."
With that, the four Maidens summoned a powerful gust storm, kicking up sand and branches in all directions. Aqua summoned a barrier to protect her and Neo while Terra was immune to the dust storm due to his heart residing in his armor. A red blur caught Aqua's attention just before Ruby appeared above them, swinging down a blazing red Crescent Rose. Aqua grunted from holding off her attack but Neo then jumped over her shoulder, jumping up over Crescent Rose and delivering a kick to Ruby's face, knocking her down.
Ruby growled as she got up and Neo took off into the forest, throwing a taunting smile over her shoulder. "Catch me if you can, Red!"
Ruby shouted and shot after Neo with her Semblance into the forest.
"Neo!" Aqua called out before a wall of ice blocked her off.
"Now, now." Weiss slowly approached, holding her weapon Myrtenaster at her side. "We never finished our conversation before."
Meanwhile Yang shot at Terra, shouting as threw a flaming punch at his head.
CLANG!
BANG!
However Terra blocked with his Keyblade. Blake appeared behind him, using her Maiden powers to create a new version of her weapon, Gambol Shroud and swung it at the back of his head. Terra however dodged, moving his head aside and kicked Blake away. Yang growled and went on the attack, her fists flaming as she let loose a barrage of punches at Terra who stepped back but managed to block or parry her attacks with his Keyblade.
Just as Blake was about to attack again, Terra jumped back and raised his Keyblade above his head. "Quake!"
Blake and Yang were suddenly shaken by a small earthquake and Blake actually ran face first into a rock pillar that kicked up from the ground, leaving her in a daze. Yang snarled as she smashed through the rock pillar in front of her but Terra shot forward, swinging his Keyblade at her face. Yang quickly raised her arms to block but Terra's virtually unlimited strength that was added in to his attack sent her flying and crashing through a tree.
Terra then turned around and faced Blake who recovered and was snarling at him. "I don't want this to end in something we'll all regret. Stand down and I won't hurt you."
Blake looked over to Yang and grinned. "Too bad she can't say the same for you."
Terra turned and watched as Yang slowly stood up…and let out a yell as an aura of fire surrounded her and blasted away the trees surrounding her. Her eyes were glowing bright red and the mystical fires surrounding them were only more intimidating as her hair literally glowed with fire. Yang then shot at Terra, fire surrounding her to the point she looked like a flaming missile and thrust her flaming fist forward again.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The collision created a powerful and flaming shockwave that shook the entire island and a pillar of fire rose up into the air, almost reaching the branches of the massive tree. The fire eventually faded, leaving a scorched area with the ground completely pitch black and Yang stood panting slightly as the dust cleared…
And revealed Terra standing while holding a large shield in front of him that protected him from Yang's empowered fist.
'That was close. My current form allows me to Formchange my Keyblade faster than I did in my real body. The thoughts and memories that allowed my armor to come to life, they are with me even now. That's how I knew how to instantly change my Keyblade's form.' Terra thought as his Keyblade changed back into its default form. 'Looks like I might need it and more against these two. The magic coming off of them is astounding, even if they aren't mage level.'
Yang growled as another flaming aura surrounded her while Blake moved to attack from behind. "So your weapon can change form? Now I'm a little jealous."
"I wonder how many forms it can take." Blake admitted with a curious smile, moving slowly on all four limbs. "Enough to take us both on?"
"Let's find out." Terra said as his Keyblade morphed into a whip that he then threw at Yang who grinned and caught it.
"Bad move." Yang taunted as she sent a stream of fire down the whip towards Terra, setting his armored form on fire.
Only Terra could not feel the heat and he quickly capitalized on that by pulling with all his strength, surprising Yang as she pulled off her feet and was sent flying at him. Terra then jumped up, spinning through the air and delivering a kick to Yang's back as she flew under him, sending her crashing into Blake before she could react. Blake grunted as she rolled along the ground but managed to get back up on all fours, hissing at Terra while Yang crashed behind her.
Blake let out a roar as a whirlwind surrounded her and with it came fire, lightning and ice. Fire balls and needles of ice shot at Terra who leapt up over the attack and seemingly fell towards Blake who raised her hand, creating a giant katana made of rock and fire and swung it up.
Terra held up his Keyblade and through the power of Formchange it became a giant mace that he swung down…
CRASH!
The mace shattered Blake's giant flaming katana and impacted the ground next to her, creating a shockwave that sent Blake to the side.
"YOU BASTARD!"
Terra spun around, seeing Yang getting back and shooting forward with a fiery whirlwind surrounding her. Terra's Keyblade form-changed into a whip that he launched at Yang but the Spring Maiden dodged the incoming strikes and managed to maneuver behind Terra, launching a punch that knocked him back. Terra rolled along the ground but easily got back up as his Keyblade returned to its End of the Earth form. Just as Yang flew at him again, Terra swung his Keyblade which collided with Yang's next punch, creating a minor shockwave that sent dirt and branches flying.
Yang launched another punch but Terra jumped over it, yelling as he somersaulted back down and swung his Keyblade down on her. There was another shockwave that kicked up dust and when it cleared….
Yang was holding Terra's Keyblade, having it in mid-swing which surprised Terra. With a yell, Yang pulled it and Terra over her shoulder and then threw them both away. Terra grunted as he skidded across the ground but got back up and summoned his Keyblade back. He looked to see Yang shoot up into the air and fall towards him like a meteor.
Terra managed to jump out of the way in time as Yang's fist hit the ground, creating a large crater. Terra rolled along the ground but instantly got back up and shot at Yang who spun and threw a punch at him as he neared but Terra surprised her by actually jumping over her head and performed a somersault while slashing at her back.
"AAAAAAAAH!" Yang let out a scream as her Aura strained from the hit, shimmering and seemingly breaking.
Terra carefully watched as Yang staggered forward, grunting before falling on one knee but managed to get back up and face him. It was obvious that despite her great power, Yang was still inexperienced with it and perhaps using all of this power at once was tiring her out.
Despite that, she still glared at Terra and launched herself at him with a loud yell.
In the meantime, Aqua found herself being pelted by ice shards from all sides as Weiss used her Glyph Semblance in tandem with her Maiden powers, allowing her to conjure and fire a literally endless barrage.
"I never paid you back for the rudeness you showed as my guest." Weiss remarked coldly as she summoned glyphs all around Aqua and fired more and more ice shards.
"Weiss, this is crazy! How is fighting us supposed to solve anything?" Aqua called as she blocked or dodged the incoming shards.
"I suppose nothing…But at this point I don't really care." Weiss narrowed her flaming eyes. "You were the one who instilled us with hope in the first place, Aqua. And then we had to watch as our world became a nightmare when it turned Jaune into a monster…"
(Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep OST Black Garden Ends)
"Jaune!"
Weiss remembered finding Jaune sobbing on the beach with the remains of his sword in front of him. Jaune lifted his head up from the ground and Weiss was stunned by the tears rolling down his now pale face. Both stood up and were about to run to each other when Jaune slipped over the shards of his sword. Weiss rushed up and caught him in her arms.
"I'm so glad you're okay!" Weiss said with a relieved smile.
Only Jaune didn't look happy at all.
Weiss noticed her friend about to break down again. "Jaune, what's the matter?"
Jaune leaned against Weiss, his face burying itself in her shoulder as they fell to their knees. "I killed her!"
That's right.
Penny…
Weiss held Jaune, even though now she felt sad enough she might end up crying with him. "She wanted you to so she could pass the powers to Winter."
"I could have saved her!" Jaune hiccupped and sobbed.
Weiss closed her eyes as she held Jaune closely, even as tears started falling down her cheeks now.
"I…I could have saved her! I di-didn't want her to die!"
"I know…" Weiss said quietly, keeping her eyes closed and so Jaune wouldn't see her crying as well.
She needed to be strong for him…
And for the others.
"And Penny isn't the only one who died that day!"
Weiss slowly opened her eyes.
"Weiss, my sword with Pyrrha's medal…" Jaune continued. "The one my great grandfather used…It shattered! That's all I had left of Pyrrha!"
Weiss' eyes widened and her arms fell to her knees as Jaune slowly pulled away from her.
More tears slipped down her face as it seemed she was crying as badly as Jaune now. "Oh Jaune…"
Jaune was silent for a moment before he stood up, offering a hand to her. "Come on, we have to find the others."
Weiss stood up next, taking a moment to wipe the tears from Jaune's face before hugging him again. "I'm here if you need to talk."
Though she couldn't see it, she knew Jaune had managed to smile. "Thanks Weiss, you're a good friend."
Though they should have started looking for the others, they just stood there and held each other for a good long while.
Weiss gritted her teeth as the blue fire around her eyes blazed even brighter. "Why did you have to come into our lives and give us hope?!"
Watching Jaune turn into the monster…
Just another friend whose life was unfairly taken in the suffering hell that Weiss Schnee called her life.
And Weiss couldn't understand why she was still alive when everyone else around her died.
"JUST DO US A FAVOR AND DIE WITH EVERYONE ELSE!"
(Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep OST Black Powder)
The ground surrounded Weiss turned completely to ice and she shot forward, sliding across the ice like a figure skater as she slashed her sword against Aqua's Keyblade. Sparks flew from the resulting clash and Aqua grunted, trying to keep her balance. Weiss skated past her but kept summoning glyphs, firing more ice shards that forced Aqua back as she dodged or blocked. It didn't help that Weiss was also using her glyphs to increase her speed as she attacked.
Aqua grunted as she blocked another shard aimed at her head. It was obvious that Weiss and the others would not listen to what she had to say. They only wanted to fight and so Aqua only had one course of action. She 'locked' onto Weiss before a bright, shining aura surrounded her and she shot forward along the ice like an expert figure skater herself, keeping up with Weiss as she spun and sent out bolts of light that cancelled Weiss' ice attacks and glyphs and forcing Weiss to dodge. Both Maiden and Keyblade Master literally danced around each other on the ice, their powers colliding in such a way that caused miniature explosions almost resembling fireworks.
It was almost beautiful to behold.
"AAH!" Weiss shot forward, aiming her sword to directly piece Aqua through her heart.
Aqua skated towards her as well and at the last second, angled her body so that Weiss' sword would pass her arm. Aqua then grabbed Weiss' arm and pulled her in, both of them spinning around in the center of the ice.
"Command Style: Spellweaver!" Aqua called out as they spun.
Weiss grunted, summoning more of her Maiden power that collided with Aqua's own magic. The Spellweaver and Winter Maiden powers created a whirlwind of ice and snow around the pair as they continued spinning on the ice. Aqua grunted as she felt Weiss grab and ice began spreading from her hands and over Aqua's body.
Weiss was trying to freeze her!
Only as they spun, the light of Spellweaver blasted around Aqua as she performed her magical spinning attack. The bright blue aura shattered the ice forming around her body and blasted Weiss off her feet, sending her flying through the snowy whirlwind they had made together.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Weiss let out a shocked cry, too stunned to react as she was sent flying out and crashed several yards away on solid and unfrozen ground.
The whirlwind of ice and snow slowly faded and Aqua was shown standing in the center with her arms closed as she exhaled a foggy breath. She looked towards Weiss whose own Aura had shattered and she appeared to be limping as she tried to get up.
"Damn you…" Weiss looked up at her, eyes still blazing with icy fire along with sadness, anger and grief. "Why did you make me believe things could be different?"
Aqua couldn't answer that question.
Xxx
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
Neo jumped out of the way as a blade of wind cut a tree behind her. She somersaulted and cartwheeled as Ruby unleashed several more wind blades at her. Neo had led Ruby away from the others, deciding the two of them had to unfinished business. She knew Aqua could handle herself just fine and if Terra was as strong as her then they should be able to handle those Maidens just fine.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
'Okay, I can admit that maybe this time I went too far in taunting Red.' Neo thought as Ruby actually threw Crescent Rose at her like before.
Only this time the scythe as in the center of a whirlwind of fire that cut and burned through the ground and tree as it flew at Neo and Ruby wasn't far behind it, using her Semblance to catch up to it.
"Defend!" Neo shouted as she used her new weapon to create a wall of energy in the shape of a mirror that the scythe bounced off of and exploded.
Neo grunted from the force of the explosion, sliding back but kept her eyes open and spotted a red blur shot past her. She raised her Keyblade over her shoulder and caught Ruby's slash that was aimed at the back of her head. Neo then locked her Keyblade with Ruby's scythe and pulled her in for an axe kick to the face like she did with Yang during their first fight and followed up with a kick to the torso. Ruby stumbled back and recovered, watching as Neo cartwheeled to her and swung her scythe again.
This time, Neo pulled out her Hush and latched the handle onto Ruby's while in mid-air, letting the force carry her around to complete the swung. Then she landed on her, pulled with all her strength in one hand and twisted the Way to the Dawn in the other as Ruby flew forward. Ruby ended hitting the hilt of Neo's Keyblade, letting go of Crescent Rose which sailed past them and the bladed end embedded itself in the ground a few feet away.
Ruby growled and launched a fireball at Neo who blocked by opening Hush and then charged forward, thrusting her Keyblade at Ruby who splits into three smaller bursts of petals before appearing behind Neo. Her hands crackled with fire and lightning as she grabbed onto Neo, intent on burning and electrifying her to death. However Neo simply shattered in her grip, revealing that she had replaced herself with an illusion. Ruby hastily looked around with her eyes flaming with the power of the Fall Maiden, trying to locate Neo before she could attack again.
"I seem to remember you fighting a lot smarter than this."
Ruby spun around and unleashed a blast of lightning and fire at Neo, seemingly disintegrating her on impact.
"Then again, I guess things are different for the both of us." Neo reappeared behind Ruby, pointing her Keyblade at the back of Ruby's head. "Some more noticeable than others."
"Shut up!" Ruby shouted as spikes of ice sprouted from the ground, forcing Neo to jump back.
"Reflega!" Neo's spell took the form of a mirror that soaked up in the incoming ice and then shattered, sending Ruby's own attack back at her.
"Damn it!" Ruby leapt out of the way before she ended up skewered and sent a blast of fire at Neo who batted it away with her Keyblade, sending it up into the sky.
"You're fighting a lot like Cinder now." Neo remarked as she lowered her arm, holding the Way to the Dawn in one hand and Hush in the other.
Just because she had a Keyblade now, it doesn't mean she would abandon her original weapon. Well, the original Hush disappeared when it fell and Neo had the idea that Ruby and her friends found and destroyed it so she planned on keeping the new one close to her.
"What'd you say?!" Ruby shouted in outrage.
"She flaunted her powers around me and Roman but when I fought her in Mistral I noticed that she claimed to be stronger but her skills had actually gone down a bit since I last saw her. If not for her Maiden powers I would have killed her then and there." Neo explained as she and Ruby stared each other down. "Her powers had become her crutch. She focused more on them than on her own skills, likely neglecting her training. Guess she didn't see the need if she thought she could get her hands on all four Maidens. You're not fighting very well without your weapon and just wildly blasting at me with everything you've got, like she did."
"And then you worked with her." Ruby snapped.
"And she betrayed me. I'm done working with her." Neo glared back. "Next time I see her, I'll kill her with my own hands if I have to. Right now though, I'm more interested in settling my score with you."
"Yeah, me too." Ruby said as she and Neo slowly circled each other. "You stalked me all across Remnant to Atlas, you knocked my sister into the void that led us here, got us stranded while Remnant was destroyed and all because you thought I killed your friend. Your friend who helped destroy my home, helped to kill my friends, who tried to kill me and justify it by thinking if you worked with Cinder she'd let you live. How can you justify murdering hundreds of people just to get to me?"
"Hmph, well for starters, I haven't killed anyone since the night of the Fall. Back in the old days, I killed those who were in my way, my targets or who were a threat to me and my friends…Well, back then it was just Roman who was my friend." Neo retorted. "Not even in Atlas. I busted some heads while Cinder and that Watts guy did all the killing. I only had one person I wanted to kill and I wouldn't waste my blade or skills on anyone else."
"How noble." Ruby scoffed and sneered.
"Besides, with or without me and Roman, Beacon would have still fallen that night as Cinder would have found a way with her boss and her puppets backing her. The difference between you and me is that I can own up and admit I'm a horrible person, Ruby Rose. I was trained to be an assassin after all, so there's not much room for being a hero." Neo retorted. "What about you? Still see yourself as one, considering all you've done?"
"At least I was thinking of others when all you thought about was yourself and Roman! The funny thing is, he kept on shouting how he would survive no matter when a Grimm came up and ate him! All his talk of survival and doing whatever it took to stay alive and he got himself killed because he couldn't stop and think for two whole seconds!" Ruby yelled. "That's what he got in the end! I might not be a hero but I'm still way better than you!"
"Heh, considering I helped restore Remnant, I'm not too sure." Neo retorted as she gripped her Keyblade. "And watching you, the so-called hero devolving into a derange psychopath speaks volumes of the kind of person you are now."
"The only difference is…I only want to kill those who deserve it." Ruby growled as magic crackled around her, summoning not one but two smaller copies of Crescent Rose that she could hold with both of her hands. "I want you to feel the pain you caused me!"
"Bring it, Red!" Neo shouted back. "I can take whatever you throw at me and I'll send it right back! Including the pain you caused me!"
With that, the two girls screamed and charged at each other, intent on finishing each other off…
(Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep OST Black Powder Ends)
