Ruby climbed out of the back of Tai's truck with a sigh, cracking her back. Her eyes softened as they landed on their house and she walked towards it. It was good to be ba-

Ruby stopped as the doggy door swung open, Zwei rushing out of it and two completely separate responses happened. Skuld, Riku and Sora cheered, rushing for the dog… and Blake hissed like a, well, like a cat and latched onto Ruby from behind, sending Ruby's head into her chest.

Stay calm, stay calm… Light, she didn't know how to deal with this. It was nice, but…

"Isn't that a bit stereotypical?" Ruby asked, wincing as Blake crushed her tighter, apparently deciding that climbing up the smaller girl was the correct response. Well, at least she didn't need to worry about uncomfortable feelings.

Ya mean comfortable ones, Lux?

Shut. Up.

Malevolent laughter was her only response, and Ruby took great joy in ignoring it as Blake responded, "Me being a cat Faunus has nothing to do with me not liking dogs. Keep it away from me."

"Alright," Ruby said, "...Can you get down?"

"...Only if the dog will leave me alone," Blake said.

"I'll hold on to him," Skuld said, picking up the dog, cradling him close and cooed, "What's your name?"

"Zwei," Tai said, "Come on in, I'll show you where you'll be staying."

"Actually," Blake said, climbing down, "can I stay out here with Ruby? I want to ask her about something?"

"Sure," Ruby said, smiling at Blake, "What's up?"

"You know that iaijutsu you do?" Blake said.

"Iai-what now?"

"The one where you act like you're drawing a sword?" Blake said.

"...Zantetsuken?" Ruby said.

"Yeah," Blake nodded, "Do you mind helping me learn it? I have an idea for a new technique, and I think it might help."

"Sure," Ruby said, summoning Master Defender, "Let's head around back. It's an old technique, from-"

"Age of Fairy Tales?"

"Yeah," Ruby said with a nod, "Terra taught me it, and Eraqus taught him it. They were both better at it than me, though I've been working on my own variant. Let's do a quick spar so I can get a feel for your current speed."

"...I bring you home to relax," Tai deadpanned, "and you want to spar."

"Sparring is relaxing!" Ruby defended with a huff, "It's what we did at the end of the day, before reading or drawing or stuff."

"Sorry," Blake apologized to Tai, before grabbing Gambol Shroud off her back and smiling to Ruby, "Ok!"

"I'm gonna watch!" Riku said, stepping away from Skuld and Zwei.

"I'm not sure you'll see much, kiddo," Ruby said.

"...Whatever," Tai said, heaving a sigh, "I'm gonna go show Skuld her room and then start dinner. Does burgers sound good to you all?"

-X Skuld X-

Skuld watched Tai start the grill, smiling down at Zwei as he panted in her lap. He smiled at her, "how many burgers do you want, Skuld?"

"Uh.. three?" Skuld said, and Tai nodded, eyes flicking towards Ruby and Blake stretching, "is it safe for them to do this?"

"That's why I'm cooking burgers," Tai said, "if things get dangerous, I'll step in. Feel free to watch them or play with Zwei."

"Or do both!" Riku said, scratching Zwei behind the ear. The dog panted happily, basking in the attention.

"That works too," Tai said with a nod, sitting in a chain next to the grill, "I haven't had time to give him the affection he deserves, unfortunately. I was actually thinking about sending him to Beacon-"

"Please don't!" Blake called, holding her sword in her right hand before locking eyes with Ruby, "Ready?"

"You know it," Ruby said, running the index and middle fingers of her right hand down the black keyblade that she had summoned, purple energy glowed along the blade before she span it once.

"Haste," Blake said, grey energy flashing around her for a second and-

Skuld blinked, and Ruby's blade was suddenly up, forcing back an attack from Blake's sword. Blake disengaged, swinging for Ruby again and again as each attack was deflected.

"Yeah!" Riku cheered as Ruby began to give ground, abandoning blocking for dodging each swing in a dance that Skuld could barely keep up with but Ruby seemed calm in.

And then Ruby's Keyblade flashed up, forcing Blake to give ground just as suddenly, and Ruby was on the offensive, taking over the leading role in the dance as Blake ducked, weaved and deflected each attack as it came.

- X Ruby X-

There was something inherently calming about a spar like this, in Ruby's mind. It brought back memories of better, simpler times. Of dodging Earthshaker and deflecting Wayward Wind, of watching Aqua cartwheel away from Crescent Rose with fire, ice or lightning around her to ward off a follow up.

In short, she hadn't been lying, sparring was calming. It let her enter a zen state and unwind, and after the day she had had, she felt she deserved that much. Raven appearing, getting handed a new apprentice, shopping.

Ruby dodged Gambol Shroud with a sidestep, before deflecting the sheath with Master Defender. She did, however, miss her Semblance. She'd need to wait till tomorrow for working with Yang and Blake, and unlocking Skuld's Aura.

Dodging another attack, went low, swinging for Blake's side. Blake pirouetted away from the attack, a clone splitting in two in a burst of blue fire. Oh-

Ruby had just enough time to slack her jaw and throw up a barrier before she was thrown back by the explosion, the barrier shattering. Skidding to a halt, Ruby glanced down at the ragged sleeve of her right arm, blood pouring down it.

"Ruby!" Blake said, rushing towards her, "I'm sorry, I wasn't-"

"Cura," Ruby said with a sigh, healing her arm and shaking her head, "No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have tried sparring with my Aura down."

"You don't say," Tai said, voice dripping, "That's enough for today, understand?"

"...Yeah," Ruby said, dispelling Master Defender and sighing, "I'll be back in a few minutes, I need to check on Ven."

"Ru-" before Tai could finish, Ruby opened a Corridor below her feet, stepping out into the Land of Departure.

Thank the light for convenient excuses. Now she just needed to find-

The buildings shifted with a groan, a door appearing in front of her without warning. Ruby silently grabbed the handle, hesitating before trying it. Locked.

Master Defender reappeared, and Ruby placed it's blade flush against the door, turning it as a silver lock appeared. A resounding click echoed through the halls before Ruby pushed open the door, eyes scanning it.

Along one wall was a tall bookshelf, dozens of books sitting on it. Another was taken up by giant windows staring out into the fog, silver and gold blinds thrown wide even as lamps flickered on. Facing them was a large easel, a half finished painting on it. Ruby steadfastly refused to look at it as she walked towards the desk.

Four letters sat on it, each scribed with a name in Eraqus's impeccable handwriting. Shakily, the Seneschal of Oblivion moved them aside and sat at the desk, bowing her head so it was flat against the ebony, "Master Eraqus? It's Ruby… I'm… I'm here because I need advice. I've taken on two students, and I'm not sure I'm ready for them, even though Aqua and Terra need me to be. What… what should I do?"

There was no response, no calm, fatherly advice or a hand on her shoulder. No amused sigh and clatter of brush on palette. No heavy thud as a book bigger than her head and older than anyone in the Land of Departure was shut.

The tears she had been holding back started to run down her cheeks. Master Eraqus was gone, and he would never give her advice again.

This was her study now. It was-

Ruby blinked as arms wrapped around her, looking up to meet the yellow eyes of Yang, which were fading back to their natural purple. Ruby didn't ask how she had got to the Corridor fast enough to follow her, instead she just threw her arms around her sister's neck and sobbed.

-X Yang X-

Yang felt it before it happened, rushing forward towards Ruby as she raised her hand. A familiar bloom of Darkness formed around her sister, swallowing her and snapping shut. No, no.

No.

Yang moved more on instinct the thought, hands latching onto the spot Ruby had vanished like it was a sealed sliding door, planting her feet as black flames began to roll up her arm. It felt good, heady, like when she drank a strawberry sunrise.

Yang forced through it, a loud growl rising from her throat like an animal as the world ruptured in a torrent of Darkness that buffered the area. Yang didn't waste any time glancing back, plunging headfirst into the shadows even as Tai called out to her. If he wasn't fast enough, screw him. She wasn't letting Ruby off world without her, even if it was just visiting Ventus.

Small, shadowy creatures lunged at her as she stepped through the darkness, focused on a swirling combination of Light and Darkness in the void. Even without Burn, Yang destroyed the small beasts, ripping them limb from limb and crushing them as the black claws changed into massive heavy clubs around Ember Celica, bullet holes ripping into existence around the energy for a second with each strike and immediately shutting.

Finally, Yang's hands grabbed the void again, clubs turning to claws as she ripped open the hole in reality and stepped out. A few of the shadows rushed out after her, only for the white halls of Castle Oblivion to rumble and twist shut, crushing them into paste. Yang looked around, and strained her ear-

Was that Ruby crying!?

Yang turned, walking towards the double doors and growling as they swung shut with a click of the walk. Grabbing them, Yang strained her arms and forced them open with a growl.

Walking towards Ruby, whose head was resting on the black wood of a neatly organized desk, Yang reached down and wrapped her arms around her sister, taking the tackled hug without flinching and quietly said, "You know, it really doesn't help me feel important if you go to another world to cry."

"I don't… I wanted to just- I don't know, I thought that maybe if I was at his study I'd figure out what to do," Ruby choked out, "instead it just made it more real. He's… he's gone. Terra's gone, Aqua's gone, everyone but you and dad are gone and I'm just sitting around reading about stupid revolutions and thinking about stupid crushes and-"

"Just being a kid," Yang deadpanned, "oh, the humanity. Also, don't let Blake hear you call the Faunus Rights Revolution stupid, she'll never like you back if you do that."

"I… I," Ruby blushed, "is it that obvious?"

"Only to me," Yang said, "call it a trick of being a big sister. You gonna ask her to the dance?"

"Is this really the time?" Ruby said, rubbing her eyes.

"Takes your mind off things," Yang said, rubbing Ruby's hair affectionately, "So yeah, it is. Now, answer the question."

"I don't know," Ruby said softly, "I'm… I'm not used to this. I mean-"

"You had a crush on Aqua for years but never said anything?" Yang deadpanned, and Ruby's face lit up, "Yeah, that was one both me and dad knew. Heck, I wouldn't have been surprised if Eraqus knew about it. You should ask Blake to go with you, or on a date beforehand, you both could use something relaxing. I really don't know how you haven't gone insane from stress."

"I-" Ruby played with the hood of her coat, "I dunno… is now really the time? With Skuld and Riku and the White Fang and-"

Yang sighed, slowly raising fingers, "Dad'll be taking care of Skuld, you can afford to relax with training Riku, and the Fang has bigger enemies than you two. Rubes, you're not an adult, you're a teen. I've said it before and I'll say it again, freakin' live a little or so help me, I will go get Mickey or Yen Sid to pry Riku and Skuld from your hands. It's not healthy to focus on something lik-"

"Like you're one to talk about that," Ruby muttered without much heat. Yang opened her mouth before shrugging.

"Fair," Yang said,"but… I think I'm ready to move on. While we were fighting Raven, I guess it hit me that I was chasing after something that didn't really matter. Sum- Mom was there more than Raven was, even after she died, and she wouldn't want me to spend my life chasing after Raven in some insane attempt to force her to be my mom anymore than she'd want you to throw your life away doing nothing but training. That's not the type of person Mom was, and if she had been alive when you got your Keyblade, she probably would have insisted you come home every weekend."

"...I wouldn't know," Ruby admitted softly.

"Yeah," Yang said, pulling Ruby back into a hug, "I know."

-X Ilia X-

Ilia groaned as she came back to consciousness, trying to move her hands to hide from the bright light… and heart stopping as she found them bound to her side. Eyes snapping open, Ilia's head jerked up to stare down at the sterile sheets with plastic bands around her midsection.

What.? Where was she? Last thing she remembered was the train starting to move because of an infiltration. Had Blake-

"Oh, good," a voice said from the side, walking towards the bed as Ilia's head tried to jerk towards it. Hands caught her, holding her head in place, "Please don't do that. I don't want you to make your concussion worse."

"I-" Ilia's voice was slightly slurred as the woman stepped into view, pink hair pulled back into a ponytail as she placed a cold pack on Ilia's head, "I've gat un connc-?"

"Yes," the woman said, "don't strain yourself too hard. Everything is going to be fine. I'm going to undo the straps now."

"Why 're dey dere?" Ilia croaked.

"You started moving in your sleep a couple of hours ago," the woman said, undoing the fist strap, "and I didn't want you to make the concussion worse or accidentally disconnected the IV. I'm sorry if I caused you undo stress."

"Oh," Ilia said, trying to think. The woman had to know she was a Faunus if she had done an IV (and, Ilia noticed between blinks, changed her into a hospital gown), so why was she being treated so… normal?

"How'd I ge' concussed?"

"Tai-Yang proved he doesn't always think his actions through," the woman sighed, "I remain hopeful, but there is the chance that you'll have that slur for… a while yet… I need to go check on another patient, if your headache gets worse-

"I don' have a headache," Ilia said.

"That, is a decent sign," the doctor said, handing Ilia a remote, "if you start to have one, or feel nauseous or dizzy, call me immediately. Am I understood?"

"Yes," Ilia said.

"Good," the woman rested her hand on Ilia's knee "For what it's worth, miss…?"

"Amotlia, Ilia Amotlia," Ilia said.

"Well, that's also a good sign," she said, "I'm Doctor Hestia Pele. For what it's worth, Ilia, your eyes appear to be stable, you can recall your name and your Aura was unlocked. I told you the risks because I prefer for my patients to know them after an incident where one not knowing resulted in her death, but the chances are likely that you'll make a full recovery."

"'K," Ilia said, meeting Pele's eyes as the doctor offered her a smile.

"Do you have a favorite genre of movies? I can put something on, but you'd have to be careful to inform me if you start feeling nauseous or get a headache."

"No, Than' you."

"Just tell me if you change your mind," Pele said, patting Ilia one more time, "and try to get some rest. The sooner your Aura refills, the quicker the recovery will occur."

-X AN X-

I feel the need to stress that Yang's little jaunt was even more dangerous than a Corridor, as depicted by her being attacked by Shadows during it. I know I said there was gonna be some practice this chapter, but ultimately decided it was best to split it in two as Ruby and Yang still need to recover from their Auras going down. So next time we have dinner at the Xiao-Long, actual training emotional support Zwei in full effect and, mayhaps, the arrival of a certain Aura-Operated Girl at Beacon.

Also, as an aside, I always hate writing Blake and Zwei interacting (or over in Fur, Blake and Snowfang). As someone who does have a legit phobia of dogs after being bit by one as a kid, it always makes me uncomfortable to treat it as much of a joke as canon does, but treating it seriously often gets people rolling their eyes.

Thoughts, questions and opinions? Good? Bad? Meh? And if people would be willing to work on the TV Tropes page, that's always appreciated!