Abaddon POV (frozen tundra, near where the Crystal Empire would be)
I consulted with Raven some time after raiding the Royal Archives, I needed additional information for what I had planned. For the time being, Equinox can be left alone now that the team has made contact, the only exception being Weiss. That shouldn't be the case for much longer though, I doubt the Sisters will keep the reunion from happening. Afterwards, it will mostly be a matter of him (re)connecting with the team and training. From all of that, I will have my answer; will we still be ourselves after essentially having a second chance at life, as short as that chance may be?
I neared the location a certain "Empire" will return, but I'm not here for the Empire itself, I'm here for an audience with a certain King. Anyone else I could use as a test for Equinox is either unfit for the task, or too weak. Tirek is untrustworthy, Discord is too unpredictable, Nightmare Moon and Daybreaker would be too difficult to bring out of the Sisters (and I don't need Faust or Raven breathing down my neck on that), Grogar is basically dead, but Sombra? A fellow student who I could relate to to a small extent.
When the Sisters banished Sombra, he took the Empire with him. Raven loaned me her keyblade this once to pull him out, apparently specific keyblades can alter Corridors and portals, though Exile and Ascension are not among them. After opening the Corridor, I inserted the keyblade. This caused it to drastically increase in size, enveloping the ground that would spawn Neoshadows that would be destroyed just as quickly by the black lightning striking everything in close range from the Corridor. Raven's keyblade disappeared from my hand shortly before the Corridor stabilized, Sombra walking out shortly after.
"It's been too long since I've walked through this tundra." He said in a deep voice, examining his surroundings before turning to me. "Where is my Empire?" He asked, no, demanded an answer.
"That? It's not due to return for a short time yet if Raven is right about the timer on that." I answered.
"Raven? Now there's a name that few know of. What's your relationship with my old master?"
"She's mine too, rather, she's the teacher of the one I myself am a fragment of."
"And you are...?"
"You may call me Abaddon, and our goals line up quite a bit, 'King of Shadows'." I introduced myself.
"Hmph, I could use a capable servant as I reestablish myself as the ruler of the Crystal Empire. Consider yourself fortu-"
"I'm sorry, 'servant'? No, you misunderstand something important. The power gap aside, I freed you, that means you are indebted to me. Now I'm willing to overlook this if you choose to do the smart thing." I interrupted.
"Me 'indebted to you'? I would be out anyway once my Empire returned, I didn't need you." He tried to argue.
"And I didn't need to bring you back as I'm sure you would've furthered my goal regardless before you died this time." He looked offended at this.
"The Sisters failed before, both in disposing of me and failing miserably to save the Empire. A thousand some years or not, they'll fail again." He said, confident in his abilities.
"And against them you would be right, but there are new players to keep in mind. That's not including me if I so choose to just wipe everything from the board, like I'm tempted to do to one right now." I threatened him.
"Boy, I could've had the entire world if I wasn't caught by surprise during my battle with the Sisters, and I have more knowledge and experience than you. What makes you think you stand a chance against me?" He lit his horn, surrounding himself with black ice and crystals. I responded in kind with a twinblade and several wingblades, each ablaze with Dark Firaga.
"After the Hell I've raised in two other worlds, I think my chances are pretty good, especially as Raven's prized pupil. Do you really want to play this game? I can assure you, you will lose, and I'll get what I want either way."
Equinox POV (days later)
Ruby and her friends received word from Twilight that another human would be arriving today. Apparently it's their other teammate, and they think I should be there when she arrives on the train platform. I'm hoping there won't be any more headaches involv-
"Wait, 'hope'? That's new, and what's this other thing?"
Questions for later. As for immediate ones, there isn't just the matter of why I need to be here, but also Blake. She keeps close to me with a facial expression I can't figure out, and every so often she refers to me as Cassiel. Do they actually know who I'm supposed to be? Maybe they aren't wrong though, one of the weapons Blake carries looks familiar, and the one time I held it, it felt strange to do so. I don't exactly understand what's going on, but I think I'm getting closer to who I was.
Though if that is the case, why doesn't anypony recognize me? Why go through such lengths for me if I am who they think? Just what is he- what am I to them?
"You really do look just like him." A new voice caught my attention. I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I didn't even notice the train arrived, their reunion looking as though it already happened. The new arrival was another girl with white hair and light blue eyes. Like the others, she carried a weapon with her that looked like a grey-ish black estoc or rapier with a bulky hilt.
"Cassiel?" I'm assuming she's referring to him. She went from happy to angry in an instant.
"Tell me, mister... Has Blake slapped you yet?" She asked.
"Why would she? Though there was one incident with Ruby..."
(flashback)
"Equinox, could you ask Ruby to deliver this to Nurse Redheart? It needs to reach her soon, but there's so much to do right now that I can't." Fluttershy asked me as she held out a small plastic container.
"What is it?"
"It's an ointment to help reduce itching and swelling for her dog. Fleas, the poor thing." She explained.
"Okay." Was all I said before heading upstairs to Ruby's room. I opened the door and saw her with nothing on, she looked at me with a mix of I think horror and embarrassment. Thinking nothing of it, I proceeded with Fluttershy's request. "Hey, Fluttershy wants to know if-"
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHGETOUTGETOUTGETOUT!!!" She threw a few things at me, her scythe in it's compact form included.
"Oh gosh, I heard screami-" Fluttershy was here with a look of concern almost immediately after I hit the wall, then looked at me strangely. "Did you remember to knock?"
"Is it really that important?"
(fast forward a few hours, in White Tail Woods)
"Okay, we're going to try something different today. You're going to try using Crescent Rose." Ruby said, she and the others have been trying to teach me how to defend myself since they learned about my involvement with the wedding, and Blake's insistence of it. Today was Ruby's turn.
"Okay, but why though." Was my response.
"Well variety is a good thing, and it might help you learn how to better use your scythes." She explained.
"Makes sense." She handed me her scythe, it has some weight to it.
"Now, just aim at that tree and squeeze the trigger." She instructed.
"You mean like this?"
*bang*
*thud*
I got launched into one of the trees behind me.
"Hhhhhrrrnnnn."
"Oh my gosh, *suppressed giggling* are you okay?" Why is she smiling.
"I can no longer feel my lungs."
"You should've activated your aura."
(end flashback)
"But otherwise, no. I still don't get why she reacted like that, but Blake? No. The closest she's done to that is hug me." I responded. The new arrival looked at Blake, then back to me.
"I'm not even going to ask about-"
"That's for the best!" Ruby interrupted her.
"Anyway, since you might not give anyone but Blake a chance to do this after you remember everything..." She held her hand high behind her head.
*slap*
"Ow." She hugged me immediately after.
"You dunce!!! Don't EVER pull something like that again! You would've wasted no time la- laying into us if our positions we- were reversed!" I feel something wet on my shoulder, and we have spectators who look like they don't approve of what's going on. More specifically, they're looking at me like I messed up.
"I'm... Sorry?" Was all I had to say.
"No, not right now you're not. But you will be, and then you're going to make up for it with every fiber of your being!" She pulled away and wiped the tears from her face.
"If you say so-"
Ice Queen
"Ice Queen- GYYAAAHH!" A massive spike of pain faded as quickly as it came. In that instant, I saw a few flashes of different scenes, but most went by too fast for me to see what I actually saw. When it ended, Blake was keeping me on my feet as I had lost my balance for a split second.
"You're fine, I've got you." She assured me.
"I recognize you, but I don't know how."
"Just who am I?"
Abaddon POV
"For all that boasting, this is all you're worth? It's actually quite pathetic." I mocked him.
"Bite your tongue!" He growled before firing a crystal barrage at me, but unfortunately for him, my weapons make a better shield than his crystals do as weapons.
"I mean, what did Raven see in you? For an Umbrum, the King of Shadows, to be defeated by not just a shadow, but a fragment at that! Can you taste the irony??!!" I continued to mock him.
"I will-"
"You'll what?!" I surrounded him with all my wing blades and dashed behind him, my twinblade at his throat. "You've lost, accept it with dignity, you have nothing to gain and everything to lose here if you continue. You can't even defeat me, how long do you think you'll last against the Sisters? The Element Bearers if they're smart enough to use them? How about the other half of me?"
"... I'm just out of practice." Was his excuse against me.
"Pathetic."
"Well you have time, get to it. Before I go, the women my other half might come with are off limits. The boy is fair game though." And with that, my work here is done. Now to play the waiting game.