...This is not going to end well. It's all I'm going to say for now. Emotions will break out and minds will be toyed with, for the worse. Be prepared for what lies ahead.
WARNING:
This chapter contains trauma, physical and mental torture, and attempted "suicide". You have been warned.
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*3rd Person POV*
Night came and go for our group. In the morning, Weiss, Blake and Yang can be seen sleeping on mats in the living room, Vert and Rosa were sleeping while cuddling on the couch, and Jaune is asleep in his own bed. Azure slowly woke up, not having got the best of sleep, and he sees Ruby is next to him, sitting on the table awake. She stares at the chest with Crescent Rose in it with a blank expression on her face. He sees this and grabs her hand, which surprises her and causes her to look at him.
Azure: "Hey, Ruby, what-"
Suddenly, a crash is heard, and this makes Jaune bolt up from his sleep.
Jaune: "I'm late!" The others wake up hearing the commotion. "I'm late! I'm late!"
Jaune hops over Weiss, Blake and Yang as he bursts out the door. The other five get up and everyone follows him out.
Weiss: "What was that?!"
Rosa: "What is going on this early in the morning?!"
They receive their answer as they look over to see the town below is on fire.
Vert: "Oh." He then looks at Rosa. "At least you didn't cause it this time."
Jaune: "I overslept... I never oversleep! Yesterday, ugh! All the excitement! Keep your head together, you can fix it! You always fix it!" He mounts Juniper and prepares to ride off.
Blake: "Jaune!"
Azure: "Can you tell us what's going on?"
Jaune: "No time! I can't wait! I'm late! Any second there's gonna be another--"
Another loud explosion is heard.
Jaune: "Damn it, right on time!" He turns to the others. "Get to town, I'll meet you there!"
Juniper proceeds to gallop with Jaune riding.
Little: "I'm never this upset when I oversleep..."
Yang: "Uh, what did he mean "right on time"?"
Blake: "I'm sure we'll find out when we get down there." She turns to Ruby. "Ruby, where's your weapon?"
Vert: "Azure, where's the sword that Jaune found for you?"
Ruby: "Oh! Sorry, still waking up."
Azure: "We'll be right back."
Weiss: "Hurry! People are counting on us!"
Ruby and Azure run back into the house. Ruby grabs Crescent Rose out of one chest, and Azure grabs the second Blue Flash from the other chest. Team RWBY and AVR arrive in the town, taking in the sights.
Blake: "Whoa..."
Yang: "Who makes a town out of paper?!"
Vert: "I have no idea..."
???: "Hello."
The group turn around, startled at the sight of a walking paper starfish looking citizen.
Citizen: "Welcome to our village. We hope that it pleases you. Would you be so kind as to tell us what you are so that we may serve you?"
Ruby: "Serve us?!"
Weiss: "Your town is on fire!"
Citizen: "Oh... no. We are quite safe! We have our hero!"
Juniper is seen leaping over one of the emblazoned houses, Jaune is seen dumping a bucket of water over it, putting out the flames. Jaune lands by the group as the Paper Pleasers cheer.
Pleaser: "Hooray! Three cheers for the Rusted Knight and his white rabbit!"
Jaune: "Stop! Stop, there's water everywhere, you'll dissolve!"
Yellow Pleaser: "Hello, water. How may I serve you?"
Jaune picks up the yellow Paper Pleaser.
Jaune: "Stop that... Ugh, I can't believe that almost happened. It's been ages since I missed the first fire."
Azure: "Jaune, do fires happen often around here?"
Jaune: "Oh, everyday."
Team RWBY and AVR stiffen in shock.
Rosa: "What?!"
Jaune: "Oh, uh right, I guess, uh... introductions. These... are the Paper Pleasers. They're probably the most polite, most hospitable Afterans around. Because... that's their purpose."
A purple Pleaser has a tray of drinks and offers Jaune one, but he declines with a hand motion.
Jaune: (sighs) "When Alyx left me to die, Juniper found help, brought me to the Paper Pleasers, who got me back on my feet. They work all day, not just serving travelers, but serving the land they live on too. They beautify it, make it a place of peace. Unfortunately, they're... a bit clumsy, but that also makes them predictable." He catches a Paper Pleaser being carried away by the wind. "I told you to hold these." He gives the Paper Pleaser rocks.
Green Pleaser: "Thank you, brave knight!" They walk away.
Jaune: (chuckles) "Classic Ren."
Weiss: "You named them... after your teammates?"
Jaune: "No, I named them after everybody."
A black and icy blue Pleaser approaches them.
Black and Blue Pleaser: "Hello! I am the one called Nero. What are you?"
Team RWBY, Vert and Rosa look on horrified while Azure looks on with sadness, but then he closes his eyes and shakes his head signifying 'No' to what Jaune is doing.
Yang: "Hate that!"
Jaune: "Okay, the disastrous lighting of the morning lantern is dealt with." He mounts Juniper. That gives us just enough time to strategize before the calming pebble tower crumbles, crushing the koi pond dam, and flooding the entire village! So I'm thinking... quick brunch?"
The others look at him with weird looks.
Little: "I could eat!"
The group gathers around a table in a building. Jaune lays out a map of the Ever After he made, all the acres are in hexagonal shapes, with the tree at the center.
Azure: "That's quite the map, Jaune."
Jaune: "My life's work." Both teams look over the map he made. "Over the years, Juniper and I have been systematically exploring as many of the nearby acres as possible. If you think you've seen it all here, let me tell you... you haven't."
A purple Pleaser sets down a plate full of quiches. Little proceeds to grab one and eats away.
Blake: "What exactly have you been looking for?"
Jaune: "Anyone or anything that might be able to take us back home."
Weiss: "Okay... and, what have you found?"
Jaune: "Uh, so far? I mean, not much, but I got a really, really good feeling about this one acre we saw with a bunch of pyramids."
Yang: "Sorry, um... I'm just... trying to make sure I follow. Do you have any leads... at all? Any other plans?"
Jaune: "This... is the plan. Look, I- I'm sorry I didn't solve all our problems by myself, but... I- I can't just run off and let them die! But, between protecting the village, searching for you guys, searching for an exit... we've got a really tight schedule to keep. Or rather, you've got a tight schedule to keep."
Rosa: "Excuse us, what?"
Jaune pulls out a long piece of paper.
Jaune: "This is the schedule of catastrophes that befall the village everyday. Or, at least they would if it wasn't for me and Jun. With this, you guys can save the day no problem, which means I can go out to keep searching without any interruptions. With Juniper's speed and my familiarity with this place, we'll find our solution in no time."
The others look at Jaune's list with bewilderment, sitting back down trying to process it all.
Jaune: "Guys..." He stammers. "This is it! If there's one thing I've learned after all these years, it's that patience. Pays. Off. It's why we're finally back together! I know I can find us a way out, okay? I-I know it... I know it!" He slams his fist on the corner of the map.
Team RWBY, AVR and Little look at Jaune concerned, the latter gulping down their recent bite of the quiche.
Jaune: (softly) "This isn't crazy... I'm not crazy..." He clears his throat. "This... isn't crazy, it's easy! You know, we still got time before the Pebble Tower falls." He stands up. "How 'bout I, uh... saddle up Juniper and show you around myself." He starts to walk away. "Point out some of the clumsier Papers!" He chuckles. "Just wait till you guys meet Neptune!"
As Jaune walks away, Yang grabs Jaune's list and reads it.
Yang: "Damnit, Jaune. This isn't a plan, it's a to-do list."
Blake places her hand on Yang's prosthetic hand.
Blake: "He's obviously been through a lot..."
Yang: "Yeah..."
Vert: "We can be frustrated later. Right now, Jaune needs us. And we still need him."
Rosa: "We just... can't count on him. He's... not okay."
Azure nodded and looked over at Ruby, who's feeling sullen. His face turns sorrowful as he doesn't know how to truly help Ruby out with her troubles right now.
Weiss: "Then who does that leave us with? It's obvious we need someone to guide us or we could end up thrown back in time, or killed by the tree, or worse..."
Ruby: "Well, if that's how everybody--"
Pleaser: "The Great Tree does not kill. That is what we keep trying to tell him. But our hero still insists that we never ascend..."
The Purple Pleaser places another plate down on their table. Weiss, Blake, Yang, Vert and Rosa look to the Paper Pleaser, while Ruby and Azure look down, not listening to the conversation.
Vert: "Care to explain?"
Purple Pleaser: "I do not wish to be rude, but our work has been completed for quite some time. Because of us, the land is beautiful, but we have realized that like ourselves, it is also very delicate. We would like to make something that is pleasing, but also resilient. Because of this, we are ready to leave ourselves and merge with the Tree, so that it might return us as something new. But... our hero is displeased by this course of action. We tried reaching out to the Tree, but our hero forbade it. Then, the wisest of our village suggested breaking from our physical forms, so that the winds may carry us back to the Tree. But our hero is clever and brave, always keeping us from harm."
Purple Pleaser: "You must understand, the Tree does not kill, it resurrects and rebuilds. We do not wish to displease our hero, and I hope I have not displeased you, but... we so desperately wish to return to the Tree, to return home, so that we may carry on with our work."
Yang: "Return home, huh?"
Rosa: "If only it was so easy."
Purple Paper Pleaser: "Oh, do not be sad! The wisest are going to topple the Pebble Tower today! I am sure it will work this time."
Weiss: "What makes you so sure?"
Purple Pleaser: "Nothing!" They walk away.
Yang: "That's so sad. Weird, but sad."
Blake: "But it also means Jaune might not be totally right about the Tree. It's not Death, it's... Rebirth."
Weiss: "From a certain perspective, maybe. But... What happened to Lewis then? Jaune said--"
Vert: "Jaune wasn't there. The Cat wasn't even there! None of us know the full story and we'll never learn anything, babysitting these villagers! We have to convince Jaune to let them go."
Weiss: "But how? He's clearly not... all there." She gasps.
Rosa: "Um, guys..." She nervously points in front of her.
The others, including Ruby and Azure, turn to see Jaune standing there with a hurt look on his face.
Jaune: "Is that what you think?" He walks away, exiting the building.
Team RWBY and AVR follow him outside.
Yang: "But what if the Cat was telling the truth?"
Rosa: "Well, maybe not about everything, but about the Tree!"
Jaune: "The Tree is the last thing you should listen to them about. Th-They're just doing what they're designed to do. They don't care what happens when you get there!"
Blake: "We're not listening to them! We're listening to the Afterans."
Vert: "They're telling us that the Tree is nothing to be afraid of, that they want to go there."
Jaune: "They don't know what they want. You've seen the way they act, nothing here is that straightforward, okay? Afterans are all either too clever, too stupid, or too crazy to trust!"
Weiss: "Then why do you care so much about this village?!"
Jaune: "Because I can actually PROTECT these people!!"
Suddenly, Jaune's home in the distance collapses. Jabberwalker doppelgangers can be seen over the ruins. The Jabberwalkers roar, and the Paper Pleasers scream and run away in fear.
Jaune: (sighs) "They found us..." He puts his fingers in his mouth and whistles. Juniper is seen galloping out of the forest to the village. "I am not letting them down!" He reaches his hand out and grabs onto Juniper, still galloping. Jaune mounts them and rides towards the Jabberwalkers.
Weiss: "If those Walkers make it down here, those Afterans will never ascend!"
Vert: "We can't let that happen."
Blake: "Then we won't run this time."
Yang and Rosa nod, agreeing with both Blake and Vert. Weiss, Vert, Rosa, Blake and Yang run towards the Jabberwalkers. Azure and Ruby just stand there, with concerned looks on their faces. After a moment, Azure shakes his head and looks at Ruby.
Azure: "If anything happens, please let me know. I really care about you, you know." He runs ahead with one Blue Flash on his left hand as he unsheathes the other Blue Flash with his right hand. Ruby hesitates a bit, but she quickly runs after Azure and her teammates.
One of the Jabberwalker clones roars, and the others charge forward. Jaune rides in on Juniper, slashing his sword at one, before blocking another with his shield. The clone is then dispelled by Weiss' Arma Gigas summon. One clone leaps at Jaune only to be lifted up into the air. Vert jumps up into the air and takes it down with a slash from his polearm. Rosa shoots a Jabberwalker in the face with her shotgun, easily killing it. She transforms her weapon back into an axe, lighting the blade with blue fire, as she turns around and slices through another Jabberwalker. Azure feels anxiety welling up inside his chest as he charges into battle, which distracts him long enough for a Jabberwalker clone to tackle him to the ground. This snaps Azure out of it as he uses his Lightning to shock the Jabberwalker off of him. He stands back up just as the clone swings at him with its claw, which Azure blocks with his left sword, and he decapitates the Jabberwalker with a slash from his right sword.
Yang and Blake also charge forward into battle. The two work together to take down one clone, and then Yang activates her Semblance as two more come charging towards them. They easily dispatch them. Jaune and Weiss take on more clones, with one being thrown into the river nearby by the Arma Gigas. Suddenly, it gets dispelled by another clone, and Weiss is flung into the air by its tail, landing on a black Glyph in the air. Jaune tries to slash at it with his sword, but it flings it out of the way. Weiss manages to catch his sword and throws it. The sword spins in midair before Jaune uses the gravity Dust in his shield to fling it at the Jabberwalker clone, dispelling it into pink petals.
As they all continue to battle, Ruby simply watches it all happen from the edge of the bridge into town. She pants heavily, watching the battle and then down to her folded weapon. Suddenly, the Jabberwalker clone that fell into the river pops out and tries to swipe at Ruby, but she uses her Semblance to dodge out of the way. The Jabberwalker clone menacingly approaches her.
Jabberwalker: "Missed... Hating... Thinking... Waiting... Wanting... Drooling..."
Ruby cocks her sniper rifle.
Jabberwalker: "Craving... Tasting..."
From Ruby's perspective, the Jabberwalker suddenly turns into Cinder. She snaps out of it as the Jabberwalker lunges toward her. She then hallucinates again, seeing the Jabberwalker's head transform into Penny when she was hacked, green Maiden flames trailing from her red eyes.
Jabberwalker: "Wanting..." It lunges toward Ruby, and she is disarmed and pinned to the ground by the Jabberwalker.
Jabberwalker: "Hating..."
Ruby now sees Salem's head, her red eyes then turn black. Ruby looks back at it utterly terrified.
Jabberwalker: "YES! READY! STARVING! TAKING!" It opens its mouth, revealing its black maw as drool drips from its top teeth. Its jaw is dangerously close to Ruby.
While defeating another Jabberwalker clone, Azure sees Ruby in danger and uses his Semblance to quickly get to her. He swipes away the Jabberwalker and makes it go back some distance. Azure aims his left Blue Flash and charges it up with blue electricity as he throws it at the Jabberwalker. It hits the Jabberwalker and it and the sword fall down to the ground. Azure helps Ruby sit up and immediately hugs her.
Azure: "Oh my Oum! Ruby! Are you okay?" He said with tears forming in his eyes. Ruby simply places her head on his chest.
Suddenly, everyone hear something and they watch the Jabberwalker clone Azure took down begin to spasm and vanish in bright, pink light, revealing Neo in its place. Neo smirks and makes a gun hand gesture at both Ruby and Azure before she disappears into broken pieces.
Rosa: "Neo..."
Blake: "She created those Walkers from the Market..."
Yang: "But that's... Those were more than just her usual tricks. They eat, and grow, and become deadlier. How had she gotten so powerful?"
Vert: "I'm going to say that this place must've somehow caused her Semblance to evolve."
Jaune gets off from Juniper and lands on the ground.
Jaune: "Well, she didn't do it by standing around." He picks up Crescent Rose. "I know you may not care about protecting this village, but you could at least help your friends when they're in dang--" Ruby yelps and quickly steps away from Crescent Rose as Jaune suddenly drops her weapon. Ruby stares down at her hands. The other seven look at Ruby with concern.
Azure: "Strawberry? Are you o--?"
The group hear something coming from the village.
Paper Pleasers: "Push! Push!"
They turn to see the Pebble Tower, beginning to tumble. Giant pebbles fall and destroy the dam.
Jaune: (shocked) "Oh no, no, no! What time is it?! No!" He quickly runs towards the village but it is already too late as the dam is destroyed and the village, along with the Paper Pleasers, is engulfed by the waters.
Jaune: (horrified) "NOOOOOOO!!!!" He falls to his knees, devastated as the village is flooded. Blake kneels down next to him and gently grabs his shoulders.
Blake: "Oh Jaune..."
Jaune: "I couldn't save them... I was supposed to save them and... and they're dead..." He slammed his hands to the ground. Juniper walks to Jaune's side and comforts him.
Yang: "No, Jaune. They're gone, but they're not dead. They'll be back."
Weiss: "Yeah, it's what they wanted. Right, Ruby?" She turned to Ruby.
Ruby has a scowling expression on her face.
Ruby: "Why are you asking me?" She said with venom in her voice.
Ruby's teammates, Vert, Rosa and especially Azure look at her in shock.
Blake: "Um, we just--"
Ruby: "Because I'm the leader? Because I'm just supposed to have something to say?" She looks up angrily. "Cuz I don't... I mean, why do I have to be the leader anyway? Why do I have to always be the one to pick people up? What about me? No time, right?" She walks to Weiss, who reels back. "Gotta get home! Gotta help Jaune! Gotta find someone who isn't just going to screw everything up!" She turns to Blake, Yang, Vert and Rosa. "Gotta stay positive! Right?!" Blake hides behind Yang while Rosa hides behind Vert as Ruby approaches them. "Smiles all around! Maybe even finally get our feelings sorted out! Good for you two, by the way. We're all so happy for you!"
Yang: (angered) "Hey..."
Vert: "Not cool, Ruby."
Ruby: "I'm sorry, is this a bad time? Are we supposed to be mourning Jaune's make-believe friends?!"
Jaune: (seething) "They're gone... because of you! The Walkers came for you, because Neo. Hates. YOU!" He walks over to Ruby. "Oh, and let's not forget the reason we're in the Ever After in the first place is because of your plan that didn't work! What about you?! IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU!"
Ruby looks up at Jaune angrily, gritting her teeth and on the verge of tears. Hearing all of that caused something to snap within Azure as he became angry at Jaune.
Azure: "Oh shut up, Jaune!" This causes Jaune to stare at him in anger. Azure went up to Jaune and pointed his finger at his chest. (angrily) "Don't act like this was all on her. I agreed with the plan. YOU agreed to the plan! And what? Just because we lost two Relics and ended up here, it's all Ruby's fault? News flash: It's not! How the hell were we supposed to know about Cinder using the Lamp to find out about our plan in order to ambush us. Ruby didn't know, I didn't know, nobody did! So stop pushing the blame onto someone else and own up to your own damn MISTAKES!"
This causes Jaune to look down in shame.
Jaune: "I'm sorry, Azure. I... I know I'm not okay. I- I'm not right, but... How am I supposed to be...? I've been alone... for SO... LONG! Here... On that bridge... I was the only one that could do it! I was the ONLY ONE!" Weiss, Blake, Yang, Vert and Rosa look at him in pity. "And I... And now I have to live with that forever... In here or back home..." He said with tears streaming down his face.
Blake: "Guys, I know things are bad, but--"
Ruby: "Shut... up..."
Everyone looked at Ruby wide-eyed. Ruby then turned to look at Azure, who saw that her eyes were dull and not shining their usual silver color.
Ruby: "Azure, remember when you told me that you'll keep me safe no matter what?" This makes Azure go wide-eyed. "I was hoping that you would be able to help me out during all of this, since you were my boyfriend... but I guess not. I was such a fool to believe you. I was suffering, and I could tell that you were too." Azure opens his mouth to say something. "No. Don't act like you're all right, because I know that you're dealing with your own guilt."
Azure: "But I tried to help you out. I..." His eyes were starting to form tears.
Ruby: "You tried, but it wasn't enough..."
Azure: "Ruby, please..." Tears start to flow from his eyes.
Ruby: "Don't... do that..." Tears begin to stream down her face. "Just don't..." She then turns around and picks up Crescent Rose, using her Semblance to fly away from her friends into the forest.
Azure runs to try and get her, but it was too late, and he falls to his knees.
Azure: "Ruby? RUBY!!!" Tears continue to flow from his eyes as he slams his fists to the ground. Sobbing could be heard coming from Azure.
Nobody could say anything as this scene unfolded. After a while, a deafening silence took place until Azure stands back up and wipes his face clean of tears with his sleeve. Then, he balled his fists as they shook in anger.
Azure: "You... You... YOU IDIOTS!!!" The anger in his voice could be felt by the others as Azure turned around and walked over to the others. "Was I the only one who could see that she was suffering all this time? Couldn't any of you see how much all of this was affecting her?! Especially you three." He points to the rest of Team RWBY. "You were her teammates, she was your sister, for crying out loud..." He directed the last part to Yang. "...yet you were too busy with yourselves to notice something was wrong with Ruby! And now she's gone, thanks to all of you!"
Weiss, Blake and Yang couldn't say anything.
Rosa: "Azure, what's wrong with you?"
Vert: "You're not acting like your usual self."
Azure: "Geez, how could you tell?" He said with sarcasm. "You two didn't help Ruby out at all! You didn't even help me out at all! While I was drowning in my own helplessness and guilt, you two were busy trying to get together to even give a damn about me! I lost our teammate, my partner... my brother..." He starts crying. "I had to deal with that fact for the past 24 hours, and you didn't say anything to try and make things better." He looks down to see the Silver Ice Sword on his right sheath. "Every time I see his sword, that exact moment always plays in my mind, and I hate it."
"You are... my hero..."
Azure: "I'm not a hero, and I don't deserve to be a leader at all... I'm such a failure."
Jaune, with guilt on his face, walks over somewhere and returns after a few seconds towards Azure.
Jaune: "Look, I'm sorry, I really am, but we really need you to get back on your feet... Maybe this will help..."
Azure looks down at the second Blue Flash that Jaune is holding in his hands and gets angry.
Azure: "Do you think I give a fuck about this? Because I don't! It's useless to me! It's never going to replace Nero's sword! EVER!" He snatches the sword away from Jaune as he charges it with electricity and throws it far away towards the horizon, much to the shock of everyone present. "There, now it's gone forever! Are you happy? Because I'm not!" He turns his back to the others and starts walking away. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get my Rose back. She needs me, more than ever." He turns his head to look at them with hatred in his now dull silver eyes. "I'm done with you all!"
Azure uses his Semblance and runs off in the same direction Ruby flew towards as blue lightning sparked from his body. Weiss, Blake and Yang, along with Rosa and Vert, helplessly watch their leaders go, while Jaune and Juniper overlook the now submerged village of the Paper Pleasers.
*Over with Ruby...*
Ruby can be heard running and panting as she runs through the forest area of the Origami Acre. She then stops by a tree to catch her breath. She sits down at the base of the trunk with her head to her knees and her arms folded. Little pops out from her hood. They run out onto her arm.
Little: "Ruby? Ruby?"
Ruby finally raises her head as Little hops onto Ruby's knee.
Little: "What are you doing? Why did you shout at everyone like that?"
Ruby doesn't say anything, simply sighing. She looks at her surroundings.
Ruby: "Where... am I?"
Little: "It's okay! I can guide us back. You shouldn't run off though. You all need to stick together if you wanna go home."
Ruby: (sighs) "Why are you still here?" She folds her arms again, and her face has a scowling expression. Little grows concerned.
Little: "Uh... what? I promised."
Ruby: "I promised to serve Atlas as a Huntress... That I'd keep people safe... That I'd be there for my friends... That I'd be there for Azure..."
Little: "But, we can go back and--"
Ruby: "No!" She stands up and Little hops off her knee to the ground.
Ruby: "You don't know what I've done. What I couldn't do! I can't do this!" She punches the tree trunk. "I could never do this... If you stay with me, you're going to end up dead too... Just. Go. Home..."
Little: "But you're--"
Ruby: "I said GO!"
Little yelps and quickly crawls away from Ruby. They see Ruby marching away, with their ears flop down in sadness.
*1st Person POV*
I ran far away from them across this forest. Whatever, they don't matter. Ruby matters more to me. I just need to find her as soon as possible.
Azure: (shouting) "Ruby? My Rose? Strawberry? Where are you?"
I came to a stop and heard nothing. I lowered my head in sorrow.
Azure: (quietly) "Please... tell me where you are... I miss you..."
I was met with silence for a few minutes as I kept walking...
...Until I heard a woman giggle.
This made me jump in place as I looked around the area.
Azure: "Who's there?"
I didn't see anyone, but then I heard more giggling behind me.
Azure: "Who are you?"
More giggling was all I heard.
Azure: "I'm starting to get pissed off here!"
???: "You're quite easy to provoke, you know."
This made me surprised, but also confused.
Azure: "What are you talking about?!"
???: "How else do you think I was able to take you down so easily before you fell down here?"
Azure: "How do you know that?!"
???: "I know a lot about you, while you don't know much about me."
Azure: "Where are you?!"
???: "I'm right here."
I slowly turned to my left to where the voice came from and I saw...
Azure: (surprised) "Cinder?!"
*3rd Person POV*
Ruby walks through the forest. It begins to darken around her as she continues to walk. As Ruby continues walking, a spotlight appears above her. Each spotlight shows Ruby walking slowly towards a pink lit up mansion. She enters and another spotlight appears above Ruby again, but this time, Ruby is inside a room standing in front of a portrait of a family consisting of a woman, a man, and a little girl. Another portrait depicts Neo with Cinder standing besides Salem's throne. Ruby slowly walked towards the largest portrait, depicting Roman and Neo on a trunk above two people who legs were on the floor.
Ruby: "What is this?"
As Ruby stares at the portrait, Roman's left eye moves to gaze at her direction.
Roman: "Hello, Red!"
Ruby gasps and brandishes Crescent Rose's scythe form, backing away from the portrait. Roman stands up from his seat.
Roman: "Been a while." He jumps off from the trunk and casually walks. "How's the hero biz treatin' ya? I gotta say, you're not looking too good. And where's Blue? Is he not here with you? Aw, that must be sad for you, little Red."
Ruby: "Where's Neo?"
Roman: "Yeesh, no manners. And after everyone came out to see you!"
The lights begin to turn on in the room Ruby was in. Ruby turns around and becomes astonished to see certain people at the table: Penny, Pyrrha, Nero, Lionheart, Clover, Ozpin and Ironwood. All seven of them were dead and each of them has a cup of tea in front of them.
Penny: "Salutations, Ruby!"
Pyrrha: "Hello again!"
Nero: "Hey there, Ruby."
Lionheart is seen fiddling with his lion tail before he looks at Ruby and sits up straight. Clover adjusts his clover badge.
Ozpin: "Miss Rose."
Ironwood: "Why don't you take a seat?"
Ruby looks on at the sight of the people she knew with horror.
Ruby: "How is she doing this?"
Everyone at the table laugh at Ruby's bewilderment.
Ruby: "Stop it! This isn't real!"
Roman: "Is it real?" Ruby becomes startled by Roman's presence beside her and falls to the floor. "You're the one following a talking cat around a fairy tale." He walks away from Ruby, twirling Melodic Cudgel. He jumps onto the table. Everyone stops laughing and stares at Ruby.
Roman: "Reality's gettin' fuzzier by the minute, kid."
Ruby twirls Crescent Rose and it changes to its sniper form at Roman and the others.
Roman: "Y'know once Neo realized where she was, everything changed. Always loved the idea of a place to run away from it all. Do whatever you want. I offered that to her back on Remnant. But we all remember how that ended."
Ruby: "Is that seriously what this is all about? You still blame me for what happened to Torchwick?!" Roman growls at her. "If you're looking for an apology, you've wasted your time!"
On atop of the tea party room, Little arrives and watches.
Roman: "They say everyone thinks they're the hero of their own story. But... I knew what I was. And deep down, I think you know you are too." He steps onto the teacup containing multi-colored liquid, breaking it with his shoe, as he walks towards Ruby. He takes out a multi-colored leaf in his hand.
Ruby: "The leaves from the Tree?"
Roman: "Oh, you're familiar? How about a little reset?"
Ruby: "Is that what you want? Well, if you want me dead, then come get me!"
Roman: (chuckles) "You don't deserve to die, Red. You deserve to be broken down... torn apart... wiped from existence." He drops the leaf as it falls into the teacup.
Ruby hears the sound behind her and turns around, aiming Crescent Rose at Neo. Neo jumps over Ruby as she blocks the potshots with Hush. As Neo flies over Ruby, Roman shoots at Ruby with Melodic Cudgel. Ruby is sent backwards away from the table. Roman catches Neo with a chuckle as everyone at the table applauds. Neo smiles at Roman before they both look down on Ruby. Roman places Neo to the ground as the others stand up from their seats and start approaching Ruby.
Everyone: (smiling) "I'm gonna enjoy... watching you break."
*Azure's POV*
This can't be real! I was looking at the person right in front of me, and it was none other than Cinder. It doesn't make sense!
Azure: "Cinder?! How and why are you here?!"
Cinder: "It doesn't matter how I'm here. What matters is that I am here to make you suffer! Slowly and painfully!"
Azure: "No! You're not real! You're just made up in my head!"
Cinder: "So was the death of all those you cared about not real to you at all?"
I couldn't say anything. My words were caught in my throat.
Cinder: "If they're not real to you, then what are they?" She pointed behind me.
I turned around to see... Pyrrha, Penny, Quintessa and Nero behind me. They all looked perfectly fine, until Pyrrha had an arrow in her chest as her body fell and turned to ash.
Azure: "No... No..." My eyes widened at this.
Next, Penny had a large hole in her chest as she looked at me with blood coming from her smile as her body fell to the ground and disappeared.
Azure: "Please... stop this..." Tears were welling up in my eyes.
After that, Quintessa had a similar hole in her chest as her body slowly turned to dust and she turned her head to look at me as it dusted away.
Azure: "Stop it! Stop!" The tears were now running down my face.
Finally, Nero looked at me with a smile as it then showed the large gash he had across his body. He fell to his knees as a spear then appeared on his chest. He continued to smile at me, blood coming from his mouth, as his body then turned to ash.
I couldn't take it and I dropped to my hands and knees as I screamed. After a few seconds, I heard Cinder walking towards me. I stood still when she was next to me.
Cinder: "How does it feel, Azure..."
Hearing her speak made me mad as I looked at the ground.
Azure: "Shut... up..." I dug my nails through the ground in anger as blue sparks appeared all over me.
Cinder: "...To be a failure to those you care about? They're all dead, because you were too weak! HAHAHAHAHA!!!"
I started growling as I slowly stood back up on my feet.
Azure: "SHUT UP!!!" I screamed from the bottom of my lungs as a bolt of blue lightning appeared, striking where Cinder was. I looked at where Cinder was and only saw the burnt mark from where the lightning striked.
'Damn it. She was never here in the first place. How can I be so stupid?'
*3rd Person POV*
Elsewhere in the forest area of Origami Acre, the others are looking for both Ruby and Azure.
Jaune: "Ruby! Ruby! Azure!"
Weiss: "Ruby. Ruby...?"
Yang: (sighs) "Damn it! How can they just run off like that?!"
Blake: "They were clearly upset."
Yang: "That wasn't upset! That was... Ugh! They could've talked to us!"
Vert: "Maybe they didn't feel like she could... Ruby has always been the one to get us through the hard times. And Azure has always been there to help support us with his resolve. We say things like "We believe in you", "We can count on you". I know we mean well, but..."
Rosa: "It's not like we're asking them to be perfect."
Suddenly, they see lightning strike nearby. They run straight towards the source to see Azure standing there, looking lifeless. When they were about to say something, shots were heard nearby and he runs off towards the source. The others followed behind.
Back at the tea party room, Ruby uses her Semblance to dodge the attacks from Pyrrha, Lionheart and Ironwood with their weapons.
Ironwood: "Who were you to think you knew what was best for Atlas?"
Pyrrha: "I was the best and brightest Beacon had to offer."
Ruby gets shot down and clings onto the chandelier.
Pyrrha: "But I traded my life so my friends could live!" She throws her Miló javelin at the chain of the chandelier.
Ruby falls to the floor, the impact breaking her Aura. She gets up to try and reach for Crescent Rose, but is stopped by Penny's Floating Array. Ruby looks back at her as Penny walks towards her and kneels down to Ruby.
Penny: "Just like you were too late to save me at the Vytal Festival... I died in Atlas too, didn't I Can you imagine what that's like? To be completely and utterly failed... time and again... by someone who meant the world to you..."
Ruby reaches her hand towards Penny with her eyes on the verge of tears, but Roman uses the curved end of Melodic Cudgel to choke her from behind.
Roman: "You ready for that drink yet?"
Ruby manages to break free from Roman's choking grip and runs but then gets attacked by Nero with his Silver Ice Sword in hand.
Nero: "How many more people like me are going to die because of you?!" He swings his sword at Ruby, leaving cuts on her stomach, arms and legs and then kicks her to the wall. Ruby struggles to walk along it.
Ruby: "I'm trying to save everyone!" She gets punched in the gut by Ironwood, who then pins her to the wall.
Ironwood: "And yet with all your best intentions... Have you ever stopped to wonder if you'd done more harm than good?!" He throws Ruby to the floor.
Ruby: "It's not my fault...!" She attempts to reach Crescent Rose, only to get beaten up by Ozpin with The Long Memory.
Ozpin: "How many more lives do you have to ruin before you realize you're not cut out to save anyone?!"
Ruby: "NO!!!" She grabs Crescent Rose and slashes at Ozpin, but to her horror, she sees that instead of Ozpin, she slashed at a clone of Azure. He looks at the wound on his chest, then he looks at Ruby with a saddened expression.
Azure: "Straw... berry..." He falls backwards and bleeds to death.
Ruby drops Crescent Rose and collapses on her knees. The other clones change into Azure's teammates, Ruby's teammates, Team JNPR, Penny, Qrow and Oscar as they look in shock at the fake Azure's death.
Roman: "Do you really think you can stand to watch more of your friends and loved ones fall?"
Ruby: "Please... stop..."
Roman: "Or are you ready to admit the truth? That the world would just be better off without you?"
Ruby breaks down in broken sobs, placing her head and hands to the floor. Neo carries the teacup and approaches Ruby. She places down the teacup and moves it with her boot towards Ruby. Neo stands there with a smirk, but then gets attacked by a beam, sending her flying outside of the manor. Ruby turns to see the Cat.
Curious Cat: "It's all right, Ruby. It's over now."
Ruby: "What? I'm sorry... I don't want to be me anymore..."
Ruby softly sobs as she lays on her back. The Cat rubs their paw on her shoulder, then jumps onto Ruby's torso.
Curious Cat: "It's okay, little Huntress... I can be you instead..."
Ruby opens her eyes in realization.
Curious Cat: (chuckles) "I have been trying to wear you down for so long! I would've gone for Azure, but he's not here. I'll just have to settle with you instead."
Curious Cat phases their paws through Ruby's chest, causing her to scream in pain and agony.
Ruby: "What are you... doing?!"
Curious Cat: "My purpose. When a poor little heart is broken, I can fill it with mine. I'm afraid I haven't been entirely honest with you, Ruby. I'm not like the other Afterans here, I'm cursed with curiosity. I need to know everything! But more than anything, I need to know why my makers left me here... Only to leave and make all of-- OW!!"
The Cat turns around to find Little biting their tail.
Little: "You're not a friend! Friends don't--"
The Cat swats Little away from their tail, sending the mouse to the floor. Little slowly recovers. Neo runs inside the manor. The Cat hisses at Neo. They try to fire another beam, but Neo turns out to be another glass copy. The real Neo is behind them, and she swats away the Cat with her umbrella. Little then starts pulling Ruby's finger.
Little: "Ruby! You have to get up. We have to go!-"
Neo stomps on Little with her boot, killing them ruthlessly. Neo sneers down on Ruby with Roman standing behind her. Ruby becomes utterly horrified after Little was killed in front of her, the light in her eyes is gone. The teacup is slid towards Ruby.
Roman: "Hmph. I think it's about time we all got what we deserve."
Ruby slowly moves her body. At that exact moment, Azure arrives shortly before Weiss, Blake, Yang, Vert, Rosa, Jaune and Juniper arrive as well, only to see Neo looking down on the wounded Ruby.
Roman: "Are you ready to admit the truth? That the world would just be better off without you?"
Ruby stares at her teammates, Vert, Rosa, Jaune, Juniper, and finally looks at Azure. She then slowly picks up the teacup in her hands. She gives them one last look before she began drinking the tea.
Azure: "Ruby!" He runs over to stop her from fully drinking the tea, but he was too late.
Ruby drank the entire cup and laid on the floor. A hole appears below Ruby and she falls into it, along with the dead Little and Crescent Rose. Vines appeared and covered the hole just as Azure reaches it. He takes Blue Flash out and tries to cut through the vines, but they kept growing back. Nevertheless, he continued to cut through with little to no results. After a few seconds, he drops his sword, seeing as it's futile to continue.
Azure: "She's gone... And it's all... my... fault..." He drops to his knees and stares at the vines with lifeless eyes. He then hears a cup slide next to him, and he looks to see the same kind of tea that Ruby drank being presented to him by Neo. She gestures for him to drink and he picks up the cup full of tea.
Azure: "I'm sorry, Ruby... Please forgive me..." He places the cup to his mouth, and the multi-colored tea began to enter his mouth, but then the teacup was destroyed.
It is revealed to have been Vert, who shot the cup with his sniper.
Vert: "Azure! Stop!"
But it was too late. Azure gulped down the tea in his mouth, lowering his head and dropping his arms to the floor. Closing his eyes, another hole opened up below Azure that swallowed up him and Blue Flash as they fell into the darkness. Vines appeared and covered up the hole as well.
Neo becomes astonished after she witnessed Ruby and Azure fall. She sits down on a chair, frowning as the manor began to crumble around her.
Roman: (voice in Neo's head) You've finally done it! Little Red and little Blue are gone. With your Semblance stronger than ever now, we can take over this whole absurd place!" Neo shuts her eyes and shakes her head. "Why not? Offing them can't be all you wanted... Right?"
Neo opens her eyes before she is filled with mixed emotions of confusion. She wanted to get revenge on Ruby and Azure for the death of Roman, and that was her only goal. What would happen afterward was something she didn't think about.
Weiss becomes shocked over Ruby's fall. Blake holds Yang over her shoulder, the latter seemingly catatonic. Vert was shocked to see Azure fall as well. Rosa had her hands on her mouth as she shed some tears. Jaune closes his eyes in silence.
Curious Cat: "No, no, no, no!" He runs towards the vine-covered holes. "I needed them!"
The Cat attempts to scratch the vines that cover the holes pointlessly. They growl in anger. They hear the loud sound and look up to the Tree. The Cat looks away before slowly turning around, giving a sharp sneer. Neo, still sitting on her chair, has a still dazed look on her face. Jaune takes out his Crocea Mors sword and points it at the Cat.
Jaune: "Take us to where Ruby and Azure are."
Curious Cat: "You still don't get it, do you? It's not a place you go. It's a place you know."
Weiss, Blake, Yang, Vert and Rosa watch the manor continuing to crumble with large cracks on the walls.
Curious Cat: "But no matter... I actually found a much better solution to my problem."
The Cat gives a powerful roaring beam at Jaune, Vert, Rosa, Weiss, Blake and Yang. Weiss, Blake and Yang are sent flying backwards, crashing against the walls. Vert catches Rosa and himself with his Semblance before they collide with the wall. Jaune lands onto Juniper, who catches him in time. The Cat's form begins to grow bigger with their colors changing to white with clear black square patterns. The Cat flies towards Neo.
Curious Cat: "You've lost something most important, haven't you? And now you have nothing left." He chuckles. "How delightful! An empty host, perfect for me to fill."
Neo widens her eyes in utter shock as the Cat forces her mouth open and dives inside of her. Jaune regains his posture before turns around to see the Cat attempting to take over Neo's body, to his shock.
Jaune: "No!"
Neo's eyes begin to turn into the Cat's checkered-pattern design as the Cat continues to take over her body. Jaune runs as fast as he can, jumps and grabs the Cat's tail but fails as the Cat is already completely inside Neo's body. Jaune glares as Neo goes unconscious temporarily after the Cat takes over her. Vert and Rosa look on in confusion. Weiss slowly gets up after she recovers. Yang helps Blake up slowly before they both look on as well.
NeoCat: (sighs) "The Rusted Knight. Goodness, am I tired of your little sob story. You can't even accept your own futility." Neo, now possessed by the Cat, reveals her face with a monstrous smile. The sclera of her eyes turn light blue with cat-like pupils. Her teeth are now sharp feline-like. Jaune and the others are taken aback over NeoCat's visage. NeoCat looks at themself.
NeoCat: "This body will do." Combined with the Cat's powers and Neo's Semblance, they turn themselves into a floating mass of blue, purple and pink that flies out of the manor, heading towards the Great Tree.
The manor continued to fall apart as a piece of the roof fell in front of the group.
Jaune: "We gotta get out of here!" He starts running to the outside of the manor. The rest of Team RWBY followed, but Rosa and Vert took one last look at where their two fallen friends previously were.
Rosa: "Ruby... Azure..."
Vert: "Azure, we're going to come rescue you and Ruby, no matter what."
The two of them ran away from the manor as it finally collapses in on itself, leaving nothing behind.
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This chapter was not easy to write. Having to relive all of that along with writing the things that happen to Azure was tough. Ruby and Azure go through some things and they drink some tea at the end. The others are shocked at what happened, but they need to take some time to address it.
Next chapter, the finale of Volume 9 and the 'Ever After' Arc.