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After a short break after the last viewing, the audience settled back into their seats in the theater, as they did a door opens up from the ceiling and a figure falls out and lands somewhere in the audience.
Specifically on Oscar's chair with said person on it.
"Holy shit!" was Fiona's, Mercury's, and Coco's reaction.
"Oscar!" was appropriately AL(P)N's and RWBY's reaction. They went over along with Qrow and Ozpin to check on the boy but they stopped mid paced upon seeing what, or rather who, landed on the boy.
The rest of the audience did not speak out but still showed concern, sans Salem, Cinder, and Emerald (albeit Emerald was more confused why the door opened from the ceiling instead of a wall like normal).
"Ok, I obviously felt and heard that, but can someone give me some context please," was Fox's reaction.
Oscar groaned, "I'm starting to think the gods just hate me… Can't I catch a break?"
The farm boy tried moving but registered that there was something on his lap, upon looking down to inspect the object, a bright red blush spread across his freckled face.
On his lap was a young ginger girl with long flowing hair, a light amount of freckles, a pink thing that looked like a bow, and the brightest green eyes he's ever seen. Her smile radiates purity and innocence while she blinks at him curiously.
"Salutations civilian! It's a pleasure to meet you," the girl greeted before carefully getting off of Oscar's lap.
"I apologize for landing on you, but I seemed to have discovered some kind of trap door while patrolling Mantle. I didn't injure you by any chance, did I?" She asked him with concern.
"Hm? O-Oh no, no! I'm fine, as well as I can be! U-um… I'm Oscar by the way," Oscar awkwardly replies, offering a handshake.
The girl looks down at Oscar's hand then smiles brightly, taking his hand and shaking up and down rather fast, "A pleasure to meet you, Oscar! My name is-"
"Penny…"
Penny's ahoge perked up upon hearing her name be called out, she turns around and sees a familiar face of a crimson haired girl she had not seen in a long time. Her smile and eyes grew twice their size from excitement.
"RUBY!" Penny screams in joy as she uses her shoes to jet herself towards the stunned girl.
The taller girl lifts Ruby off her feet in a tight hug that one would think was too tight, but this was Penny after all.
"I'm so happy to see you again! How have you been? When did you arrive in Mantle? Also where are-" Penny would have continued shooting out questions if she didn't hear sniffles from the girl she was hugging, who began shaking.
"P-Penny? Y-you're… you're alive? How? I-I saw you-" Ruby asked, trying to make sense in her mind of how her previously thought dead friend was here. Eventually she couldn't hold it in anymore and released the built up waterworks.
Confusion was spelled entirely on Penny's face before a look of realization appeared. She gently pats the sobbing girl's head, then rocked side to side while still holding her friend.
"I promise to explain everything about what happened soon Ruby. But for right now, know that I am ok and I have missed you very much as well," Penny smiles down at the teary eyed Ruby, who only nodded her head.
*Many Minutes of Exposition Later*
"I see, so this place seems to be in an alternate plane of existence, running on different laws outside of Remnant's own and while we are here, all of us must view these "different worlds" until a desired goal or effect occurs?" Penny asked for clarification.
"We're not certain if that's exactly what's happening but it seems close enough," Ozpin answers the girl.
"Very well, I'm not sure exactly how I was transported here but I will take full advantage of today's sensational turn of events!" Penny cheers.
"I still find it hard to believe that you were a robot all this time," Velvet admits.
"That's what surprises you? Not the fact that she basically came back from the dead?" Coco asked her teammate.
"Yes, there's that too," the rabbit faunus nods.
After the introduction of the new arrival had ended, all audience members returned to their seats while Penny found a seat that was close to both teams RWBY and ALPN. They all sat back and waited for the next showing to start.
The viewing opens with a musical rendition of Jingle Bells, with the word "A Sword Art Online Christmas" appearing on screen. The scene then transitions to a well dressed man named, sitting by the fireplace, playing with a DS.
"I said 'jump,' you delightful Italian stereotype," The well dressed man raises his voice, becoming increasingly frustrated with controlling the game's character.
"Ok I'll be the first to ask, what on Remnant are we watching? Who is this man?" Whitley asks confusedly.
"Also did it say 'Christmas'? How much time passed?" Fiona asks behind him.
"Maybe if you two will be patient, maybe we can receive some answers, now shush!" Weiss said to both of them.
"You shush." They grumble in unison.
Soon enough the man gets a game over. He then looked up and noticed the audience, "Oh, hello. Didn't see you come in. I am Sir Jack Dapper. But, of course, you already knew that. It is my great honor today to introduce you to the Sword Art Online Christmas Extravaganza. A touching tale of whimsy, adventure and the true meaning of friendship. So, I have my book, I have my bourbon. Gather round children, let's make some Christmas. This is the story of... 'The Red-Nosed Reindeer.'"
Jack opens the book and puts on his glasses. He then clears his throat to read.
Cut to Opening.
"Oh, so he's like a narrator!" Ruby realizes after seeing the book and glasses.
Whitley groans, "Oh brothers, another one… he better be better than the last one. He was very rude."
Weiss smiles, "I happen to think he was well spoken."
Fades up on-page of the book, with a picture of a tavern.
Sir Jack begins narrating the story, "'Our magical journey began in... April…' apparently. That's a bit odd. Guess we're going for a slow burn on this one. Oh well, I can dig it, as the kids would say. 'Our story began at the local taverning hole, where our hero, Shirou, had just made some new friends', or "homies", if you will. I'll stop now…"
"Is that how he thinks young people talk?" Yang asks cringing.
"To be fair, the culture of youths is ever changing Miss Xiao-Long, so it's possible he's doing his best to make a connection with the youth of the audience. To sound 'hip' as some would say," Ozpin advises.
"Ozpin, I've had you in my head for several months. I'm honestly surprised you didn't pick up that nobody uses the word 'hip' anymore," Oscar points out to the headmaster.
This reply caused many in the audience to snicker at the expense of Oz's embarrassment. Although he took it in stride, deciding to sit back and sip on hot cocoa in his favorite mug that he somehow happened to have on him.
The picture in the book transitions to when it was taken, April 8, 2023, Floor 11, Taft. Inside the tavern, a Guild of five people, called the Moonlit Black Cats, are at Shirou's table. They clink their cups together in a toast.
"To Shirou!" They cheered.
Shiruo looks very confused at the display he was seeing, "Who are you people and why are you at my table?"
"Well, I can already see where this will be going," Whitley mutters you himself, both of his siblings in the audience silently thinking the same thing.
The leader, Keita, turns to Shirou.
"Ah, Shirou. Can I call ya Shirou?" Keita asked in his most friendly voice.
"No." Shirou said bluntly.
"Assuming that I'm open to speak with you, that's strike one," Whitley counts with one finger.
Keita ignores the boy's words, "Here's the thing, Shirou. I couldn't help but noticing while I was rifling through your character page-"
"I thought I had that set to private…" Shirou mumbles, starting to feel very creeped out by this stranger.
"Invasion of my privacy, that's strike two," Whitley counts with now two fingers raised.
"...that YOU... are not associated with any Guilds! So, the crew and I, I call them the crew by the way, were thinking that you... should join our Guild." Keita offers to Shirou.
"Like that, there's strike three! Ifthis was placed in our world my security detail would have escorted all of them away from that table and filed a 50 feet restraining order on all of them," Whitley says while having three fingers raised.
"Gods, are you that self centered that you'll push any form of potential friendship away?" Fiona asks the male Schnee.
"That would need to imply that I am willing to take part in this interaction, this Keita has been doing all the talking and is choosing not to listen to my rejections. I believe that's perfect grounds for a restraining order," Whitley explains.
Weiss does her best not to vocally agree with her brother but she can understand his reasoning behind his logic, having experienced similar situations in the past with certain people. The majority seeking self gain more than not.
"Yeah, I'm not gonna do that," the white haired boy quickly rejected Keita's offer.
Keita brushes his rejection off, "Now, I know what you're thinking. 'Am I really worthy to join these awesome dudes?'"
"I've literally never thought that about anyone." Shirou stated, starting to feel like he was talking to a brick wall.
"I can confirm that to be true," Weiss said with little reluctance.
Keita, again, dismissed his reply, "But let me assure you. We could certainly use someone with your... assets."
Keita looks at Shirou's level, which is at Level 40 and moans with delight. The only girl in the Guild, a faunus with a fluffy dog tail, Sachi, looks annoyed by this.
Shirou snaps his fingers, "Hey! Hey! My eyes are down here!"
"Like that, everything makes sense," Whitley nods as he was proven to be right in that they were seeking him out in order to benefit from his hard work.
"Oh wow, that guy really is trying to cash in on the brat," Emerald said.
Keita laughs this off, "Right, right. So, whaddya say, Shi? Can I call ya "Shi"?"
"No," Whitley quickly denied.
Shirou's face scrunched in disgust, "God no!"
"Mmm hmm, I see. And what if I put on this hat?" Keita puts on a hat, a message pops up saying "+50 CHR".
"Oh, don't be ridiculous- What the hell am I signing?" Shirou asked, genuinely confused by his involuntary action.
Shirou, under the influence of Keita's Charisma Hat, signs a Guild charter, which makes him a member of the Guild.
Keita raised his glass once more, having removed the Charisma Hat, "To the newest member of the Moonlit Black Cats! To Shirou!"
"Wh-WHAT?! Can someone explain to me what just happened!" Whitley yells in both outrage and confusion.
"Looks like he used a special item on you, Schnee," Fiona giggles.
"In other words, you just got manipulated and played," Weiss smiles, enjoying that karma had finally come back to bite her little brother.
"DAMMIT!" Shirou yelled in anger.
"My thoughts exactly, other me!" Whitley fuming at the misfortune of his alternate self being tricked so easily.
"So, let me introduce you to the crew. I call them the crew, by the way," Keita clarified.
Shirou looked at the man in contempt, "So I've heard!"
"This here is Sachi... and, uh, the rest are NPCs," Keita said, introducing his crew.
"Wait what?" had been the collective reaction of all audience members.
Shirou double takes, "Wait, what?!"
"Yeah, they're all companions from different quests! They help ya fight, and as long as you never finish, they stay with you!" Keita explains.
"We must save my family!" NPC 1 said.
"The bandits are coming!" NPC 2 said.
"Um, is that important?" Shirou asks.
"Nah, it's part of the quest. They say that, like, every 4 seconds," Keita once again brushes off Shirou's question.
"That might get a bit annoying after a while though," Jaune thought out loud.
"Not to mention having NPCs as your allies tends to have many pros and cons, which is all dependent on how much effort the programming was put into them," Velvet adds.
Penny's face became concerned, "Deliberately keeping them at his side as allies only because they are not able to depart from him out of their own choice… does that mean this Keita is using them as-"
"Slaves? That's what it sounds like," Blake frowned.
"Always remember. To jump: Jump!" NPC 3 said.
"And, uh, he's from the tutorial. It's not a good tutorial," Keita sheepishly admits.
"Winners don't use drugs! Except steroids! In which case, use lots of drugs!" Tutorial NPC states.
"That's a horrible thing to say! Who programmed these AI to say these things?" Penny cried out in distress.
Jaune took this opportunity to look at a nice corner of the theater.
"Wait, so, you never finished the tutorial?" Shirou asks Keita, baffled at the other's incompetence.
Keita remains unfazed, "Hey, just because I can't play the game, doesn't mean I can't... "play the game". Wink."
Keita doesn't wink.
"I'm going to die. I'm going to die in this game and this man with his incompetence is what will kill me," Whitley mutters to himself.
"Oh would you relax, you're not gonna die this early on. My other self still needs to get back at you for that stunt you pulled from last time," Fiona tells him.
"You're still holding onto that, how many viewings ago was that?" Whitley asked, amazed the thief held onto a grudge for so long.
"It was four viewings ago and yes, I'm still holding onto it!" Fiona frowns at him.
"Yeesh, get a room. You two argue like an old married couple," Qrow comments.
"We do not!" They both retorted.
"I feel like you don't know how winking works," Shirou states as he finally cements that this guy is either a very intelligent schemer or a complete and utter idiot, who's lucky enough to have survived thus far in this MMO of life and death.
Sachi, the dog faunus, introduces herself to the white haired boy, "Th- Thank you for joining our Guild, Mr. Shi-Shi-Shi-Shi-Shirou."
Sachi glitches as she talks.
Shirou reels back, "Sweet merciful Buddha, what the fuck?!"
"Woah! What's wrong with her?" Yang flinched.
Keita, places a hand on top of Sachi's head, "Now, now. Don't panic. Sachi just lives out in the boonies, so her internet connection is kinda shi-shi-shi-shi-shi-shi-shi-shi…"
Sachi's lag spreads to Keita.
"OH GOD, IT'S SPREADING!"
"GRAB THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN!"
"YEAH, WE'LL USE THEM AS SHIELDS!"
Outside the building the shouts of people panicking can be heard, and the tavern catches fire.
"Damn, that went to shit fast," Mercury remarks.
Sir Jack Dapper returns, narrating his thoughts, "Ha ha! What shenanigans. 4 people died in that fire…"
Many of the audience members were mortified by this news and were shocked that this Jack was reading it off like it was a joke. Perhaps everyone in this world had a bit of a screw loose.
Jack turns the pages as his narration continues, showing a montage of Shirou's time with the Moonlit Black Cats, including the time they killed one Killer Mantis together.
"But from the ashes sprouted a powerful friendship. And in time, Shirou found that he could almost tolerate them, much like a fat man tolerates the tapeworms in his intestines. And like those tapeworms, that Guild burrowed deep into his innards and gorged themselves on his leftovers, until they began causing abdominal pain and diarrhoea. I realize the metaphor is breaking down a bit here, but Granny Dapper didn't raise no quitters. In any case, things were about to change for young Shirou, as he learned one fateful night…"
"See, it doesn't seem all that bad. It looks like they're having fun," Ruby says trying her best to make light of a bad situation.
"Oh yes, if you describe having 'fun' to being stuck in a forced arrangement that holds no benefit for you whatsoever, then yes, this is very 'fun'!" Whitley describes sourly.
"Oh yes, poor you," Weiss mutters.
Winter rubs her temple while sighing, thinking that all she'll be hearing this entire viewing is them being at each other's throats.
Fade into May 16, 2023. Shirou steps out of a warp pad and a message from Keita appears. Shirou plays it.
"Hey, Shirou, buddy. Sachi kinda ran off and we don't know where she went. Could you be a pal and track her down? I'd look for her myself, but the NPCs are sorta blocking the door and I can't get out," says Keita's recorded message.
"We must save my family!" NPC 1 said.
"MOVE! *Groans* Listen buddy, I'm gonna need your help sooner rather than later. I'm starting to think this is a two-man job."
"Oh my gods! That's always so annoying! Stupid AI getting in the way and never letting you progress," Mercury remarks.
Penny sent an angry glare at the grey haired boy, "It's not the AI's fault they were given limited mobility. Perhaps you should be more considerate towards their circumstances."
Mercury laughs, "What's up Robo-Girl? Pushed one of your buttons?"
Penny almost gets up to retort but is stopped by Yang, who looks at the girl with a calm expression, "You don't need to listen to him, he's only trying to cause a reaction out of you."
Penny takes a moment to think about Yang's words, who after a moment decides to sit back down, paying no mind to the rude man on the other side of the theater.
"You've been playing for *Robotic voice* 4,608 *Normal voice* hours. Maybe you should take a break," Tutorial NPC notified.
"I would if I could, Mom! But that's not really an option now, is it?! *Sigh* Now he is clipping through the wall. This is just perfect. *Groans* So, yeah, if you could just take care of that for me, that'd be great."
"Yeah, good luck with that, Keita. It's my day off," Shirou said, giving absolutely zero shits to the player's plight.
"Thank you me! You don't owe him any favors," Whitley praises.
Winter wanted to counsel her brother about his choice of words, but considering it was Keita, she let it slide.
"And because I know it's your day off, I went ahead and included a little motivation."
"Riiight. Keita when have you ever had anything I-" Shirou was saying before he was cut off.
A picture of the Charisma Hat appears on the message. Immediately upon seeing the image, Shirou activates Detection and runs off.
"I HATE THAT GODDAMN HAT!" Shirou yells.
"As do I!" Whitley yells in frustration.
"Yeah, I gotta agree with your lil bro in this one Weiss. This Keita guy is really starting to get a little annoying abusing that item's Charm ability," Yang comments.
Ruby, Nora, Ren, Velvet, Mercury, Emerald, and evening Fiona nods in agreement.
Weiss sighs, "I hate to admit it, but so do I."
Cuts to Sachi under a bridge. Shirou appears with his eyes glowing.
"AH! Why does that look so scary!" Ruby yelped.
"Boy Weiss looks like one of those sleep demons that haunt you in your sleep!" Nora cries out.
"Please never call me that again," Whitley yells the pink viking.
Shirou calls out to her, "Yo, Sachi. Keita said you ran off or-"
Sachi reels back in shock, "Jesus Christ! What's wrong with your eyes?!"
"What?! Oh right, Detective Mode. One sec," He said.
Shirou turns it off. His eyes start sizzling and he groans in pain, "Oh, that's brisk...!"
"Is it supposed to hurt like that?" Sachi asks him, her dog peeking up.
Shirou sits down, being only a few feet from the dog faunus, "I don't think so. Unless the game was developed by a sadist!
Awkward pause.
Jaune was doing his best to shrink himself into his seat, feeling like the worst possible person at the moment.
"Well…" Sachi mutters.
"Yeah, I heard it! So anyway, I figure I got about... oh, 5 minutes before I blackout from the pain. So, Princess. Why'd you run off?" Shirou asks her.
Sachi hugs her legs close to her chest, "Because... I'm terrified my lag is going to get me and everyone I love killed."
A long silence filled the theater at Sachi's admission, many of the huntsmen and huntresses felt much sympathy for the girl.
Long pause.
"Well shit, I don't know how to mock that... Oh god! That's never happened before!" Shirou raised his voice in surprise.
"Well, maybe this is something you don't need to mock, Whitley Schnee," Sachi says.
Shirou blinks, "Uh, *Coughs/laughs* okay. But then what's the point of other people if not to mock them? And wait, how do you know my name!?"
Sachi sighs, "I'm a Faunus, you don't think I can't recognize the face of the son of the CEO of the SDC and you know, I'm starting to see why people think you're an asshole."
Shirou's eyes widened in shock, "People think I'm an asshole?!"
"What? That's preposterous, I happened to be one of the most compassionate people I know." Whitley said.
…..
Both Weiss and Fiona began uproariously laughing, rocking back and forth in their seats and were close to tears.
"Excuse but… I'll let you know that… I'm not-!... CAN YOU PLEASE STOP LAUGHING!" Whitley finally yells, entirely red faced with both anger and embarrassment.
"And so they talked all through the night, and slowly, Shirou began to see the error of his ways. If that seems like a cop-out to you, congratulations! You get a cookie…" Sir Jack Dapper narrated.
"Aw… now I'm hungry for cookies," Ruby pouts.
"After the viewing Rubes," Yang tells her sister.
The scene transitions to the daytime.
"Wow, Sachi. You've really opened my eyes! I've been such a jerk! Well, no more. You're looking at a whole new Shirou. From now on, I'm gonna be nicer, and show people the compassion they deserve!" Shirou promises.
Sachi's tail raised up, wagging ever so slightly, "So, can we talk about my problems now?"
Shirou groans, "Ugh, no one cares."
"Wow, great development there kid," Qrow said dryly.
"It's a work in progress!" Whitley snaps back defensively.
Sachi's tail sank down onto the cement floor, disappointment all over her face, "Oh... Hey, I thought you said you were gonna blackout from the pain."
Shirou's eyebrows raised in realization, "Oh yeah. *Sniff* Guess I'm just a lot tougher than I thou-"
Shirou's eyes start sizzling as he screams in pain.
Many of the audience members winced at the sight of the boy's eyeballs burning. A feeling most would find unpleasant.
Cut to June 21, 2023, with the Guild at the inn.
Keita stands before the Moonlit Black Cats in a private room, "Hey crew, I know you guys have been working really hard, and I've got some good news!"
Shirou looks at Keita expectedly, "And...?"
Keita sweats, "A-And some bad news. The good news is, we're in debt to the Mob! No, wait, that's the bad news. Also, there's no good news."
"Oh my gods! Keita, you imbecile!" Whitley screamed in anger.
"Wait, there's a Mob?! How's there a mob in this game," Blake asked confused.
"Perhaps some of the players were mobsters in the real world, so when they got stuck in SAO they decided to capitalize on the free territory," Ren theorized.
"But why?! Don't they realize the situation they are in," Ruby asked very confused.
"To some it can be considered a free opportunity," Cinder replies.
"There's a Mob in this game?!" Sachi cried out in shock.
Keita continues his announcement turned confession, "Uhhhhh, yeah, I may have promised some... let's say "unsavory" individuals that I could duplicate their rare item, and, well, it turns out that got patched."
"So, then why don't you just give back their item?" Shirou asked their self proclaimed 'leader' of the guild.
Keita begins laughing awkwardly, "Yeah, well, here's the thing. I kinda sold it, and now…"
"The bandits are coming!" NPC 2 called out.
"Ha! Nice timing bot," Mercury laughs.
Penny quietly growls.
"Precisely! But the Don says all will be forgiven if we replace the item," Keita informs the crew.
"Well, okay. That doesn't sound too-" Shirou begins saying before he is cut off.
"Here's the thing."
"Of course, it's never that simple," Winter groans.
Shirou's shoulders slump, "There it is."
"It only drops on the 27th Floor," Keita finishes adding the downside of their situation.
"Is that a problem?" Sachi's inquires.
"Well, uh, let me put it this way: Take the most horrific, awful thing you can think of... and multiply it by cancer," Keita illustrates.
The Guild leans back in shock.
Nothing but silence in the theater.
Keita begins to act charismatic again, "But you'll do fine! You've got Shirou! And he's practically carrying this crew!"
""Practically"?!" Shirou raises his voice angrily, narrowing his eyes.
"Shirou!" Sachi said sternly.
Shirou lowers his voice, "I'm sorry."
"Wait, did she… just get you to shut up," Fiona said in disbelief.
"Why must you say that like it's the most surprising thing in the world," Whitley asks the sheep faunus.
"So, on that note, what do you guys think?" Keita asks the crew.
"Well, no offence. But that is the most-" Shirou stops himself when he realizes Sachi is glaring at him.
Shirou gives the best fake smile he could muster, "...probably fine idea I've ever heard!"
Keita's eyebrow raised, "That's a weird way to phrase that."
Shirou grits his teeth, "Don't push me on this."
"Wow, your bro is actually trying to be a nicer person in this viewing," Yang whispers to Weiss.
"I give him an hour and he will lose his nerve. If my brother is one thing, it's not genuine," Weiss coldly replies.
R(W)BY look towards Weiss with sad looks. The three knew their teammate did not have a good background while growing up, and they even knew about Weiss being double crossed by her brother at one point. However they can't help but feel sad over how broken her family had become.
Keita claps his hands together, "Alright! So, we got us a game plan!"
"W-Wait, you didn't say what you're doing in all this," Sachi informs Keita.
Keita smiles, "Well, the thing about that is…"
Hard cut to June 22, 2023. Keita is on a warp pad in the town square with the hat on his head.
Keita waves the crew farewell, "Later!"
Keita teleports away.
"Keita, you… BASTARD!" Whitley yells so loud his face turned a pale red, clenching his hands in fury.
Winter was shocked that he had worked up the nerve to actually cuss and wanted to tell her brother to refrain from cursing, but upon thinking over the situation she decided to let the matter go.
Shirou looks unsurprised as their leader ditches them, "We really need to take that hat away from him."
"Yeah, no shit," Emerald said.
June 22, 2023, Floor 27: Labyrinth. The Guild is searching for the item.
"God, we've been looking for hours. Where is this stupid thing supposed to drop, anyway?" Shirou asks Sachi, his only 'real' companion in the guild.
Sachi turns to the white haired boy, "Uh, Shirou? Did Keita even tell us which item we're looking for?"
A pause of realization.
Whitley drags both hands across his face, "Keita, you imbecile... I wish there was a way I could reach into the screen, that way I could STRANGLE-"
Whitley stops himself, closes his eyes and breaths in and out three times, once done he lies back into his chair and holds his hands together like he didn't just lose his composure. His once angered face turned back into a tired, emotionless expression.
Fiona looks at the boy in confusion, "You good Schnee?"
"No but there's no use fussing over something that's happening in an alternate reality," Whitley plainly states.
"Son of a-!" Shirou starts to yell before he is cut off.
"We must save my family!" NPC 1 states while he opens a secret door, revealing a small chest in a large room.
"Oh wow. A single chest in an empty room. Yeah, this looks legit. Come on, guys. Even we're not dumb enough to fall for this…" Shirou sarcastically tells the guild.
NPC 1 opens the chest.
Whitley's face paled and his eyes widened.
Shirou looked at the guilty looking dog faunus, "Sachi? You set them to auto-loot, didn't you?"
Sachi nods, "Yeah. I thought it would save time."
Alarms blare, the lights turn red and the door closes behind them.
"Oh no, I don't like where this is going," Ruby whispers.
'Neither do I...' Whitley thought.
"Oh yeah. We're sprinting to our deaths at RECORD SPEED!" Shirou yells sarcastically.
Sachi does her best to think positively, "Well, it might not be a trap. Maybe we just won a prize, or something."
"Deploying Slaughternauts and Murder-Golems" the Game Announcer said.
"Nope! I'm pretty sure that means the opposite," Oscar yelped.
Slaughternauts and Murder-Golems spawn in the room.
Shirou looked around as mobs surrounded them, "Oh wow! Slaughternauts AND Murder-Golems?! It must be my BIRTHDAY!"
Sachi whimpers, "I thought you were gonna be nicer."
"BABY STEPS!" Shirou halved yells-halved clarifies.
"It's okay! We'll just grab one of the Teleport Crystals from Gary!" Sachi assured.
Shirou looks back at Sachi confused, "WHO THE FUCK IS GARY?!"
"We must save my family!" NPC 1 holds up a Teleport Crystal and teleports out.
Sachi's face paled, "That WAS Gary."
Nora gasps, "GARY, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! YOU'VE DOOMED THEM ALL!"
Shirou growls slashing at a mob, "OF COURSE IT WAS!"
Sachi shakes her head, "No, no, no, it's fine! Charlie's got a bunch of health potions!"
"Which one's Charlie?!" Shirou questioned.
NPC 3 gets hit critically by a mob and then dies.
"Never mind! I got it!" Shirou yelled.
"No…! Crap! Everyone is dropping like flies," Jaune yells, pulling at his hair in panic.
Sachi begins to panic as her guild members are dropping by the second, "Well, we still-"
NPC 2 suffers a critical hit from a Golem and dies.
Shirou starts slaying every mob in his path, trying to reach Sachi, "OH GOD, STOP! Look, we're just gonna have to fight our way out!"
Sachi breathes, "Okay. I'm scared, but I trust you-ou-ou-ou-ou-"
Whitley nearly jumped out of his seat, "SAICHI, NO!"
*SMACK!* *injured dog cry*
A Golem hits Sachi in the back as she is lagging, fatally wounding her.
Many audience members gasped, Whitley felt his entire body going numb and blood running cold.
His alternate self wasn't fast enough…
"SACHI! NO!"
Shirou could watch in slow motion as the faunus, the girl he failed to protect, experienced her final moments of life.
Sachi looks solemnly at the Schnee boy, someone she had grown to consider her ally and friend, "Shirou... Whitley… This isn't... your fault- your fault- your fault- your fault- your fault- YOOOOUUUUR FAAAAUUUULT."
Sachi's lag causes her to glitch out, in a horrifyingly scarring manner, and she dies.
Whitley slowly fell back into his seat, his mouth was slightly gaped but his eyes were glued to the screen as he watched the faunus girl shatter into nothing, sealing her fate virtually and physically.
None of the other audience members made any comments, too shocked or horrified at the sight of Sachi's death.
"Well... that was grim. But, as with all things, there is always a silver lining. For you see, Shirou still had one friend left with whom he could share his grief."
Jack turns the page to a scene of Keita killing himself via falling off the edge of SAO's world.
"KEITA!" Shirou screams in terror.
"OH MY GODS!" Fiona screams, she like many of the audience members were not expecting these turns of events.
"GYAH!"
Jack makes frantic panicked noises, as he skips over a bunch of dramatic scenes until he reaches December 24, 2023, the Christmas part of the story.
Sir Jack Dapper awkwardly does his best to change the topic, "Christmas! Yay, Christmas! Hahaha! No one kills themselves on Christmas!"
Jack makes an uncomfortable laugh, "Christ, I need more bourbon…"
"You know what… it's cool if you don't tell me what happened. I think I got the jist of it," Fox mutters quietly.
Shirou is seen in the woods looking for something, as the audience hears the memory of an info broker.
Info Broker speaking in a Cockney accent, "They say that Santa Claus will appear beneath a certain fir tree tonight, and grant whoever finds him an item that will give anyone a merry Christmas. Now that'll be 200 gol- Oi! Oi, where you going! Get back here!"
"A special item drop? I wonder what it can be," Velvet asks.
"Maybe it's a way out of this damn game of misery," Jaune said solemnly.
As Shirou runs through the snow filled forestry, BallsDeep69 and his Guild appear in the same area.
Shirou looks at the blonde monkey faunus in surprise, "Balls?"
"My name is Sun!" Balls and the entire guild said all together.
"Pfff, t-they're still calling him Balls," Nora giggles loudly.
"Nora, it's not that funny," Blake whispers.
"Then why are you trying to hide your smile?" Nora asked with a cheeky grin.
Blake wisely chose to not continue the conversation.
Shirou stares at them as if they had two heads, "That was... unsettling. What the hell was that?"
BallsDeep69 sighs, "I correct people so often, they think it's how I say hello."
"Now that buffoon sees why he should have taken the naming of his character more seriously," Weiss recounts.
Shirou looks to the side, "Well, that's unfortunate."
"Yeah, no kidding. So, what are you doing out here?" Balls asked the white haired player.
Shirou raised his right hand to grip at his coat, "Eh, I've been having this weird pain in my chest. I was hoping this rare item might be able to fix it."
Sun raises one of his eyebrows in a questioning expression, "Well, that's strange. What do you think caused it?"
"Well, I suppose it started right after I watched my entire Guild get slaughtered. But, I mean, I didn't take any damage, so that can't be it…" Shirou expressed to the blonde player.
BallsDeep69 is shocked over the stupidity of Shirou's statement.
"Oh my god!" He yells in disbelief.
Winter sighed heavily at this, normally she would think this was another over exaggeration of her brother's personality, but she really hoped that Jaqcues didn't forwent teaching her brother abo-who was she kidding? Of course the bastard did.
Suddenly, the Mob teleports in from all sides.
"Shirou Yuki. As the sole survivor of the Midnight Black Cats, the debt naturally falls to you. The Don sends his regards," one of the mobsters tells the white haired boy.
"The fool's last will and testament, his debt. What a surprise…" Cinder said, much to everyone's surprise.
BallsDeep69 and the rest of his guild draw out their weapons and get into a battle formation, "Well, as many questions as this raises, I'm gonna keep this brief. Shirou, you're not injured, you're sad that all your friends died."
Shirou blinks in surprise, "Wow, I never thought about it like that."
"Yeah, big shock, ya friggin' sociopath. Look, I've heard rumors that item might be able to rez players. It's a long shot, but you owe it to yourself to try. Go on ahead. We'll hold them off."
Many audience members perked up at the news of the possibility of bringing a slain player back from the dead, such a notion seemed outside the realm of possibility.
However, this was technology that was clearly more advanced than anything they've seen before, so perhaps it could be possible.
"That's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me. Thank you... Sun," Shirou said with the utmost genuineness.
Sun makes a whimper of delight. Shirou runs off.
"Hey boss, who's Sun?" One of Ball's guild members asked.
Sun grits his teeth, "Don't ruin this for me!"
Nora starts giggling again.
Shirou arrives in front of the tree.
"And there, under that frosted fir tree, Shirou spotted the big man himself. Streaking through the snowy sky, on a sleigh full of Christmas cheer, the patron saint of prostitutes…"
Sudden cut to Jack in his seat, "Look it up."
"Wait WHAT?!" Ruby cried out in shock.
Back to the story.
"Old Saint Nic-"
A Boss named Nicholas The Renegade crashes onto the ground, looking horrifying.
Nicholas The Renegade's bellows, "Naughty!"
"OH GODS!"
"KILL IT WITH FIRE!"
Cut back to a shocked and confused Jack, "What the fu-"
Nicholas roars as Shirou runs towards him while making a battle cry. Fade to white. Fade back to an exhausted Sun and his Guild, having chased off the Mob. Shirou steps out of the portal and walks toward Sun and the Guild.
"Shirou, how'd it go? Did you win?" Sun asks him.
Shirou looks emotionally drained.
"Does this look like the face of victory to you?" Shirou asks rhetorically.
"Wait did he lose?" Velvet asked in worry.
"Impossible, the only way to lose in a RPG is if your character is killed," Ren points out.
"So what happened?" Jaune asked concerningly.
Sun looks confusingly at Shirou, "You didn't get it?"
"Oh, I got it."
Shirou throws Sun the item. He opens it and a hat appears on his head. The same hat Keita used.
"Are you kidding me, the item was the-" Ruby was saying before she covered her face in her hands and screamed.
"Poetic. The item that originally started him on this journey comes back to taunt him one last time," Salem said, finding this occurrence to be amusing.
"It's a hat. It's a god... damn... hat." Shirou said dejectedly.
"Well, what do you wanna do with it?" Sun asks him.
Shirou shrugs, "Wear it. Poop in it. I really don't care anymore. But, I do suppose I should thank you. You made me realize that by being nice and letting people in... they'll just die. But even still, thank you for showing me that there's still a part of me that can feel like this. Because now that I know where to find it, I've killed it forever. So, thank you. Thank you for freeing me... Balls."
Shirou walks off. Balls grabs his coat to stop him.
BallsDeep69 looks to Shirou on the verge of tears, "No. No! You were so close! You were almost a person! YOU WERE SO CLOSE!"
BallsDeep69 breaks down crying.
"And so they say, Shirou's heart grew three sizes that day. Then immediately shrank six, imploding into a black hole from which no love could escape. The End."
Fade to black.
"Wait, is that it? That's how it ends!" Ruby asked, feeling discontent with how this viewing ended.
Fortunately enough, the screen continued to play, seemingly having more to show the audience.
Fade back in on Jack, completely drunk in his chair.
Jack stares at the crowd, "Oh I'm sorry, were you expecting a happy ending? Well, I'm afraid the world doesn't work that way, bucko. The only thing you can hope for in life is that you make enough money to fill the void left behind by the woman you love when she takes your children to some island in Tahiti with a cabana boy half her fucking age. Well, look at me now, you harlot. I'm still alone with all my money. God, I'm alone. SO alone!"
Jack begins to cry but then collapses onto the floor vomiting. Gregory, his butler, pats his back.
"Merry Christmas, everyone," Gregory said.
Jack tries to get up but vomits again.
"Oh god, it in the Persian rug."
Cut to the Outro.
Ruby sniffs, "This viewing stinks..."
"Sorry Ruby, but not every story ends happily. That's just how things are sometimes," Blake consolingly said to her friend and leader.
"Hold on, the screen's still going!" Oscar said, directing everyone's attention to the screen once more.
"Oh yes, let's continue to have our heartstrings played with. Not like we have anything else to do," Jaune dryly comments.
Both RWBY and (A)LPN took a glance at the blonde knight, the latter's response quickly made them become concerned. However, since they could not address Jaune at the moment they all decided to question him at a better time.
Fades in on the Mob's hideout. A Mobster is talking to the Don in a dark room, the Don is obscured by the shadows.
"I'm sorry, Don. We finally tracked down the one known as Shirou, but... we were beaten back by the legendary warrior BallsDeep69 and his men. The boy escaped us yet again. I have no excuse. But I promise you, we will get back what was stolen. What are your orders... Don Fluffles?" The mobster asks.
The Don emerges from the shadows, revealing that he was the cat from the previous viewing of this world. Don Fluffles makes a sinister growl.
Nora gasped, "BAD KITTY! VERY BAD KITTY!"
"TWO MOVIES THIS TIME VIEWERS!"
After a short intermission, the audience members return to their seats and get ready for the next viewing. They hope that this viewing will be more lighthearted compared to the last one.
The episode properly opens on February 23 2024 Floor 35: The Lost Forest. Freya is with her Party. She is arguing with one of its leaders named Rosalia.
Nora squealed in excitement, "EVERYONE LOOK! IT'S A MINI ME IN SAO!"
"Why do you look so… young?" Ren asked, a bit confused seeing his partner look a few years younger than she should.
"Multiverse logic probably," Blake replied, making Ren nod at the only apparent reason for this difference.
"Oh joy… We're back here again," Whitley said, however there was less enthusiasm in his voice compared to how he usually sounds.
Weiss looked at him with confusion, she has never heard her sibling sound so… detached.
"Come on, Freya. I need to increase my leatherworking. Just hand over the Dragon, already." Rosalia orders.
"Oh and Cinder's also here…great," Jaune said, his tone was saturated in sarcasm.
"It also looks like you're working for Pinkie," Emerald taunts.
"Ugh… why universe? Why do you stick me with her of all people," Nora asks while groaning in misery.
Cinder laughs, "It seems you chose a winning side."
"Screw you," Nora replies without a hint of remorse.
Freya's pet, a feathered dragon, laid defensively on Freya's head.
"I can't believe I have to explain why you can't SKIN MY FRIEND!" Freya yells in anger.
Rosalia replies frustratingly, "And I can't believe I need to explain why I need leather pants."
One of their party members gets too close for comfort, "C'mon Freya. Leather paaaants.~"
"Hey, if it'll make you feel better, I can make you a pair, too," Rosalia 'kindly' offered.
"I DON'T WANNA WEAR MY PET, YOU MONSTER!" Freya yelled.
"Yeah! Tell her Mini Nora, team JNPR/ALPN for life," Nora shouts, cheering for her alternate self onscreen.
Rosalia scoffed, "Well, there's just no pleasing you, is there?"
Freya, finally fed up with this harassment, glares at the brunette, "Screw this! I don't need you! I'll form my own Party!"
Freya dissolves from the Party and walks away.
"It's just gonna be me and Pina and it's gonna be awesome!" Freya yells.
"Yes! Tell her me! Tell that Cinder who's your boss, because it's not her! Hahaha-ha-ha, nanana-boo-boo," Nora jeers and makes faces towards Cinder.
"You ARE truly insufferable," Cinder growls, clenching her Grimm hand hard.
Cut to Freya being cornered by a group of Drunk Apes in Forest of Wandering.
Freya screams for her life, "This is not awesome! This is the opposite of awesome! Okay, Silica, calm down. You can do this. You've got Pina. Pina, Heal!"
Pina heals a tiny sliver of her health.
Freya sighs, "Thaaanks Pina…"
Freya is immediately slammed into a tree by one of the Drunk Apes.
Nora's eyes widen in disbelief, "What the-WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT THERE ME?! SMASH THEIR HEADS!"
"My, aren't you doing a wonderful job surviving on your own. Having second thoughts about leaving my side" Cinder smugly asked Nora.
Both Mercury and Emerald laughed at Cinder's jab towards the pink huntress.
Freya painfully groans, "Pina... Heal!"
A message reading "That ability isn't ready yet" appears in the corner of Freya's view.
"Ful, losei Dovahkiin," Pina's in-game voice informed.
"Isn't that technically copyright?" Ren wondered out loud.
Freya sighs, "That's okay. You're doing your best. But I'm not doing so hot. Do you think you could... h-hold them off for a second?"
Pina flies toward one of the apes, which bashes Pina to the ground.
Freya looks towards her fallen dragon, "Alright, well, I-I didn't mean a literal second. But you couldn't know that."
Pina's health goes to zero and she starts glowing.
Freya gasps, "Oh my goodness. Pina... Are you evolving?"
Freya grabs Pina, cradling the dragon in her arms.
Freya begins cheering, "Yes Pina! Evolve into a beautiful Dragon and we'll fly through the night to freedom!"
Pina dies and shatters, leaving only a feather. Apes close in, as she turns to them.
Freya whimpers out fearfully, "Pina?"
Both RWBY and ALP(N) grew fearful for the younger Nora's life, from what they could see the young girl did not have the same strength, skill, or tenacity as their version of Nora. Especially Ren, while may have seemed only slightly anxious on the outside, internally he was having a full blown panic attack.
The Nora in the audience was pulling at her hair in a mixture of fear and frustration, she did not want to see her younger self get killed so effortlessly on screen.
Cinder's epicaricacy was at its peak towards the other Nora as she watched the girl surely living her final moments, this truly was her day.
All the Drunk Apes suddenly die, revealing Shirou behind them. The image of him suddenly becomes sparkly and surrounded by roses.
Ren and other members of the audience released their breath and sighed in relief.
Shirou, from Freya's POV, asked, "Are you unharmed, my lady?"
Freya is too taken aback by her mysterious savior, not paying attention to his words, "Wh... What?"
"Yes, I'm also confused, what is happening?' Weiss asked.
"Yeah, when did Schnee boy become skinny Fabio? Because this seems all sorts of wrong,' Fiona added.
"You two just enjoy bringing me down don't you," Whitley responds to their jabs at him.
Neither of the girls confirmed or denied his accusation against them, they simply ignored him and watched the screen like the rest of the audience.
Shirou, in reality, says, "I said could you stop staring at me? It's creepy!"
"There, much better," Weiss approves, nodding her head.
"I loathe you," Whitley said dryly.
Cut to Opening.
The episode fades back to the same scene, Freya is crying. Shirou is staring at her awkwardly.
Shirou decides the best way to diffuse the situation is to remove himself from it, "Weeelllllll, I can see you got your own thing going on here. Don't wanna intrude. I'll just find myself a spot that isn't full of crying children. Oh, look! There's one now!"
"Wow… what a great way to comfort someone over the loss of their pet," Emerald criticizes with false sympathy.
"Oh please, I don't know anything about you but I can easily tell you don't care in the slightest," Whitley retorts back.
Mercury chuckled, "Damn, this kid's got a good read on you Em."
Emerald grumbles.
Freya turns toward her savior, her expression confused, "Aren't you gonna ask me what's wrong?"
Shirou shakes his head, "Yeah, I'm not pulling the pin on that grenade."
"Not a bad choice," Qrow comments.
"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby gasped in disbelief.
"What? Sometimes things are best left alone, we all have our demons but that doesn't mean you go around sharing them with complete strangers," Qrow explained his reasoning.
Freya sniffs a big before bowing her head, "You're right. I'm sorry. This isn't your fault."
Upon hearing those last two words, Shirou's mind triggers a flashback to the last time he heard them.
Sachi, in Shirou's memory, recites while glitching, "your fault- your fault- your fault- your fault- your fault- YOOOOUUUUR FAAAAUUUULT."
Shirou's psyche shatters.
"WHAT'S WRONG, LITTLE GIRL?!" Shirou asks desperately.
The audience were stunned to silence from seeing the depiction of the onscreen Whitley's guilt ridden mind over the death of the late Sachi. Perhaps the most surprised members of the audience were both of his sisters, who were surprised he responded this way when being reminded of Sachi's glitched last words.
Freya looks back towards her savior once again, "Well, I guess it all started when I was born. My mom was a bit of a drinker. And nine months sober? That was just not in the cards…"
Shirou makes a long sigh as Freya's talking. The audience hears the sound of a grenade pin getting pulled followed by an explosion.
"And this is what I meant," Qrow groans.
Fade to them at the restaurant. Freya is still talking and the audience can hear Shirou banging his head against the table off-screen.
"And then those Gorillas showed up and attacked me. But thankfully, Pina stalled them long enough for you to save me, and then, you know the rest." Freya concludes her tale.
Shirou, who raised his injured forehead from the table, yells, "God, do I ever! I can never un-know! These brain cells could've been used to formulate the perfect strategy to get us out of this game! Instead, they've memorized what kind of crayons you liked to eat when you were 4!"
"I liked the purple ones," Freya recalls.
The members of the audience who knew Nora turned towards the ginger viking with questioning glances, even Ren was amongst them.
Nora quickly became aware of the attention on her, then responded accordingly, "Why are you all looking at me like that?"
"I don't mean to insinuate anything, but did you actually eat crayons?" Yang asks the resident viking.
"What? No! Of course not, why would I do something like that," Nora said defensively, giving a glare towards her friends.
"Nora's right guys, this is obviously this world's alteration of the Nora we know so let's drop it," Jaune suggests to the group.
Once everyone's attention was back on the screen Nora's defensive face became
Shirou groans, "Yeah, I know! "And the blue ones were too tart"! If I tell ya how to resurrect your hamster, will you leave me alone?"
"Dragon," Freya corrects.
Shirou starts ranting, "Kid, no language on Earth has a word for how little I care. A quantum supercomputer calculating for a thousand years could not even approach the number of fucks I do not give. The friggin' heat-death of the universe could not-"
Freya cuts him off, "Are you gonna tell me, or not?"
Shirou sighs, "Eh, sure. Whatever. Allegedly, the Dungeon on the 47th Floor, called "The Hill of Memories", drops an item that revives pets."
"Wow, that sounds pretty simple," Yang remarks.
"Yeah… too simple," Blake points out.
Freya gasps, "Oh my goodness! Really? Well, let's go get it right now-"
Shirou interrupts the girl's excitement, "Upbupbup, cool your jets, Zippy. There's more to it than that. For one thing, the item won't work 3 days after death. And since you just spent the last 7 hours making me consider the pros and cons of a lobotomy via soup spoon, I'd say you got your work cut out for ya."
"Oh no, that means we have less than three days to revive my dragon! Get your butts into high gear Mini Me and Boy Weiss," Nora exclaims.
"I asked you not to address me as that, thank you very much," Whitley reminds the loud ginger girl.
"No time Boy Weiss, we've got a quest to finish," Nora quickly said to Whitley, fully determined to complete this quest… or rather see herself complete.
"Is everyone just ignoring me now! I'm a person too," Whitley yells.
"Oh no! Well, let's get going! We've got no time to lose!" Freya reaches over the table and holds onto Shirou's hands.
Shirou smiles, "Yeeeaaah, about that…"
Cuts to them walking outside.
"What do you mean you're not going? I could die on my own!" Freya questions the white haired player.
Shirou remained unfazed, "I believe I made myself clear about my number of fucks and willingness to give them."
"But Boy Weiss, my dragon! How could you so quickly abandon the person you saved, you're supposed to look out for Mini Me," Nora cried out.
"Since when was saving someone so widely accepted as a form of adoption," Whitley questions loudly.
Many in the audience took a moment to reflect on the boy's words and realized that sort of situation happens more frequently than they like to admit.
They run into Rosalia.
Rosalia speaks in a very disingenuous voice, "Silica? Oh my god! How are you!"
"Ugh… not her again," Nora groans.
"What's the matter? Ashamed that your alternate self was so helpless without the assistance of your truly," Cinder asks smugly.
"I'm... fine," Freya mutters.
"And where's your little Dragon friend?" Rosalia asked in the same disingenuous way.
Freya whimpers, "Pina... died."
Rosalia pretends to show sympathy, "Aw, that's too bad. Did you at least manage to make some good pants out of her?"
Freya yells angrily at the woman, "NO!"
Nora growls angrily, "Why is she so obsessed with turning my dragon into pants?!"
Rosalia sighs, "Such a waste."
Shirou whispers, "She's right, you know. Dragon leather is surprisingly comfortable."
"Boy Weiss, YOU TRAITOR!" Nora yells, accusing the boy.
"MY NAME IS WHITLEY!"
Freya glared at the boy, "Shirou! That's not funny! I'm gonna get that item and revive her, for sure!"
Rosalia laughs, "Oh, "Shirou" is it? Are you her new teammate? That's adorable. It's so nice to see Silica found someone on her level."
Whitley's former frustration became mute as his eyes widened and he became deathly silent, muttering two words, "Excuse me?"
Shirou laughs.
"What?" Shirou asks as his irises shrank and his tone became deadly serious.
Rosalia laughs at Shirou's expense, "Oh, no, no. It's cute. I love the whole "tough guy" persona you've got going on there. Very convincing. I'm sure you'll have no problem clearing "The Hill of Memories"."
Freya frowns, "Actually, Shirou said he's not-"
Shirou cuts off Freya, his tone now sounding like tranquil fury, "Come on, Freya. We've got a hamster to save."
Shirou and Silica walk passed her. Rosalia glares at them for a moment, but then smiles maliciously.
"You mean you're gonna help me? Yay! Operation: Save Pina is a go!" Freya cheered.
"Yes! I knew you would eventually come around Boy Weiss," Nora cheered.
"Wait, why did he change his mind? He seemed very adamant on parting ways earlier," Penny asks, confused by the turn of events.
Ruby placed a hand on Penny's shoulder, "That's because Cinder's other did something that many would think twice before doing Penny-"
Yang laughs, "She messed with a Schnee's pride."
Cut February 24, 2024 Floor 47: Floria. Shirou and Freya teleport in. Freya goes to smell the flowers.
Shirou starts laughing nervously before looking towards Freya, "So, uh, hey, uh, random question. Uh, you didn't hear anything... weird last night, did you?"
Freya thinks back, "Uuuuuh…"
Flashback to the previous night, with Freya on her bed hearing Shirou through the wall.
"Sachi! Oh god, why couldn't I save you?! Why?! Ah, Sachi! SACHI!" Shirou yells while crying.
Once again the audience was stunned to silence at the apparent impact that Sachi's death had over this version of Whitley, select members of the audience sympathized with the boy, having experienced the loss of someone they couldn't save or cared for.
Whitley again became disconnected with the viewing, pondering if he had been in the same situation could he have altered things or would the results be the same or worse than what they were before. He did his best to bring his attention back to the viewing, after all he still needed to see if his other self could show up the arrogant one eyed woman's alternate.
Cuts back to the present. Freya blushes from embarrassment.
"Uh, no. Definitely not. I'm, like, a super heavy sleeper, so…" Freya lied very awkwardly.
Shirou laughs.
Shirou nods, "Good, good. *Clears throat* Yeah, sleep is... Sleep is good."
Shirou walks off and Freya follows him.
"Sooooo... who's Sachi?" Freya asks.
"I KNEW IT!" Shirou yells.
"It's like you to not be able to resist prying Nora," Ren said as he laughs softly.
"In my defense, Boy Schnee is still in mourning, so yeah I wanna ask what's weighing him down," Nora replies.
Said Schnee was taken aback at… "Nora's" kind words towards his other self. This began to make him wonder if he had judged her too quickly.
A Garish Gerbera grabs Freya and lifts her into the air. Freya screams out in fear. She pulls her skirt down to prevent it from exposing herself.
Freya blushes heavily in embarrassment, "Shirou! Don't look up my skirt!"
Shirou covered his eyes, only seeing the situation through a gap between his fingers, "Um, I think you have more pressing concerns."
Freya flails around, swinging her knife around, "Well, what do I do?!"
"Mini-Me what are you doing?! Go for the vines! Don't flail around like a fish! You're embarrassing us both," Nora screamed towards the screen at her alternate self.
"Wow, this Nora is helpless, no offense," Velvet said.
"Offense is very much taken, WHY ARE YOU DOING NOTHING?! USE YOUR KNIFE DAMN IT," Nora continues yelling.
"Just stay calm! You already have everything you need to beat it!" Shirou instructs the unfocused ginger.
"The power to believe in myself?" Freya asked.
"Nooooo, a knife! Stab it!"
"Oh, right!" Freya yells after realizing she had a knife in her hand.
Freya cuts the tendril holding her and makes an adorable battle cry as she performs a plunging attack, killing the Garish Gerbera.
"See! It wasn't that hard, was it?!" Nora continues her one sided rant towards her other self.
Shirou frowns, "Yeah, maybe you should stick behind me. You're so low level, you're aggroing everything in this place."
"Oh, don't worry about me, Shirou. I can take care of myself," Freya tells him.
She takes three steps and is immediately attacked by a monster under her feet.
"AAAAAHHHH! Shirou!" Freya screams.
"Are you kidding me?!" Nora brought her hands to her face and screamed frustratingly in them.
Her friends wanted to say something but they knew better than to try to reason with her while frustrated. Especially her teammates and Ren, recalling the last time they tried to do so only ended up in making things worse.
Shirou sighs, "This is gonna be my whole day, isn't it?"
Cut to "Much, much later". The audience is shown a flower bloom while placed on a pedestal.
"Shirou, look! There it is!" Freya cheers at finally finding the item they were looking for.
Freya excitedly picks up the flower and smiles.
Shirou smiles, "Alright, one down!"
"YEAH- Wait, what do you mean?" Freya's excitement quickly changes into confusion.
"Well, I mean, we're gonna need, like, 50 more of these suckers. Then we trade them back in town for a gem, which we give to this gatekeeper so that he'll let us enter another Dungeon, where we fight a series of Bosses to get the real flower," Shirou informs the young girl about the details of the quest they were on, the smile on Freya's face deflating as he does so.
A pause fills the air.
"That's INSANE! Who'd design a game this way?!" Freya genuinely baffled by the step by step objectives of their quest.
"You don't play a lot of RPGs, do you?" Shirou asks rhetorically.
"Brother, I know your other didn't mean to crush that girl's hopes, but could you not have worded that so poorly," Winter asks her sibling.
Whitley simply shrugs, "What would you have me do then, lie?"
Winter sighs, "Fair enough."
"Oh well, the quest continues Boy Weiss!" Nora exclaims.
Cuts "Much, much, much later". The two of them are on a bridge heading back into town.
"Man, I thought we were done after that seventh Boss, but then BAM, there's number eight!" Shirou said, recounting the events of their quest so far.
Freya whimpers, "I just... I just wanna go home."
"This is really jarring, seeing a version Nora actually admitting defeat," Yang said with a bewildered expression.
Shirou stops Freya.
"Wait. Hold on, Silica. Do mine eyes deceive me?! Tis the fabled Word Tree of Gamagorath! Font of human knowledge, and devourer of souls! Quickly, child! We must spirit away before it- Oh my god! Will you just come out already?!" Shirou begins role playing but quickly gives up after the act is going nowhere, calling out whoever was hiding.
Rosalia emerges from behind a tree, her username was poking out from behind it the entire time.
"Ah, your Detection Skill must be quite high for you to have known I was here," Rosalia compliments.
"Wait what's Cinder doing there?! *gasp!* She's here to steal the loot," Nora yelled accusingly at the screen.
"It's plausible," Ren comments.
Shirou pretends to act friendly, "Rosalia?! Oh my god! How are yo- Oh god, wow, that's enough of that. Jesus, how do you put that act up all day?"
Rosalia smiles, "Oh, so you saw through me, did you? You're quite a clever boy to have figured out that I'm actually the leader of Titan's Hand."
"No matter the number of different universes we see, it seems some things never change," Ruby said with a scowl.
Shirou laughs.
""Titan's Hand"? Wow, I thought you might be someone dangerous, like Laughing Coffin! Never even heard of you!" Shirou laughs mockingly at the brunette player.
"Laugh all you like. We're still one of the most feared Orange Guilds on the lower Floors," Rosalia replies, unfazed by Shirou's words.
"Ooo, impressive. You can frighten players that think Slimes are terrifying!" Shirou snarked, unimpressed in the slightest.
"Have you seen their eyes?! They have no souls!" Freya confused why slimes are a laughing matter.
"Ok, I actually do agree with Mini-Me on this one, Slime mobs in games do tend to give me the creeps," Nora comments.
"Ah, so quick with the snark. Of course, that's all you really have going on, isn't it? A witty retort to distract everyone from what you really are. A sad, lonely little boy with no one who loves him. Someone so dead inside, he'd use a child as bait to lure me out," Rosalia states.
Freya interjects to defend her ally, "Mr. Shirou would never do something so horrible!"
"Nah, she's right. I totally did that," Shirou admits.
Freya looked at him in shock, "What?!"
Nora gasps, "Boy Weiss! Say it ain't so!"
"Why are you accusing me, I hold no responsibility over him. Although that does seem like something I would do," Whitley responds.
"So you admit it! Traitor," Nora glared.
Rosalia continues her villainous monologue, "And to top it all off, you play the "tough guy". This invincible warrior you could never hope to be in the real world. Getting stuck in this game was probably the best thing to ever happen to you. But there's one thing this game will never let you hide. The one thing that's haunted you your whole life, that you can never escape... you sound like a girl."
Shirou begins to laugh, "What? No, I don't sound like a girl. That's crazy! THAT'S CRAZY!"
Shirou devolves into insane laughter.
"That can't possibly be true, she's only trying to get into his head. Yes… nothing else but that," Whitley mutters to himself.
Rosalia smiles, pleased that she was able to get under his skin, "Well, it looks like my work here is done. I do so enjoy our chats, but I really must be off. We'll be taking the Pneuma Flower now, if you don't mind."
Shirou glares at Rosalia with a deranged look in his eyes, "Really? Little old you is going to take it from us? That'd be a neat trick!"
Rosalia nods, "Indeed. But a magician is nothing without her lovely assistants."
Rosalia snaps her fingers and seven thugs come from behind the trees, cackling.
RWBY, ALPN, Qrow and Ozpin grew angry towards the Cinder on screen, of course she would plan to ambush her enemies through numbers.
Whitley grew wrathful as well, but suddenly a thought had occurred to him and his anger was replaced with amusement. He decided not to say anything but instead chose to sit back and recline in his seat.
Fiona was the only one that took notice of how Whitley was suddenly not worried at the thought of his other self being ambushed, instead it seemed he was eagerly awaiting to see what would happen next.
"Why are you so calm?" Fiona asks, narrowing her eyes.
Whitley smiled, "You'll see."
Freya gasps, "Oh no, Mr. Shirou. There's so many of them! I'll back you up!"
Shirou pats on Freya's head, "Aw, that's adorable. You think they're a threat! Well, you just sit tight. Show's about to start! Careful, though. The first three rows are a splash zone. "
Shirou starts to walk toward the thugs.
"Wait, is he serious? There's no way he could fight them all off by himself, he's out numbered," Weiss states.
Jaune eyes widened, the realization of the situation hitting him, "Unless that's exactly what he wants…"
Ruby turned towards Jaune very much confused, "What do you mean Jaune?"
Ozpin, Qrow, Winter, and Salem also came to the same realization that Jaune did moments before, this wasn't a trap meant for the boy, it was meant for Cinder to fall into.
"What do you mean by that?" Freya asks fearfully.
Shirou laughs maniacally.
A Titan Hand member's face grew a worried expression, "Um, boss? A- A thought occurs. This guy thought he was going up against Laughing Coffin, but he still just brought himself and a... small child. We sure we wanna mess with this guy?"
Rosalia scoffs at his hesitance, "Please! The boy's all talk! And now that I've broken him, he's not even that, anymore! He's nothing but a gibbering mess, grasping at straws!"
Shirou smiles maniacally, "Ooo, another one of your famous theories! Tell ya what. I'll give ya the first shot. See how that goes!"
Stunned silence.
"Boss, I think this might be a trap," a different Titan's Hand member said.
Rosalia growls, "Enough! You're all Level 45, and there's seven of you! I think you've got this! Now, kill him!"
The audience sees Shirou's face change to a black shadow, with only a single glowing iris being visible to them before a menacing glowing smile appears.
Whitley chuckles, "I'm going to enjoy this."
All the thugs start assaulting Shirou one by one. Shirou just stands there doing nothing to stop any of their attacks.
"Boy Weiss, NO!" Nora cried out fearfully.
Weiss' face suddenly became pale, her heart sank like an anchor tossed into the endless abyss. For the first time since she could remember, she was worried for the well-being of her brother. Despite what he did to her back home, she never once wished for her sibling to perish a cruel death.
Winter also held her breathe and clenched her hands, clinging to the hope that this Whitley knew what he was doing.
Freya could only stand there helpless as she watched the action unfold, left only with her thoughts, "Oh no! I knew it! Rosalia really got inside his head! He's not even fighting back! Well, guess it's up to me to save him, or else-"
The audience and Freya look to Shirou's health bar, and witness it regenerate back to full.
Freya blinks in surprise, "Wait what...?"
"What," Was the majority of the audience's reaction towards what they had seen.
The thugs stop attacking, out of breath.
"Man, you guys are out of shape. Really oughta do some cardio," Shirou taunts.
Rosalia's anger rose, "What are you idiots doing?! Quit screwing around and finish him!"
Titan's Hand Thug #3 growls in frustration, "I don't understand! We threw everything we had at him! How is he still standing?"
"Now for my trick," Whitley whispers.
"How? Well, it's quite simple, really. You see, GIRLY, you may think you got me all figured out. But there's one thing you didn't account for. My numbers... are bigger than yours." Shirou explains to the members of Titan's Hand.
Shirou's health bar appears, revealing that he's Level 78. The thugs gasp.
The same could be said of most of the audience members.
Shirou laughs, "Funny thing really, get to a high enough level, and you're basically untouchable. My wounds heal faster than you can make them. We could do this all day, and you would not be any closer to beating me. Not that it wouldn't be fun. But I've got good news. You see, there's no need to wonder where your god is! 'Cause he's right here... *Whispered* and he's fresh outta mercy."
Silence, then one of the thugs weeps softly.
"What? But how? That- How could he possibly predict that outcome," Cinder sputtered in disbelief at being outsmarted by a meer child. Not even a trained Huntsman!
Her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of laughter, she turned towards the direction of it and saw the young Schnee boy give her a victorious smile.
"It's quite simple really… He knew exactly how the ingame stats would work in his favor, so he used that arrogance of yours to his advantage, leading you to believe that you had him trapped up till now. When in reality, it was his trap you were falling into, in other words, he beat you with your own methods," Whitley tells the fuming one eyed brunette.
Nora leaped up in her seat, "Woo! You show her Boy Weiss!"
Rosalia stutters in rage, "W... Well, way to prove my point, kid! Lording your Stats over them like some kind of god! Your strength is nothing but an illusion to cover-"
Shirou dashes forward and slices her throat. Rosalia shudders in terror.
Silence filled the theater.
Shirou whispers angrily, "I'm gettin' real tired of your first-year-psych-student bullshit."
Rosalia drops her weapon in defeat, "Enjoy this while you can. It's the deepest you'll ever be in a woman."
Rosalia dies.
RWBY and ALPN didn't know what to say or how to respond to the death of this version of Cinder, it was a mixed bag of emotions but the general thought was that they were relieved that she was stopped.
Cinder was initially taken aback at the sight of her alternate's death, but then that was quickly replaced with wrathful hate. To be made a mockery in such a way was infuriating and if not for this theater's rule against violence, she would have become extremely violent.
Shirou does his best to laugh at her final words, "Yeah, well, you're dead, soooooooo... DAMMIT!"
Cut to Shirou and Freya on a bed back at the hotel.
Freya looked at Shirou with concern, "Soooooo... how are you doing?"
Shirou shrugs, "Fine, why?"
"Well, you did just kill someone. Doesn't that make you feel... something?" Freya asks the white haired boy.
Shirou blinks, "Oh, feelings? Yeah, I don't have those anymore. Went cold turkey."
Freya yells in shock, "What?! You can't just do that! What's the point in living if you can't feel happiness, wonder, love...?"
Shirou's eyes widened in realization, "Or the sweet taste of revenge! You're right, Silica! What's the point in living if I can't enjoy such simple things?"
"Oh brothers," Winter sighed tiredly.
Freya sighs, "Eh, close enough."
"You're a good friend, Freya. We should go on more adventures." Shirou offers her.
"Um, I don't think so. Don't take this the wrong way, Mr. Shirou. I'm grateful for your help, but yoooou're, like, the worst person I've ever met," Freya admits to him.
Shirou looked at Freya with a hurt expression, "Is that your big plan here, huh? Make me feel feelings so you can cut me down a peg? That cuts deep, kid. But I respect that."
Freya winces, "Yeah, that's kinda the problem. But, I suppose it'll all be worth it to have Pina back."
"Yes! I can finally have my dragon back after all this craziness," Nora cheered.
Shirou smiles, "That's the spirit. Let's get started."
Freya pulls out the flower and uses it on the feather. The feather glows, and it looks like it's working, but then the glowing stops.
"Item has expired," the Game Announcer states.
The feather then explodes, much to Freya's horror. Cut to black.
One of Nora's eyes twitched as she became deathly quiet.
RWBY and ALP(N) became very nervous around their usually vocal friend.
"I'm... sorry for your loss," Shirou attempts to console the girl.
Freya lets out a scream in rage.
Cut to Outro.
Cut back to the room post-Freya's rampage. Shirou has cut marks all over him.
Shirou contemplates the events that had occurred in his mind, "...She took that well."
We hear Freya's scream again as the logo is cut to bloody pieces.
Nora still had not said a word and her teammates and friends became increasingly concerned that she might react the same way her other self did.
To their surprise and relief, Nora closed her eyes and sighed, leaning back in her chair and groans to the ceiling.
"Worst quest ever…" Nora whines.