Here we are at Chapter 146. Okay, this past episode of RWBY... WHAT. THE. F***. Anyway, time for the gang to see how much damage Jaune's sanity has taken since being separated from the others, among others things. I do not own RWBY. They belong to roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 146. Enjoy.

Chapter 146: Paper-thin Limits

The morning sun comes up on Jaune's village. In his home, the gang sleep on the mats he gave, or at least, most of them are. Ruby is the first to awaken if she ever slept at all, staring at her weapon left on the table.

"You okay, little rose?" she glances up as Khazhak kneels before her. "You seem to be... somewhere else."

"I... I'm fine, Khazhak," Ruby's reply doesn't sound convincing.

Khazhak sits beside her, "You know, you can always talk to me. About anything. I'm here for you," he reaches out with his dragon arm, but stops short and pulls back to star at it with a heavy sigh. "Just... if you want to talk, I'm all ears. I've known you for quite some time, Ruby. I can tell that something is filling your head with many thoughts. Maybe letting those thoughts out will help,"

"You don't..." Ruby sighs and rolls over. "You wouldn't understand,"

Before Khazhak can say anything, a sudden rumbling and noise occurs.

"I'm late!" Jaune bolts up from his bed. "I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!" he frantically runs across everyone as he leaves the house, waking the rest of them up.

Jaune approaches Juniper as they all come out to see what's going on.

"Dude, it's too early for this! What's going on?!" Lloyd asks, but then they notice one of the paper houses in town is on fire, along with a lantern over it.

"I overslept. I NEVER oversleep. Yesterday-argh, all the excitement must've made me really tired. Crap! Come on, just gotta fix it like you always do," Jaune mutters as he hops on Juniper.

"Whoa, Jaune, what's going on?" Yang asks.

"No time, I'm late. Any second now, there's going to be another," Jaune stops when a secondary explosion occurs on another house. "Damn it, right on time! Head to town, I'll meet you guys there!" and just like that, Jane and Juniper race off into town.

"I'm never this upset when I oversleep," Little groggily notes as they wake up.

"Right on time? What's that about?" Porphyrius asks.

"We'll figure that all out later. Let's head to town and see how we can help," Khazhak draws his sword.

Blake notices Ruby doesn't have her weapon, "Ruby, where's Crescent Rose?"

Ruby notices she forgot it, "Uh, sorry. Not fully awake yet!" she races back inside to get it.

"Hurry! People are counting on us!" Weiss complains.

They all race into town and finally get a better look at it; seeing is made entirely out of... paper. The buildings, the plants, even the little animals around.

"You gotta be kidding me. A town made of paper. Who's dumb idea was this?" Lloyd asks.

"Hello," they all turn to see a walking starfish looking creature made of paper behind them. "Welcome to our village. We hope it is to your liking and that you enjoy your stay," the paper creature spins around. "If I may ask, what are you? If we knew, we may better serve you," it bows to them.

"Serve us?" Bahamut cocks his head.

"Uh, in case you didn't notice, your town is on fire!" Weiss exclaims.

"Oh, that is of no concern. We are quite safe, thanks to our hero," the paper person says.

Just then, they see Jaune riding on Juniper as it jumps over the burning house. He throws a bucket of water on the building, putting out the fire, and then lands before the group. Jaune hops off his partner and they all turn to see more starfish paper people in different colors, all cheering for him.

"Hooray, three cheers for out knight and his white rabbit!" one of them cheers.

"Stop, stop! Don't touch the water, or you'll dissolve!" Jaune picks up one before it can touch the water and places them safely away. "Oh man, that was a close one. I'm sorry that happened. It's been ages since I missed the first fire," Jaune notes.

"First fire? How often does this happen?" Khazhak asks.

"Oh, it's not that bad... just every day," Jaune says like it's no big deal.

"Every day?! Dude, isn't that, like, a serious issue?!" Lloyd yells.

Jaune looks confused until it all comes together, "Oh, uh, right, sorry. I guess I should introduce you. These are the Paper Pleasers," he gestures to the town's paper people. "They're probably the most polite, most hospitable Afterans you'll ever meet. Because, well, that's their purpose," Jaune waves off one pleasure offering some cups of tea. "After Alyx poisoned me and left me for dead, Juniper found help. Brought me here and the paper pleasers healed me. Got me going again. They work all day. They serve travelers, but also the land itself. They beautify it, and make it a good place for some peace. Sadly, they're... a bit clumsy," he explains as one green pleaser gets caught in a gust of wind and blows with it. "Luckily, that makes them predictable, too," he says while catching said flying pleaser without looking and puts him down. "I told you to hold onto these," he gives them a few pebbles for waits.

"Thank you, brave knight," they reply before walking away.

"Hmm, classic Ren," Jaune chuckles.

"You named them... after your teammates?" Weiss asks, a little disturbed by the idea.

"No, no, I just... named them after everyone," Jaune admits.

Just then, a blue one walks up to the group, "Hello, I am the one called Khazhak. What are you?" this just creeps out the whole group.

"Okay, that is BEYOND messed up, Jaune," Khazhak glares at him.

"Okay, the burning of the morning lantern has been dealt with. We should have just enough time to strategize before the calming pebble tower crumbles, crushing the koi pond dam, and flooding the whole village. So, who wants a quick brunch?" Jaune asks, but the group seem less enthusiastic.

"I could eat," well, except for Little that is.

…

Back at Jaune's place, they all sit or stand around a table as he places a makeshift map of the Ever After on the table.

"Ah, my life's work, so to speak. While I've been waiting for you guys, Juniper and I have been systematically mapping out all the nearby acres. If you think you've seen some weird stuff around here, let me tell ya, you haven't even come close," Jaune explains as a pleaser brings forth a tray with food.

"What have you been searching for all this time, Jaune?" Blake asks.

Jaune leans in, "Anything or anyone that might give us our ticket back home,"

Khazhak checks over the map, "You've been busy, I see. So, what have you found so far?"

"Well, uh, honestly, not much right now, but there's this one acre with a bunch of pyramids that seems like a really good place to check out," Jaune says.

"Okay, so not much. You wouldn't happen to have some kind of more concrete idea on how to get out, would you?" Porphyrius asks.

"Guys, this IS the idea. I'm sorry I haven't been able to figure everything out, but...," Jaune looks out the window to town. "I can't just leave all these people to die. But, between protecting the village, looking for you guys, and searching for a way out of here; we have a really tight schedule to keep. Or rather, you've got a really tight schedule to keep,"

"Hold on, say that again," Yang doesn't understand.

Jaune pulls out a long list of papers put together, "This is a schedule of catastrophes that befall the village every single day. At least, that would've been the case if not for me and Juniper. With this, you guys can keep these events from happening, protecting the village while I go out and search for a way back home without anything stopping us. With Juniper's speed and my familiarity of this world, we'll find out solution in no time," he explains, but it doesn't exactly fill the group with confidence. "Guys, look, this is our way out. If there's one thing I've learned after all these years, it's that patience does pay off. It's how why were able to get back together again. I know I can find us a way to get back home. Okay, I know, I know it!" he suddenly slams a fist down on the table, spooking them. "This isn't crazy. I know I'm not crazy... You know what, I have an idea. We still have some time before the pebble tower falls. How about I saddle Juniper up and show you guys around the rest of town. There are some really clumsy papers out there. Wait until you guys meet Neptune," he says as he leaves the room.

Yang looks at the list, "This isn't a plan. It feels more like a list of chores,"

"Guys, Jaune has been alone, without seeing us or anybody else, for who knows how long. And when he finally does meet humans from Remnant again, one tries to poison him to death and the other is supposedly dead because of the former. There have been the Afterans around, but... not seeing normal people who aren't trying to kill you for so long. It can take a toll," Khazhak explains.

"Khazhak's right. Right now, Jaune needs us, and we need him. He just may not be... the most reliable right now," Blake says, holding Yang's arm.

However, with the exception of Little and Khazhak, none of them notice Ruby's foul mood.

"Okay, so who does that leave us with? We need someone to guide us out of here, or else we'll be killed by the tree, thrown back in time, eaten by Jabberwalkers, or worse," Weiss complains.

Ruby shows a sour mood, "Well, if that's what everyone's-,"

"The tree does not kill," a purple paper pleaser walks over with more snacks. "We have told our brave knight this many time but our knight still insists that we should never ascend,"

"Care to explain?" Porphyrius asks.

"I don't wish to say anything bad about our hero, but our purpose has been completed for quite some time now. Thanks to our efforts, the land is beautiful. Unfortunately, just like us, it is also fragile. We would like to make something that is both beautiful and resilient. Because of this, we are ready to return to the tree and be reborn with a new purpose. To become something new. But... our hero does not agree with our shared desire. In the past, we have tried to reach out to the tree whenever it came, but our hero forbade it. The wisest among us once said that we should break free from our physical forms, and be carried back to the tree by the winds, but our hero is clever and brave. Always protecting us. You must understand that the tree does not kill. It rebuilds, remakes, and resurrects. We do not wish to displease our hero, and I hope I have not displeased all of you, but we all so desperately wish to return to the tree. To our home. So that we may be reborn and carry on with a new purpose. So that we continue our work and make it last," the pleaser explains.

"Home, huh," Yang mutters while Ruby looks away.

"Oh, do not worry. The wisest of our people are going to topple the pebble tower today. I am sure it will work this time," the pleaser sounds happy about something that would normally be bad.

"How are you certain of this?" Bahamut asks.

"...No reason, really," the pleaser leaves them be.

"I know it seems a little weird, but I feel sorry for these guys," Yang notes.

"With all of this in mind, I think we can safely say that Jaune may be wrong about the tree. He says it's death, but I don't think it is. The people of this world certainly don't think so. It's like Khazhak said, this world operates by a completely different set of laws rom ours. Death simply... has no place here, for the most part. It's not death, it's rebirth," Porphyrius says.

"Well, from one perspective, that may be the case, but then... What happened to Lewis? Jaune said-," Weiss begins.

"Jaune wasn't there. None of us know what really happened at the tree. Yes, Alyx went back home, and Lewis didn't, but it it really so simple as that? Not even the cat knows what happened there. And we'll never find the truth, or a way back home, if we're stuck here worrying about these paper pleasers who WANT to ascend," Khazhak retorts.

"Khahak's right, we have to convince Jaune to let them go and move on," Yang agrees.

"But, how can we do that? You saw him. Jaune has clearly been through a lot and is... not all there," Weiss then gasps as she looks back, causing them all to see Jaune behind them.

Jaune just glares at them "Is that what you think?" he walks outside.

The others follow him, "What if the cat was right? Maybe not right about everything else, but about the tree at least?" Yang says.

"The tree is the last place you should be thinking about going! They're just doing what they were made to do. They don't care what happens to you at the tree, and that's why you shouldn't listen to them!" Jaune argues.

"We're not listening to the cat! We're listening to the Afterans!" Blake says.

"Jaune, they have made peace with what they want. They know the tree isn't dangerous. They want... to go. And you need to let them go," Lloyd says.

"You don't know what they want. They don't even know what they want. Look at them. You've seen them as they are. There's no way things can be that simple, that black and white. Afterans are all either too clever, too stupid, or too crazy trust!" Jaune says, making all the pleasers sulk at his words.

"If that's how you feel about them then why do you care so much about this village in the first place?" Weiss asks.

"Because I can ACTUALLY protect these people!" Jaune yells.

Just then, Jaune's house explodes. From within the smoke, several Jabberwalkers appear and the Afterans freak out and run for it.

"Damn it, they found us already," Jaune whistles for Juniper, which runs through the forest towards him. "I am not failing them," he says and grabs onto Juniper as it races by, heading for the Jabberwalkers.

"If those Jabberwalkers get to the villagers, none of them will ascend," Weiss says.

"Then we just need to beat the crap out of them before that happens," Porphyrius readies his weapon, as do the others before they race off to battle.

However, Khazhak stops when he notices Ruby hesitate, "Ruby..." he calls to her. "Take a moment and collect yourself. You can count on me until you're ready to join us," and then he races to join the others.

Ruby looks unsure of what to do before shaking her head and going after the others. Jaune is the first to arrive, swinging his sword at a lunging Jabberwalker, and then blocking a second with his shield. However, the Jabberwalker gets tackled by Lloyd, who smashes his steel fist through its chest before it dissipates.

"Save some for us, will ya," Lloyd jokes.

Yang and Porphyrius race by, with the latter firing his rifles at one opponent while Yang slides under its limbs to throw a spinning kick on its side. It goes to law her eyes out, but Porphyrius forces it down with his semblance, giving Yang the chance to pummel it and knock it to the ground. Porphyrius jumps over it and slices it in half with his blades. Just then, two more charges at them, but they get caught in steel spikes, with one getting skewered. Lloyd removes his fist from the ground, while Weiss summons her Gigas Armas to battle the second. It swings its sword around, forcing the Jabberwalker back, and then swings its up into the air. Khazhak comes in and swings his blade, sending out his Lightning Devastation techniqe to destroy it. Another comes at Khazhak, but he ducks under the a claw strike and throws a lightning charged left fist at its head, sending it crashing into the river nearby. Jaune goes up against another one, but as he swings his sword, it knocks it out of his hands. Luckily, Blake catches it while fighting another Jabberwalker.

"Jaune, catch!" Blake throws it back at him.

Jaune swings his shield, hitting the blade right into the Jabberwalker's head. Picking up his blade, he goes to help Blake fight her opponent. It swipes at her, but she dodges with her semblance and gets behind it. Throwing her chain-scythe, it wraps around one horn and she pulls hard, bending its head back just in time for Jaune to come in and behead it with his sword. As all this chaos occurs, Ruby watches on, scared and frozen stiff. She can't stay still for long though as the Jabberwalker that Khazhak knocked into the river comes out and attacks her. Ruby screams while jumping back with her semblance, but the Jabberwalker stalks closer to her.

"Thinking. Waiting. Watching. Drooling. Craving. Tasting," the Jabberwalker stalks closer, but all Ruby sees is an image of Cinder from back on Remnant. Ruby runs aside as the Jabberwalker attacks, but again, she can't attack when she sees an image of Penny this time. "Wanting," it lunges at her and tackles her to the ground, now looking like Salem. "Hating. Yes. Ready. Starving. Taking," its mouth opens up as it goes to devour her.

"Ruby!" Khazhak comes in and punches the Jabberwalker in the head, knocking it back.

He then grabs its tail and swings him aside for Porphyrius to throw a gravity punch, sending it flying to the ground away from them. The rest regroup with them to check on Ruby.

"Ruby, are you okay?" Khazhak asks, worried.

They then look back as the Jabberwalker gets up, only for its body to twitch, bend, and shift until it changes into Neo. Neo smirks while pointing a finger gun at Ruby before shattering like glass and disappears.

"Neo. But, this is different. The Jabberwalkers at the market," Lloyd notes.

"Yeah, but how? This is not like what she can normally do. Her little tricks eat, grow, and are more physical. How has she gotten so powerful?" Yang wonders.

"It might have something to do with the nature of this world. That, mixing with her semblance, caused it to evolve further than anyone thought possible," Khazhak theorizes.

Jaune joins them, "Well, she didn't do it by standing around," he goes to pick up Crescent Rose. "I know you may not care about helping this village, but you could at least help your friends when they need yo-," he goes to hand it to Ruby, but she backs away in fright and it just hits the ground.

Ruby can only look on in fear, her hands trembling, which only makes the others worried.

"Ruby, what's wrong?" Khazhak asks.

Just then, they hear some noise and look back to the village, "Push. Push!" they see the pebble tower fall and break the damn, allowing water to flood the village.

"No, no, no, what time is it?! NO!" Jaune freaks out as he runs over, but it's too late as the whole village is engulfed in water, and all the villagers with it. "NOOOOO!" Jaune screams as he falls to his knees.

"Jaune, I'm sorry," Blake says as they try to comfort him.

"I couldn't save them. I was supposed to save them, and I... I failed. I failed them," Jaune cries.

"No, Jaune, they're not dead. They'll be resurrected. That's how it works here. They'll be back," Yang says.

"Yeah, it's what they wanted to do in the first place. Right, Ruby?" Weiss turns to Ruby behind them.

But Ruby isn't so uplifting, "Why are you asking me?"

"Ruby?" Khazhak mutters.

"Ruby, we just-," Blake begins.

"Because I'm the leader. Because I'm just supposed to always have something to say... Because I don't," Ruby says, glaring at them. "Why? Why do I have to be the leader anyway Why must I always be the one to pick people up when they're down? What about me? No time, right? Gotta get home. Gotta help Jaune. Gotta find someone who isn't just going to screw everything up like always!" Ruby says as she stalks towards Weiss, making the latter recoil back. "Gotta stay POSITIVE, right! Smiles everywhere we go," now she turns towards Blake, Yang, and Porphyrius, who stands protectively in front of them. "Gotta keep going while holding hands even as everything else falls around us!"

"Ruby, easy," Porphyrius says.

"Oh, I'm sorry, is this a bad time? Are we supposed to mourn Jaune's make-believe friends?!"

"They're dead because of YOU! The Jabberwalkers came for YOU! Because Neo hates YOU!" Jaune yells as he turns and starts walking towards Ruby. "Oh, and let's not forget how your plan failed and that led to us being stranded here!" he yells until Khazhak grabs him and throws a left punch that knocks him to the ground.

"One more word, Jaune, and I'll drown you in that water with your little friends," Khazhak warns him. "That wasn't Ruby's fault. We all agreed to that plan, because we had no other option. And did you forget that it was Cinder, Neo, and Kamir'ahk who ambushed us in that realm and caused all that chaos. That had nothing to do with Ruby! Those three were responsible for everything!"

Jaune gets up to go again, but Weiss holds him back, "Jaune, please," she pleads.

Finally, Jaune calms down, "I'm sorry, I... I know that I'm not okay, that I'm not right, but..." he turns to the rest. "How am I supposed to be? I've been alone... for years! And then, there... back on that bridge. I was the only one who could do it. I was the ONLY ONE!" tears falls from his eyes. "And now... I hae to live with this... pain, this guilt for what I did for the rest of my life. In this world or back on Remnant,"

"Jaune..." Khazhak mutters before turning to Ruby. "Ruby, please talk to me. How can I help?"

Ruby glances away, "Help? How can you help? You said you would protect me," she glares sadly at him. "Do I look like I was protected? Do I look like you kept your promise to me?"

Her words hurt Khazhak, making him reel back in shock and sadness.

"Guys, I know things are bad, but-," Blake tries to stay positive.

"Shut. Up," Ruby stops her, making them all look worriedly at her. "Don't... do that. Just don't," tears fall from her eyes before she grabs her weapon and flies away with her semblance.

"Ruby!" Khazhak reaches out in vain, while the others look on in dismay. They can only watch on while Jaune and Juniper look over the flooded village. Khazhak clenches his fists, "Why? Why didn't you guys notice sooner?"

"Brother?" Lloyd mutters.

"I saw it. I saw that Ruby was suffering. I wanted to help her. I tried to help her... but I failed. I failed her... again. If I couldn't help her, then it had to be you guys. You're her team. Her family. So why? Why didn't you notice sooner? Why didn't you help Ruby when she needed it? When I failed to help her. I'm not good at saving people; at helping people like this. I'm only good at destruction. At killing. But, you're not me. You're better than me. That's why if it couldn't be me, then it had to be you. And yet, when Ruby needed you... you weren't there," Khazhak takes a breath. "Lloyd, Porphyrius, stay here with the others. I'm going after Ruby,"

Weiss reaches out, "We'll come with-,"

But Khazhak, roaring, turns and swings his dragon arm and leaves a massive gash in the ground from his lightning, separating him from the others. The others are frightened by his outburst, but even more so, they're stunned by his expression. He's crying.

"You've already done enough damage," Khazhak cries and then runs off after Ruby, leaving the others unsure of what to so as they watch him leave.

And that's the chapter. Jaune's village is gone after Neo attacks the group, and Ruby finally reaches her tipping point and lets everyone have it. Khazhak runs off after her, leaving the others behind. Things will only get more serious from here. Will Khazhak find Ruby and help her through her despair? Will the others be able to help too before Neo find Ruby? Until then, please Read and Review.