Checkmate Grimm

Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of the Adventures of Team WA Vol. 2! This week our heroes are working on feeling their way through the Ever After, with varying degrees of success. But before we get that far, I'd like to mention a little success of my own: I have a ! That's right, for those wondering what I'm working on, how my writing process is going, or if you just want to help me out now you can do so by typing in the website name with 'maskedspider' at the end and becoming a patron! If all goes well I might even be able to spend more time on these stories and get my chapters out even faster! But that's for then, for now we've got a chapter to read and with no guest review questions to answer this week, let's dive on in!

Unknown Island: Cliffside Clearing

"So Penny's gone," Aegis said, hanging his head a bit while Yang patted Ruby's head which was resting in her lap. It wasn't a complete surprise that she'd fainted upon hearing the news. Penny had been one of her closest friends, someone they'd fought hard to save before even enacting their plan to evacuate everyone to Vacuo.

"She sacrificed herself, sent the maiden powers to my sister," Weiss confirmed while wiping the tears from her eyes, "I don't know what happened to the relics after that."

"So the relics could be with Salem, or lost to the void, or anything in between," Yang surmised, "we don't know what happened to everyone else, where Neo is, whether or not the gate to Vacuo was closed."

"Neo's here," Ruby revealed suddenly as she sat up with a hand on her head, "she attacked me while we were falling."

"Hey, are you alright," her sister questioned in concern with a hand on her shoulder. Ruby's answer to that was to simply stare at the ground.

"Could you at least answer one question," Aegis chimed in before pointing down to the ground, "what's the story with the talking rodent?"

"Oh, this is Little," she answered while picking up the mouse so that Aegis could get a better look at it.

"At your service," the tiny mouse greeted with a bow, "I'm Ruby's guide. If you want, maybe I could guide you all too."

"Riiiiiight," the half Faunus replied, "I guess you talk for the same reason that purple prick from earlier talks?"

"You mean the jabberwalker," Little clarified while putting his arms over his head, "that scary creature goes around eating anyone and everyone it can! If you run into it again, please be careful."

"We handled it once," Yang assured, "we can handle it again. The big problem right now is figuring a way out of here."

"Then we should start by getting Yang's arm and Crescent Rose back," Blake suggested, having noticed her leader's lack of armament earlier, "after that, we find a way to get out of wherever here is."

"But what if there is no way out," Weiss morbidly brought up, "what if we're all…dead?"

"Then things should either by hunky dory or endless torment," Aegis commented, "given that I woke up with a still hurting arm yet also holding the hand of the love of my life, we're still in the in between known as living. Not to mention, wouldn't we have seen a couple other familiar faces if we were all dead?"

"There's one other thing that proves we're not dead," Blake informed as she pushed aside some odd yellow vines and stepped out near a cliff, "this place, I recognize it. I think we're in a fairy tale." It was easy to see why she came to such a conclusion. As the group of five looked out they could see multiple, massive hexagonal platforms containing vastly different environments.

There was one containing nothing but red foliage, another containing blue foliage and mushrooms rising out of it as tall as trees. Another acre appeared to have active volcanoes on it and there was even one that had gigantic candies and frosting characterizing it. At the center of it all was a tree so massive it dwarfed even the CCT towers back in Remnant in both size and width. The sight was actually quite breathtaking in many ways and for several moments, no one spoke. It would be Yang who finally broke the silence.

"So are we just going to stand around thinking about this in silence orrrrrr," she commented.

"This place is definitely weird," Ruby admitted, "but a fairy tale. That's impossible." Blake cleared her throat and pointed out the slight flaw in her argument: the talking mouse currently poking his head out of Ruby's hood.

"I mean we thought magic, evil witches and reincarnating beings weren't a thing back in our world," Aegis reminded them, "until we found out otherwise."

"What we've seen is certainly improbable," Weiss admitted, "but it's not proof that we're in an actual fairy tale."

"So do 'you' have an explanation for what's going on?" Yang asked half sarcastically.

"Well let's try being logical about this," the former heiress began, "we fell from the sky, Ruby made friends with a tiny talking mouse, Blake and I got caught by killer vines, and you got your arm stolen by a….what was it again?"

"A talking raccoon riding on a purple wagon filled with trash," Yang replied in the most deadpan voice she could. Weiss blinked a couple times as she tried to process all of that.

"Yes, that," she said, "okay, I see your point of view…..I am going to go over here now." Weiss then stalked over a few feet away from them before she started to mumble and gesture incoherently about how ridiculous the entire situation actually was. Aegis couldn't help but chuckle a little at the whole thing.

"What's funny?" Blake asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Oh just thinking whether or not I should record this," he replied, "Wayne would get a laugh out of it."

"Do you think he's here," Ruby asked in a voice that was one of both hope and trepidation. Onthe one hand they could use all the help they could get and it'd be good to see another familiar face, but on the other hand if Wayne was down here it meant things probably didn't go well for him, either.

"We still need to figure out where here is," Blake pointed out before hitting her hand lightly with her fist, "and I think I might have." She walked forward a bit to take another look out over the landscape. "All the things that've happened to us so far, they also happened in the story 'The Girl Who Fell Through the World'. I think….we're in the Ever After."

"Blake, that world is make believe," Weiss immediately rejected the notion, more annoyed by the fact that her teammate seemed to be smiling at the prospect of being in such a place. "It was part of a story we all read as kids."

"It's not make believe," Little chimed in, "The Ever After is where I live!"

"Can you tell us more about your home," Blake asked, "and have you ever heard of a girl named Alyx?"

"An Alyx, is that a purpose," Little asked back, not seeming to understand the question.

"In the story, Alyx fell from the sky before meeting the hunter mice," Blake recounted, "she got caught by some vines, fought a jabberwalker, and got her knife stolen by….a talking raccoon riding a purple wagon filled with trash." No one needed to look to know that Weiss was rolling her eyes.

"That's right, then she won a board game against the red king," Yang continued, "met a Curious Cat, a Rusted Knight and finally made it out…"

"Through the giant ass tree," Aegis finished, "guess we got our way out."

"Alright," Weiss spoke, "so what do we do? Go to the tree, get Yang's arm, find Crescent Rose?"

"I'll bet the Jinxy peddler has it," Little suggested.

"WHO!" Weiss exclaimed loud enough that the mouse hid back in Ruby's hood for a moment before answering.

"Jinxy Peddler," Little answered nervously, "he's the only talking raccoon I know."

"Would you happen to know where he is," Blake asked while Weiss was off to the side mumbling incoherently again.

"Of course," Little assured happily, "I'll be your guide!" In hindsight they probably should've asked Little if he actually knew what a 'guide' was.

The Crimson Castle

'Okay, what do I know so far,' Wayne thought as he walked along surrounded by giant toy soldiers, 'I'm in the Ever After. That much was confirmed when Jinxy the Peddler did things to a 'T' including the part where he disguised objects. But there are some differences. Apparently the Red King is gone and I'm dealing with the Red Prince now.'

That meant more than a couple of issues. For one, relying entirely on the story was no longer an option. He could still reference the 'Girl Who Fell Through the World' but he was going to have to improvise when it came to anything that was different. Kind of like he was doing now, honestly. So with a slight sigh he pulled the remains of his helmet off and set it on his head.

"What's that supposed to be," the captain asked with a glance in his direction.

"Just a family heirloom for special occasions," Wayne replied, "and I imagine there's no occasion more special than meeting his highness."

"Ah yes, good man," the captain agreed while pumping his fist in the air, "proper respect should always be shown to his majesty! Though is there a reason it looks a little broken?" He wasn't wrong, the helmet had taken some damage in his fight against Cinder and now the plates that normally covered his mouth weren't able to slide into position. It wasn't a huge problem but it did mean he'd have to remind himself from time to time not to smirk.

"It's taken some hits over the years," the huntsman answered, "but it still does it's job and that's what's important." This seemed to satisfy the captain for the time being, or perhaps he'd noted the nearness of their destination and straightened up. The other soldiers quickly followed suit.

One of the guards pulled out a drum and started playing a simple marching beat once the group came in sight of the crimson castle. As expected, it was red, like someone spilled wine on the whole building. It was characterized by several small, connected towers with three, large circular towers in the back. All of them were topped with muffin-shaped cones for roofs.

As for the garden the group was walking into, it was a gigantic hedge maze all colored red with a central area marked by a fountain. Strangely, the group appeared to be expected as guards were already lined up on either side of the path to the center. The drummer changed his rhythm to a dramatic drumroll once they stopped, signaling the lined up guards to move in sequence as they began blowing their horns, or rather horn/halberd hybrid weapons. They stepped back two at a time, making way for the figure in the center.

His rank was obvious from the large red crown on his head, the wine-colored garments he wore and the short cape trailing behind him. He was anything but human, however, as evidenced by his four jointed, wooden fingers, white painted body, short blond hair and red eyes that marked him as a porcelain doll. In this case, a doll who only came up to his waist, if one included the crown. 'Certainly explains the height of the castle,' Wayne thought as the fanfare ended with the Red Prince striking a pose with two spots going off from the fountain in the center, 'let's get this over with.'

"Greetings your majesty," he began with a bow, "you, uh, appear to be in good health."

"Of course I'm in good health, I'm the Red Prince," he replied in a voice that was as childlike as he appeared. And pompous. "You on the other hand, look like something the cat dragged in. Who let you in here anyway?" The captain who looked like he was about to step forward immediately stepped back.

"It has come to my attention that I may possess something you want," Wayne said, ignoring the jab and getting to the point, "so I'm here to make a deal, if you'll hear it."

"Hmm, are you aware that my birthday is tomorrow," The Red Prince questioned with a hand to his chin.

"'Tomorrow' being the key word," the huntsman pointed out, pulling Crescent Rose off his waist while keeping it in its base form, "I've been informed that this red contraption may be to your liking." The Red Prince approached and examined the weapon.

"What sort of 'contraption' is this," he asked skeptically.

"Just a noisemaker and one that can only do so a limited number of times," Wayne explained/partially lied with a shrug, "if I'm being honest you yourself probably won't get much use out of it."

"Yet you come here hoping to make a deal with me for this," the Red Prince asked.

"It's a little more complicated than that," the half Faunus replied, "what I propose is a little game. I hear you like those."

"You wish to play me in a game," the royal doll said with a raised eyebrow, "very well, follow-."

"Not your game," Wayne interrupted, bringing the Red Prince to a screeching halt.

"Come again," he said while slowly turning around.

"If you want this," the huntsman explained while tapping Crescent Rose, "we're going to play a little game that I brought." He pulled out his scroll and projected a chessboard, full of Grimm. "This is a game from my land known as 'Grimm Chess'. I'm no expert at it but it's one I think we'll both enjoy."

"It does look different than what I've played before," the Red Prince admitted after examining the projection for several moments, "but what if I don't agree to your conditions?"

"I'll just leave," Wayne replied nonchalantly while flipping off the projection and pocketing his scroll, "remember I'm here because I was told you might want this red contraption. If you don't, I'll be on my way. The only reason I even agreed to come was I thought you might be able to help me with something."

"Of course, that's why you're here, always a catch," the Red Prince scoffed, "and what is it that you want from me?"

"Nothing much," Wayne replied, "I'd just like some help getting to the great tree."

"The tree, you want to go there," the royal said skeptically.

"If you can't do it, or you're afraid you'll lose I can always-," the huntsman began while pretending to examine his glove before being interrupted.

"Lose, ha, now I see what you're up too," the Red Prince exclaimed triumphantly while pointing at him, "you've come here hoping to beat me in a game to make your way to the tree. But I've got news for you, I don't lose and that little contraption of yours will be mine!"

"Of course, fair is fair," Wayne said with a bow, "I worried for a moment that my conditions were unreasonable, but his majesty's perceptiveness has put such doubts to rest. Now then, where shall we play?" The Red Prince turned on his heel and signaled for the huntsman to follow him. The guards followed along behind and made their way up a spiraling staircase. It was one of many and Wayne quickly found himself getting disoriented when he looked around and noted there were several more.

He tried his best to memorize the way but by the time they arrived in a central room with a red and white decorated floor about the only thing he was certain of was that getting out would probably require a guide. 'Best hope I don't have to escape,' he thought as the guards moved aside a much larger, gameboard like table and replaced it with a smaller but still fancy wooden one. The Prince, naturally, took a seat in a chair that was basically a small throne with a gold and red heartshaped back and a split down the middle. Wayne, for his part, took a seat in the offered stool.

"Now then," the royal said, reclining with his head supported by his fist, "do explain the rules of this little game you've brought with you."

"It's quite simple," the huntsman produced the projection and set his scroll down on the table, "the beowulves are pawns, the goliaths rooks, the griffons are knights, the geists are bishops, the sphinx is a queen and the wyvern is the king." He quickly went through how each piece was supposed to move and that taking the opponent's king won the game.

"An interesting game," the Red Prince noted while lacing his fingers together, "similar to my favorite yet different in a number of ways. There's just one thing it needs." He snappd his fingers, summoning a small moving cloud of red dust that engulfed the projection, turning it into something that at least looked like a red and white chessboard. The pieces also changed color, turning into red pieces on the Prince's side and white pieces on Wayne's.

"There we are," he said, "now, since I am a benevolent ruler, the white team may go first, BEGIN!" The soldiers around them spun their horn/halberd weapons and slammed them on the ground, causing all of the lights to blink off save for a large spotlight that illuminated the players and the table. 'He really does take this seriously,' Wayne thought before quickly remembering that he should probably be as well. In truth, he was actually rather confident in his ability to make it to the tree on his own, but the Red Prince's help would speed up the process and that was something he couldn't pass up.

To that end, he moved the pawn in front of his left rook first. The Red Prince made his move next, advancing the pawn in front of his queen. The two quickly went through the rest of their opening moves after that until Wayne finally took one of the Red Prince's pawns with another. Thanks to the hologram they were given the, supposed to be, entertaining sight of a white Beowulf beating down a red one.

"I let you have that one," the Red Prince stated, though Wayne noticed the ever so slight twitch of his eye, "now it's my turn." He maneuvered one of his bishops around to take out a pawn but inadvertenly left himself open for Wayne to take it with a knight. "Are you sure you don't play this game often?"

"I dabbled in it once or twice," Wayne answered while his opponent made his move, "the only reason I have the game on my scroll here is because a monk man named Vine had me download it for a day long Op. It also became a way to pass the time for long transport missions."

"You certainly sound like a busy person," the Red Prince noted, again failing to advance as he lost another piece, "why is it, then, do you want to go to the tree?"

"It might have what I'm looking for there," the huntsman replied simply while moving a bishop into position.

"And what do you happen to be looking for," the royal further questioned while somewhat nervously moving another rook.

"If you must know I'm just trying to get home," the half Faunus answered, "I got no designs or schemes for your crown or ruling this kingdom or anything like that. Heck if all goes well, I won't be in this land long enough to make any kind of impact."

"How is it, gah," the Red Prince jumped upon losing a knight piece, "that you know the tree is capable of doing such a thing?"

"I don't," Wayne replied honestly, "I simply heard a legend about it a long time ago. By the sound of it, you don't actually know if the tree can do that either."

"Of course I know what the tree can do," the Red Prince exclaimed while pointing a finger at his opponent, "I was, uh, just testing to see if you knew. But whether it works or not it doesn't matter, I am the Red Prince and I never lose!"

"Not to anyone from your land," the huntsman pointed out before using a bishop to take his adversary's queen, "but things are a little less cut and dry where I come from. Royals, subjects, rich, poor, young, old, heroes, villains and everyone in between has something in common where I come from: we're all capable of winning, and losing." His opponent's last bit of restraint finally snapped as the game went rather quickly then. Wayne wasn't sure what he said but the Red Prince was now determined to send every piece he had in a straight line for his king.

All it took was a bit of maneuvering and baiting after that, taking the royal's pieces one after the other in quick succession. Before long, his opponent was in check with his king ready to be taken in the next move. Unfortunately, Wayne's opponent was a much sorer loser than even he anticipated. "ENOUGH!" The Red Prince exclaimed as he waved his hand and caused the magic projection to disappear, "something is clearly going on here!"

"Your majesty I haven't done a thing to alter the game," the half Faunus assured, deciding to take and pocket his scroll, "your overly aggressive strategy was simply flawed."

"My strategies have no flaw!" He exclaimed, jumping up on the table and pointing an accusing finger at Wayne, "it has won countless times!"

"Except the one time you lost to someone else," the huntsman reminded, "it wasn't the end for you then and I doubt anyone will think less of you now, so-."

"How do you know about that?!" The royal exclaimed with a stomp of his foot, his fists clenching so hard they actually cracked. "Wait, of course, it all makes sense. You're a human aren't you!"

"Technically I'm only half-," Wayne attempted to correct but it was already too late.

"He admits it!" The Red Prince exclaimed triumphantly, "behead him!" The lights came back on and the tall toy guards advanced then. Wayne's response to this, was to sigh before standing up.

"And this is why no one likes dealing with spoiled brats, especially royal ones," he breathed out. The next thing anyone knew, Wayne's foot lashed out, sending both the prince and the table flying backwards.

"Your majesty!" Exclaimed several of the guards who dove to catch their leader, resulting in a tangle of wooden limbs and a table. As for Wayne, he lightly jumped back and spun to the right, feeling the rush of air as the body of a halberd trumpet fell and split the stool he was just sitting on. He grabbed the weapon with one hand while slamming his fist into the stomach of the guard holding it, sending him falling backwards before the huntsman jumped over him smacked the next guard with his newly acquired weapon.

It was a little awkward to use due to it's length, but it had more room to maneuver than Ruby's scythe. Not that anyone could tell with the way Wayne spun it over his head and around his body, lashing out with jabs and low horizontal strikes that tripped up his taller opponents. When another group of guards came rushing into the room, Wayne leapt upwards and kicked the lead guard into the one behind him before landing and using a backwards two-handed strike that knocked over nearly the entire group. "Don't let him get away, behead him, behead him already!" The Red Prince exclaimed, jumping up and down like the child he was.

Wayne's response to this was to charge towards the door and leap upwards, jumping off the heads of one, two, then three guards before landing. "You should know," he said while running his semblance through his acquired weapon, "losing your composure isn't very befitting of royalty." He held the horn hybrid up and blew, unleashing multiple rings that spread out like a soundwave and knocked over the remaining guards who'd bunched up while charging at him. The result was a pile of groaning wooden guards struggling to get back up. "Try working on that from now on, oh, and before I forget, checkmate."

He turned and fled out the door then, glimpsing the Red Prince's openmouthed expression as he went. 'Well that was a spectacular waste of time,' he thought while racing down the spiral staircase, 'I don't recall Alyx having to deal with quite this much trouble when she dealt with the Red King.' He also didn't recall the next room looking quite the way it did now. The hallway he was in was inverted, or rather turned with the red doors on the 'ceiling' while he was running on the 'wall'.

Not knowing what else to do the huntsman relied on what he usually relied on, his nose. It worked to get him back on track, to a certain degree, as he made his way to another spiral staircase and across what he thought was a bridge. When he looked out, however, he noticed that he could see the tops and sides of other rooms and hallways. "This place is a damn fun house," he commented, only slowing his pace once he was sure he'd lost the most recent group of guards.

"A fun house," came a voice that Wayne didn't recognize, putting him on instant alert as he whirled around with the horn ax still in his grasp. "I never knew one could make a house out of fun." The voice was coming from a small pair of red doors that looked like they were supposed to cover a window. "Oh wait, I think I heard about it once."

The doors opened to reveal a cat, that was apparently made out of light blue and purple checkerboard, like a type of abstract painting come to life. "And you might be," the half Faunus decided to ask.

"I think the time for questions is sadly not now," the cat replied, "but if you'll follow me, we can go to a place where there is plenty of time for questions." Wayne would've argued but he didn't really see any option with as odd as the place was. More to the point, he didn't want to waste more time fighting his way through every guard in the kingdom if he could help it. With that in mind, the huntsman crawled into the doorway, ditching the halberd horn in the process, and closed it behind him.

'I'm suddenly reminded I haven't played a good trumpet tune in some time,' he mused while crawling along the checkered passageway with the occasional red arch. The cat's strange body lit the way, though it was unnecessary thanks to Wayne's night vision. "You know, people usually say 'thank you' when someone gets them out of a sticky situation," the cat called back.

"We're technically not out of the castle yet," Wayne replied, "I'll say thanks once I know this isn't some elaborate trick to lead me back to the throne room or something."

"My aren't we suspicious," the cat almost laughed, "though I suppose it is a little refreshing to meet someone who doesn't blindly trust strangers."

"Let's just say the last talking animal I encountered thought he could swindle me," Wayne revealed, "it didn't go as well as he hoped."

"You didn't eat him, did you?!" The Cat practically exclaimed while turning around in a crouch.

"No," the half Faunus corrected quickly, "I just took my friend's weapon back and made him take something else. I imagine he's already disguised the item and sold it to someone else by now."

"Oh good," the cat relaxed and resumed walking down the odd passageway, "for a second I thought you might be related to something unpleasant."

"Why would you think that?" Wayne asked curiously.

"That mask you're wearing, mostly," the cat explained, "it reminds me of this land's predator. At least in this light it does. Good news is we should both be able to get a clear look at each other now." As if on command a bright light emerged from the end of the tunnel and expanded until Wayne was forced to close his eyes.

When he opened them again, he was back on the path outside of the crimson kingdom. "Now that's pretty handy," he admitted while standing up to dust himself off slightly, "I guess before I forget, thanks for getting me out of there."

"You can thank me by answering my questions," the cat replied while circling the huntsman, "what are you, why did you wish to play that game with the Red Prince, and what, is your favorite food?"

"You'll have to be more specific," Wayne informed, "what I am is a lot of things: a half Faunus, a huntsman, a son, a brother."

"My we're loaded with responsibilities aren't we," the cat observed, "only folk from that place called Remnant are so convoluted."

"That's why I said you needed to be specific," the huntsman reminded, "as for your other two questions: I was trying to get the Red Prince's help to get to the tree, and I don't really have a favorite food."

"The latter is a bit boring but if you're looking for the tree," the cat said, suddenly floating up to eye level while laying down, "well you won't be getting there any time soon."

"And why is that?" Wayne asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because you do not 'go' to the tree the tree comes to you," the cat explained while slowly descending to the ground before pointing his tail to himself, "unless you're me, that is."

"And who might you be?" The half Faunus questioned, already having a pretty good idea.

"Who, I am not so much a who as I am a what," he replied, "and what I am is a cat most curious."

"I might've known," Wayne commented, already suspecting this might give him a headache, "well CC(SeeSee), what would it take for you to lead me to the tree?"

"CC," he repeated with a questioning look before floating up to eye level again, "are you referring to me when you say that?"

"It's what one might call an abbreviation," the huntsman explained, "I know you as the Curious Cat but that's less of a name and more of a descriptor. So I've decided to simply shorten it to the first two letters and save us both some trouble."

"CC, hmm, CC, I am CC," the Curious Cat rolled the name around while he too rolled around in the air, "it's certainly different. Most people from your world just call me cat or kitty or Curious Cat or, I kid you not, Mr. Cat. But I see what you're getting at, it's almost like how I shorten Herbalist's name to Herbi."

"Something like that," Wayne affirmed, "though if you don't like it-."

"Oh no, like I said it's different," the now named CC interrupted while getting up close to Wayne's face, "if nothing else I'll at least give it a try for a bit. I'm curious what it's like having a name like you Remnant folk do."

"It's an experience I'm willing to share, provided you grant me a little help too," the huntsman said, "I'm even willing to throw in all kinds of little tidbits about the naming conventions in my world, along with any other facts you might want to know because let me tell you there's a long history behind that alone."

"I see," CC purred while walking on Wayne's left shoulder and poking his head out from the right side, "to be honest I've little interest in returning to the tree as I've been there time and again. However, if you really are willing to share such little details with me I suppose I can at least show you the way."

"Take me to the tree and I'll answer as many questions as I can before we get there," the half Faunus stated, "sound like a fair deal?"

"Well," CC commented before floating into the air once more, "I've found promises can be like mice: tasty but often get away. So how about this, you promise not to eat me along the way and I'll take you to the tree so long as you continue to answer my questions."

"Not sure why you keep thinking I'm going to eat you," Wayne said, finally taking off his helmet and hanging it on his waist, "but sure, I promise not to eat you."

"Splendid," CC cheered as the pair started moving down the path, "why don't we start with our first question."

Outside the Crimson Acre

"I can see why they call that place the Crimson Kingdom," Aegis commented, stopping in front of the bridge with the rest of the group, "all that red makes me wonder if the forest on that side is pissed off at something."

"Yep," Little yawned while stretching in Ruby's hands. The rodent had so far proven to be more adept at sleeping than guiding, but they couldn't really be picky about sources of information at the moment. "All we do is cross the bridge and we'll be, well, wherever over there is."

"You mean you don't know," Yang asked, trying not to let any irritation out in her voice.

"Nope," Little chirped happily before hopping out of Ruby's hands and approaching the bridge, "never been this far from home before."

"Maybe you should go back home," Ruby suggested, "I think we can make it from here."

"I wouldn't have any idea how to get back," the mouse replied, "maybe I'll live by this bridge." Thanks to his happy demeanor the talking rodent didn't notice the varying looks of horror, sadness, and annoyance on everyone's faces. Or the matching poses. Aegis, for his part, was punching himself in the head for thinking it was a good idea to let a talking mouse guide them without making sure he actually knew where he was going first.

Fortunately, Weiss took a deep breath and demonstrated the surprising amount of patience she'd learned ever since Beacon. "I'll handle this," she said before approaching the mouse who was currently in the process of building a roof out of sticks, leaves and rocks while singing a song. "Would you like to come with us?" The miniature 'roof' answered the question for the both of them by collapsing within ten seconds of being constructed.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Little admitted before Ruby picked him up and let him resume riding in her hood.

"Alright, let's go find us a talking raccoon," Aegis declared. The group stepped onto the bridge then and proceeded into the Crimson Kingdom. It was there they'd find trinkets both expected and unexpected, and the start of a lot of trouble.

For those wondering, Wayne's little two-handed move was the same one used by Neo in the Matrix Reloaded. I'm sure it'll be obvious which staff move I'm talking about if you give the burly brawl a look. What's less obvious is what you all thought of this latest chapter so feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters! And don't forget to check out my for news and other little tidbits. Lastly, be sure to stop in next time as Aegis and the others try not to start a riot in a toy-filled town. 'Til then.