And The Arm Goes To
Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of Team WA Vol. 2! Today we're gonna learn a little bit about incorrect auction etiquette, among other things. Another thing you might like to learn about is my Pat reon! Just type in the name 'maskedspider' at the end of the website name to find it and if you feel like supporting what I do or want to look at some of what I've got to offer then leave a donation or become a patron. Now then I believe that's the advertising out of the way and with no guest review questions this week let's get to the story!
The Crimson Kingdom
As had been described to them, the Crimson Kingdom was full of nothing but red coloration, the trees especially. Aegis wondered a couple times if he should keep a closer eye on Ruby while they were here just in case she went and accidentally blended with the foliage. Thankfully, those small fears were put to rest when they entered the kingdom itself which greatly resembled the kind of old Valean towns they'd read about in story books. Not so surprising, given that they were technically in a world that they thought was just part of a story book until recently.
There was, however, one point of concern that Aegis did decide to voice. "Soooo, it might just be me," he whispered to the others, "but I'm seeing a whole lot of living toys and not a lot of other folks that look like us." That was an understatement. Since they'd entered the town the group had seen nothing but extra large, living toys walking around going about their business, as one would expect from the inhabitants of a town or city.
Problem was, more than a couple were giving them odd looks, likely because they were the most out of place things in possibly the whole kingdom right now. "Just, act like you belong," Blake instructed, trying to look as confident about the suggestion as she sounded. The half bear Faunus simply shrugged and walked on, employing a strategy of just not caring what the onlookers thought of him and the rest of the group. It was something of a skill one developed growing up as a Faunus or half Faunus.
"I wish I could be long, but all I am is small," Little commented from his perch in Ruby's hood. If anyone had a snappy reply to give back they missed their opportunity. Because right on the other side of the street where a large crowd was gathered sat a familiar purple wagon. Familiar to two members of the team, at least, but if the others had any doubts they were quickly dispelled by the giant purple letters on the side of said wagon.
"That's it right there," Yang informed, "so what's the strategy? We just walk over and start roughin' 'em up?" Blake was quick to put a hand on the blonde's shoulder, stopping her hotheaded friend from potentially alerting a group of very tall toy soldiers on the other side of the street.
"In the book," she reminded, "Alex had to barter with Jinxy in order to get her dagger back."
"Yeah I think I'd rather hit him," the brawler replied with her usual confident smile.
"And I love the way you think," Aegis commented while pulling a laughing Yang in for a peck on the cheek. Everyone else either rolled their eyes or chose to ignore the duo, instead turning their attention to the wagon which dropped its side. A shower of purple dust and glitter revealed it to be a stage with an old raccoon in purple pants and a fancy shirt waving at the crowd.
"Oh, he's adorable," Weiss said, her inner child coming out a bit.
"And….a lot older than his description in the book," Blake noted. Aegis cocked his eyebrow at her observation. For him this would normally be the point where his brother started trying to piece everything together to get a general idea of what was going on. Since he wasn't here, however, this meant the bear brawler would have to contribute what he could to figuring out their predicament.
The first step to that would be getting his girlfriend's arm back. "I AM JINXY!" Declared the talking raccoon while spinning his branch-like cane, "and these, are the finest treasures in the acre!" He quickly tapped his cane on the upraised back section of the stage, dropping down three items. The first was a golden scepter with a red jewel on top. The second was a pink rabbit statue with what appeared to be some type of diamonds around its neck and the final item was a type of green wooden doll with movable joints.
"I don't see my arm," Yang observed while squinting her eyes.
"All of Jinxy's treasures are actually other items in disguise," Blake recalled, "people think they're getting something valuable but it's just whatever random items he happened to pick up along the way."
"Do you know if the item's scent is disguised?" Aegis asked, "my nose isn't as good as Wayne's, but it can get the job done when I need it too."
"I don't know," Blake admitted, "in the story, Alex listened to her heart in order to find her dagger." Weiss made a gagging face at that last bit, clearly fed up with storybook logic.
"I'll see if I can get closer then," the huntsman suggested, "if I can catch the scent I'll let you guys know. For now, just pick something and bid on it."
"I'll do the scepter then," Yang decided, "it looks roughly arm-sized."
"It's as good a plan as any," Weiss admitted before Aegis turned and headed into the crowd. Though he caught Ruby eyeing one of the pieces rather intently. He'd have to worry about it in a bit, for now Yang needed her arm. A task made a bit more difficult by the fact that he was the tallest person, or being might've been a better word, in the crowd. None of his movements were really concealed to the other tall beings several feet away, the toy soldiers.
Fortunately they seemed just as focused on the auction as everyone else and didn't pay him any mind. Speaking of which, it had already begun with Jinxy holding up the diamond encrusted rabbit and pointing to a yellow skinned civilian greatly resembling a figure from a child's mega blocks set. The raccoon quickly explained, as in lied, about the background of the treasure in his hand, most of which Aegis was happy to ignore. That is until he caught a scent with a slight shift in the wind.
'Wait a sec,' he thought, focusing completely on the statue for the first time, 'that smell, and this feeling. Why does it seem, familiar?' Before he could figure it out the item was already sold, for the price of one hug. 'Oh yeah, Jinxy doesn't take money,' Aegis recalled, 'he just names whatever price he wants before giving the item away.' It was one of the few random things the half bear Faunus did remember about the story, now that he found himself thinking about it for the first time in years.
The reminder gave him some assurance that the auction might not be so bad after all, especially now that Jinxy was holding up the golden scepter Yang believed to be her arm. "The bidding starts at," he announced as both Yang and the apparent lead toy soldier held up their hands, "the love of a mother." This gave the blonde pause as surprise crossed her features. She couldn't have known, nor could the others have known, that Jinxy easily recognized them in the crowd.
Ordinarily he wouldn't have cared who he was selling too, but most of the time he wasn't selling back to the people he'd stolen from. In this case especially, Jinxy's irritation with the stranger from yesterday who'd literally sniffed out his items was still burning somewhat. That's why he didn't intend to sell to any of them, but he still had to give the image of a fair businessman. Which is why he declared the item sold to the toy soldiers who also wanted the scepter, having written down on royal decree that they'd pay whatever Jinxy wanted.
"Wait, that's my arm!" Yang exclaimed in frustration.
"Whatever it is," the lead toy soldier replied smugly, "it's royal property now. No price is too high for his majesty's birthday!" 'Whelp, so much for peaceful resolution,' Aegis thought, deciding to give up on smelling the other two items. The blonde brawler's patience wouldn't hold for very long and she seemed positive now that the scepter was her arm. With that in mind, Aegis began pushing towards the back of the crowd, only to stop when he heard Ruby's voice suddenly call out.
Looking over, the huntsman saw she'd raised her hand to bid on the last of the three items, the green wooden doll. Confusion and curiosity halted the half Faunus's progress as he turned to see what the deal was. Unfortunately, the clever raccoon once again read what it was she was lacking. "Bidding starts at," he declared while pulling out a foot tall jar with a star necklace decorating it, "enough hope to fill this jar."
Ruby's surprise and stunned silence told the mystical auctioneer all he needed to know. "You don't have enough, do you?" Aegis narrowed his eyes. Call him biased, but he didn't tend to look favorably on people who made his practical little sister sad.
His anger would be quickly sated, however, when he noticed Little had snuck up on stage and begun dragging the doll away while Jinxy wasn't looking. 'That gives me an idea,' the huntsman thought while forming a smooth, stone-sized piece of glass in his right hand. His arm might not be so great for wielding a weapon right now, but it could do other things. So when Jinxy inevitably noticed the mouse dragging his last disguised treasure away, he was ready.
"Why you little," the raccoon growled before leaping at the mouse, only to be nailed in the head by a glass stone that knocked him down to the stage.
"He's a con man!" Aegis declared loudly, "I saw him disguising the items with my own two eyes!" This whole bit was meant to cause a distraction. Coincidentally enough, the spell Jinxy had cast on the items wore off shortly after Little touched the doll without making a deal. Their true forms were revealed then, with the doll turning out to be one of Penny's green swords she'd forged as a human maiden. The jewel-encrusted rabbit's true form was a very familiar silver bullet, and the scepter turned back into Yang's arm.
The guard in charge of holding said limb understandably freaked out and tossed the mechanical contraption away in a fit of panic. "I'm going for it," Yang announced, quickly rushing towards her arm while Aegis moved and grabbed the silver bullet from the confused civilian holding it. Ruby rushed up and grabbed the sword off the stage, clutching it to her chest as the reality of Penny's death washed over her once again.
The lead soldier attempted to pull the arm away from the blond huntress, engaging in what he quickly found to be a losing tug of war before pulling his sword off of his belt and swinging it at the girl. Despite the close proximity, Yang deftly avoided each swipe of the captain's blade before activating the gauntlet on her detached arm and firing Ember Celica's built-in shotgun. The toy soldier was sent flying, without the arm, onto the ground where he lay stunned. She turned and ran then with Aegis right behind her, Ruby following after some urging from Blake who also made a quick getaway.
The only one who didn't leave in a particularly hurried pace was Weiss, seemingly content to walk at a fast but definitely bored speed as no one appeared to have registered that she was part of the group too. Whatever pursuit may have been following them didn't make it far or lost track of them soon after they entered the woods. Once they made it to a small clearing the group finally stopped with Yang laughing and Aegis in good spirits. "Those people take auctions, very seriously," she breathed out while holding up her still detached arm, "high five?"
"You know it," Aegis answered while high fiving her detached arm. Weiss simply walked past her friend while Blake had both hands on her head and looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack. Ruby was currently studying Penny's forged weapon, no doubt doing her best to recall her departed friend.
"We're doing the same thing as Alyx," Blake exclaimed, "we're ruining everything!"
"That's your biggest concern," Weiss asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Okay, you know I don't tend to agree with Weiss on a lot of things," Aegis said, "but this time I agree, how is that a concern?"
"I've read so many stories," the Faunus girl answered before plopping down on a nearby log, "and now here we are, becoming the moral of one."
"What moral," the huntsman asked, "that sometimes you gotta fight? Sometimes there's no avoiding trouble? We caused a ruckus getting our stuff back and exposing a con….raccoon. And in case you've forgotten we've got way bigger problems than Alyx had in her story and….Ruby, you okay over there?" The reason he asked was because the team leader had sat down next to Blake on the log, a sullen expression on her face while still looking at the green sword.
Aegis regretted his question as soon as he asked it. Of course Ruby wasn't okay. She'd only found out a couple hours ago that one of her best friends was dead and now she had physical proof staring her right in the face. Ruby, however, didn't seem to notice, instead answering an unspoken question the rest of them had.
"I couldn't explain why but I was…drawn to it," she said quietly. As if in response to her mood, the weather shifted and rain began to sprinkle on them. This was apparently the last straw for a certain former heiress.
"Great, now it's decided to rain on only us," Weiss growled before pointing at the massive tree in the distance, "that's it, we're getting out of this ridiculous world! Alyx got home by going to the tree, right, so that's what we'll do."
"It didn't go quite like that in the book," Blake attempted to explain before being cut off.
"We are not in the book!" Weiss raised her hands for emphasis, "I can't believe I'm agreeing with Aegis but he's right, we have far bigger things to worry about than Alyx did and unlike her we already know where to go to. Right over there, at that giant tree." She proceeded to stomp off in the direction of the tree, intent on ending the journey right then and there.
Like Blake said, unfortunately, it wasn't going to be that simple. Only a moment later Weiss came stomping out of the foliage from the other side and wound up right back in front of them, to her obvious surprise. Naturally she tried one more time and grew even more frustrated when she looped back in front of them yet again. "Gah, STUPID TREE!" She exclaimed, picking up a rock and throwing it towards said piece of giant plant life.
It must've been quite a throw because when it came back it nailed the former heiress in the back of the head hard enough to knock her flat on her face. "Yeah, tried that already," Little spoke up from Ruby's hood while Weiss lay groaning on the ground, "you can't get any closer to the tree that way."
"It's putting me in a good mood," Aegis chuckled while watching Weiss go on yet another rant nearby about how irritating the Ever After was, "and speaking of which, we did walk away with one other thing." He pulled out the bullet he'd snatched on the way out of town, fairly certain the original duped owner wasn't going to miss it. "You recognize this Ruby?" The huntress's eyes widened as she took the bullet and examined it.
"This is one of mine, from Crescent Rose," she realized, "you found this at the auction?"
"It was the item disguised as a diamond encrusted rabbit," the half Faunus confirmed, "I got a good whiff of it and have some actual good news. Well, good depending on how you look at it."
"What do you mean," Blake asked, taking the bullet and smelling it herself, her eyes widening in surprise, "this scent."
"It's Wayne's scent," Aegis confirmed, "I'd know the smell of my brother anywhere especially when it's fresh."
"Ruby," Yang spoke up, "did you drop any rounds you hadn't fired?"
"No, all my rounds come in magazines, you know that Yang," she reminded while pulling out one of said magazines, "I only ever load the magazines when we're not fighting. The only way that bullet could've wound up here is if it was extracted from Crescent Rose without being fired-."
"And only someone familiar with Crescent Rose would know how to easily extract a single round, which Wayne is," Weiss added, her earlier rant ending immediately upon hearing her boyfriend's name. "Aegis, you said that scent is fresh, how fresh?"
"Hard to be certain with the smell of old raccoon on it," he replied, "but I'd say a day old at most. Assuming Wayne didn't help you load Crescent Rose before we got here-."
"No, he must've found it and left one of the rounds behind," Ruby finished, "which means Wayne is here and if we find him we find Crescent Rose too!"
"I'm guessing he's already tried the go straight for the tree approach," Yang joked, "he must've went through the town trying to figure his way out."
"I probably know what he was thinking," Ruby suggested, "if he figured out what this place is, he's probably retracing the steps of the story. Blake, where did Alyx go after she got her dagger back from Jinxy?"
"She…went to the Crimson Castle," the Faunus girl recalled, noting the rain was stopping, "and beat the red king at his own game." It was as good a lead as any at this point and certainly held more promise than going in literal circles trying to get to the tree. Now came the question of how to get to said castle. Or at least it would've been a question if four toy soldiers didn't suddenly jump out of the bushes, riding sticks with horseheads of all things.
"Hands up!" Exclaimed the lead soldier while pointing at the group, "you treasonous birthday ruiners!"
"Okay," Yang smirked while raising her hands up in a boxing position. Aegis cracked his knuckles and neck for added effect. Understandably the display made the soldiers take a hesitant step back.
"We want to go to the birthday party," Ruby said, drawing everyone's attention, "the party is at the crimson castle, right? Then we want to go to the birthday party too."
"Well too bad," the lead soldier replied, regaining some of his composure, "because that's where we're going, um yes, right, that's where we're taking you! As prisoners, for stealing royal property."
"Pretty sure the deal was for a scepter and not an arm," Aegis pointed out.
"And we can't give that back anyway," the leader of team RWBY continued, standing up, "but what if we offered you something better?" She held up the greenish black crystal blade, "the weapon of a powerful warrior."
"Oooooh," the soldiers gathered around the weapon to get a closer look at it, "go on."
"She was touched by magic," Ruby explained with the ghost of a smile forming on her face, "she wasn't just any powerful warrior. She was the most powerful warrior to ever live, but even more than that she saw the world through better eyes. For the world she took a message of hope to the stars, and for the people she gave her life to save thousands. And it's this most precious of gifts that we'd like to present at the royal birthday."
Judging by how teary-eyed all the guards were her story definitely hit a chord. "Yes," the soldier sniffed, "by royal decree it shall be done. Come on men, we've got a birthday to get too!" He accepted Penny's sword and the four guards hurried back through the bushes, possibly forgetting for a moment they were supposed to be escorting the huntresses and huntsman.
"Ruby," Blake spoke up, approaching her friend, "are you sure you really want to give that up?"
"Look, a lot of this doesn't make sense," the team leader admitted, "but for whatever reason this world is putting us on the path of a book we all happened to read as kids. It's the closest thing to a lead we have on getting out of here so we may as well follow it." She began to walk after the guards, "and stop pretending we know what we're doing."
Along a Forest Trail
"So your mother's side of the family trekked all the way from the kingdom of Atlas to Vale and wound up at, oh what did you call that town again, Blue forge," CC happily recounted while floating along in front of Wayne, "my the working conditions there really must've been atrocious if even a warrior clan wanted nothing to do with them."
"It wasn't so much the working conditions as the atmosphere of the place," Wayne replied, "if there's one place Faunus and humans don't get along very well it was Atlas. Grandma, Grandpa and the others found it difficult to get work save for the exceptionally dangerous jobs. Wouldn't have been so bad except even those jobs were hard to come by once the Atlas military started deploying its own huntsman and huntresses more often. So they moved to Vale and settled in Blue Forge where every type of job, just about, was available to them."
"And that's where they met the Wuff Wuff clan?"
"The De Wolfe clan, yes."
"Goodness when I think about the possibilities of bears and wolves working together," CC did a bit of a loop to loop in the air, "but you also said the De Wolfe clan are humans so that makes you, what was it again?"
"Half-bear Faunus," Wayne reminded, "my mother is a bear Faunus meaning she has some animalistic traits of a bear like ears, sharpened teeth, enhanced senses, incredible strength."
"And all you managed to inherit from that was the enhanced senses while your, I think you said brother, gets the features, the teeth, the claws and the incredible strength."
"It hasn't slowed me down as much as you might think," the huntsman assured, "with enough time and training those looking to be huntsman and huntresses can gain incredible physical abilities. There's this tall girl I know, Coco, who beats down Grimm with an oversized handbag."
"A handbag?" CC exclaimed, "but you said huntsman and huntresses usually carry specialized weapons, or was it most carry specialized weapons? Oh, does the handbag have rocks in it?"
"A gatling gun actually," Wayne answered, "just a bit heavier than a few rocks when she's not shooting anything with it."
"Fascinating," the Curious Cat hummed, "I've conversed with Remnant folk before but you're the first huntsman I've ever had the pleasure of talking too." And they had been talking the whole way. Wayne wasn't really keeping track but they'd managed to drag this conversation on for the better part of a couple hours, at least if he was estimating right. At this particular moment he was actually happy he'd gotten used to putting up with hyperactive inquisitive people, like Nora.
He still wished Ren were here, though. Recent emotional issues notwithstanding he could probably put up with answering this particular Afteran's questions all day. Fortunately, it seemed it wouldn't take all day to get to their destination. "You'll find huntsman and huntresses, like all other people from Remnant, are like snowflakes. In most cases no two are exactly alike."
Wayne paused for a second, instantly regretting his use of the word 'snowflake'. "I could say we have something similar here," CC replied, breaking him out of his thoughts, "each acre in the Ever After is different and every person has a different purpose."
"And what would you call this acre," the huntsman asked as the pair starting crossing another bridge. As before it was markedly different from the last two acres, resembling a forest at night time with multiple fungi glowing in various different colors to light the way. Interestingly, some of the fungi dimmed whenever Wayne passed too close to them.
"This would be the Garden Acre," CC explained, "many of the inhabitants here deal with herbs and medicines. In fact there is a friend of mine here I'd like to stop by and visit, if you could spare a moment."
"So long as he doesn't try to swindle me or kill me I suppose I can," Wayne answered, "but it can't be long, I kind of have to keep moving."
"Oh you don't have to worry about Herbi," the cat assured, "like me he's a little inquisitive but I think you'll find what he does, illuminating." That statement didn't quell the half Faunus's fears as much as CC probably hoped but he saw little reason to argue. Even if he did, his attention was soon distracted by a strange humming. Narrowing his eyes slightly, Wayne tensed his muscles a bit, his body now a coiled spring ready to jump at a moment's notice.
If CC could hear it he didn't give any indication, simply walking along until the both of them arrived at a giant glowing blue mushroom the size of a house. Upon closer inspection, Wayne found that it really was a house. A house with a suddenly opening hole that served as a door. "Who goes there," asked a low hissing voice, "or should I say, what are you?"
"I should be asking you that," Wayne replied, his right hand reaching for his holstered weapon.
"Asking me what?" The stranger inquired. To most his body would've been shrouded in shadow but to Wayne he was as visible as day. For better or worse the half Faunus saw that the inhabitant of the mushroom was a giant blue and purple caterpillar creature who could apparently slide along with no legs. He had four insectoid arms and six insectoid wings, four on his back and two protruding right below his collar bone on the front. His oddly shaped, triangular mouth and four antennae were offset by the most unsettling feature about him: his three blue eyes, one of which was in the center of his head.
"Who, and what, are you?" The huntsman questioned.
"Oh, that's what you want to know," the stranger replied in a bored manner, "I am an herbalist, the herbalist to be precise."
"Yes I probably should've told you Herbi isn't like the people back in the Crimson Acre," CC commented before walking forward, "and it's good to see you Herbie, how are things?"
"Same as always, if not worse than usual lately," the caterpillar man responded, turning around to shuffle back inside, "everyone needs help these days and I mean everyone." CC followed him in without any hesitation but Wayne kept at the door, peering in. It reminded him of a Mistraltan shop he'd seen far outside the cities, its walls possessing shelves lined with bottles of plant materials and oils. Boxes filled with more herbs were also set on a nearby table while the apparent counter one would see an herbalist selling from was present on the far side of the room.
It seemed familiar in a way, save for everything being made of the same blue material as the giant mushroom. "Are you going to come in or not," the Herbalist asked impatiently, "I have a lot of work to do." 'I guess I could always blow the place up if he tries something,' Wayne rationalized, taking his hand off his weapon before entering. Though he kept his guard up, especially when the door sealed shut behind him.
"I suppose it'd be rude of me not to introduce my traveling companion," CC suddenly seemed to remember his manners, "this fellow calls himself Wayne Ursario. He's one of those folk who fell in from Remnant, like Alyx. Unlike her he's something called a huntsman?"
"Oh, and what exactly is a huntsman?" The Herbalist asked with slight interest while busying himself grinding herbs and measuring the proper amounts for his ingredients.
"A Highly trained warrior who combats monsters and criminals in order to protect people," Wayne answered, "it's not a profession I believe exists here."
"If it does I've never encountered it," Herbi replied, "even so I must ask, are you a good huntsman?"
"I've held my own against those said to be the best if that tells you anything," the half Faunus supplied, "I honestly don't know what the equivalent to a huntsman would be in this world."
"That does present something of a problem," the caterpillar man agreed before slithering towards an opening marked by multicolored beads, "but one that can be overcome if you'd follow me."
"I'm afraid I only came here on request of CC," Wayne pointed out while crossing his arms, "he was the one who had business with you."
"All who come here have business with me," the herbalist replied, "as I said earlier, everyone needs help these days. And if you're worried about time, don't be, this won't take long." The huntsman really didn't want to go into the backroom but at the same time he didn't want to start another unnecessary fight if he didn't have too. With that thought in mind he pushed aside the beads and entered the back room.
Like the main room multiple shelves lined the walls filled with vials of herbs and oils of various shapes, sizes and colors. Unlike the main room this room had a small fire going and a tube hanging down from the ceiling. It was this tube the Herbalist grabbed and took a long drag from, breathing out strange multi-colored smoke. "Take a seat," he offered.
"I'll stand if it's all the same to you," Wayne replied.
"Suit yourself, I suppose," Herbie grunted before producing a handful of multi-colored leaves, "I just recommend it because answering the next few questions can be a little, draining." Before Wayne could ask what he meant by that the caterpillar man dropped the leaves in the fire, producing the same multicolored smoke he was breathing in. The overpowering smell hit him before anything else, causing Wayne to stagger slightly before he inhaled the smoke itself. That's when the coughing started.
The area continued to fill with smoke until it seemed as if the room itself was made of the wispy substance. "First, be sure of what you are," the voice of the Herbalist echoed, "and then know what you are going to be." That's when things got really weird as Wayne vomited the smoke itself out of his mouth. The mystery vapor reformed on the 'floor' a couple feet away from him before quickly taking shape. When the huntsman saw what formed a number of emotions flowed through him, chief of which was annoyance.
"Oh we are not doing this shit again," he commented while standing up straight.
"Believe me I get it," the apparition replied before shrugging, "but self reflection isn't something that was just gonna end with the mastering of the Aura Shadow. So here we are once again." A painfully accurate statement, considering Wayne was staring at himself, before the fall of Beacon. It seemed the time had come to face his mindscape once again.
And just when he thought he was done talking to himself. Good news is his body's not going on a rampage while he's in the middle of all this. Other good news is we'll find out just what they plan to discuss next chapter so until then feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Don't forget to check out my Pat reon too where I'll be posting news and other tidbits for my patrons! Finally, stop by next time as Aegis discovers his favorite type of chess. 'Til then.
