Ben 10 returning to comics? Yes please.
Anyways, please enjoy this chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5
Trumpets sounded in fanfare as a chorus of bells rang from the tower above, signaling to all that His Majesty was indulging in his favorite pastime. Well, passtime may have been too light of a word for the Red Prince. Obsession would be more apt. The turquoise butterfly Blake had spotted before flew through the giant tower and down its length, passing by the myriad of ringing bells before it fluttered out into the game room. The little insect flew off to find a secluded perch in the massive room. Winding, spiral staircases dotted each corner of the square room, the steps alternating between marble white and a deep crimson. The red and white checkerboard patterned floor sported a five-pointed star design in the middle. Situated above that star was the oaken game table. The table was something like a chess board, only it too was shaped to resemble a five pointed star. Red and White pieces, only pawns tough, littered the game board in various positions of combat, victory, and defeat.
On one side of the table was a luxurious and ornate wooden throne, the backboard shaped to resemble a stylized heart, while the chair for the non-royal opponent was the equivalent of wooden barstool. The Prince, his entourage of guards, and Team RWBY entered into the game room, followed by more royal fanfare announcing their arrival. Upon first seeing the throne, Ruby and Yang couldn't help but be reminded of Cinder's logo the more they looked at it. Association can be a bitch sometimes.
Without noticing the quick glances of discomfort, or just not caring about them, the Prince waltzed over and hopped into his throne, getting comfortable. Ruby lead her team to the other side of the table while the guards positioned themselves around the perimeter of the room, jabbing their weapons into the ground with metallic thuds.
"So!" the Prince began, adjusting his crown, "What exactly do you wish in return for playing my game? There's always a catch!"
"Oh Your Majesty, you are as wise as you are...uh..." Ruby paused for a moment, trying to think up a good quality to help butter up the rude, red, royal. Count on Little to come in at the last minute to save the day. The tiny mouse poked Ruby's cheek before leaning in and whispering the first word that came to mind.
"As you are small!" Ruby finished without thinking about it. She didn't need her cruel jabs to tell her that might not have been the best choice. Weiss, Blake, and Yang also cringed a little, thinking that would get the Prince back in his "off with their heads" mood.
The Prince gasped upon hearing the compliment before he smiled.
"Why thank you!" the diminutive despot bowed, accepting the compliment.
"Told you it'd work," Little beamed.
"Our only request, Your Highness, is that you help us reach the Tree," Ruby humbly explained.
"The Tree? Ohhhh but that's so...far awayyyyyyyyyy," the Prince whined, rolling his eyes.
"That's uh, that's why we're asking," the red-hooded reaper sheepishly said. The Prince bolted up in his chair, looking at Weiss, Yang, and Blake quizzically, almost like he was inspecting them for some perceived flaw.
"If you win. I shall help you with this task," the Prince said, stressing the word "if," "Also, your attire does help win me over. Very nice shade of red for your cape. Not as good as mine mind you, but be honored. Not every crimson cloak can be complemented cordially in the Crimson Castle!"
"Oh! Uh thank you, Your Majesty. So um," Ruby began, taking a seat on the stool and scooting a bit closer to the game board, "How do we play?"
Once the question left Ruby's mouth, the Prince and his guards all began guffawing hard. The little lord kicked his legs as he laid across the hand rests of his thrones, while some of his guards doubled over from laughter, one poor wooden praetorian coughing splinters from laughing too much.
The visitors to the Castle looked around at the laughing locals, wondering what the hell was so funny about asking for the rules.
"Rule 1!" the Prince yelled, snapping himself and his guards out of their hysteria. His guards let out a single loud "HUP! as they slammed their weapons into the tiled floor.
"Each turn, a player is allowed to move every pawn one space," the Prince explained, "Rule 2!" He held up two fingers as he counted off the rules. The guards spoke out with a synchronized "HUP HUP!" slamming their weapons into the ground twice.
"The player that gets the most pawns to the other side of the board wins. A simple win condition, really. Rule 3!" the noble held up a third finger.
"HUP HUP HUP!" the guards saluted, slamming their weapons into the ground for each hup.
"To take a space...you must dispose of whoever occupies it," the Prince chuckled ominously, which Ruby was not a fan of, "Now, the pieces!"
With a snap of the porcelain prince's fingers, the two sides assembled. The Prince's Red Pawns, imagine pawn pieces with arms, legs, and a circular face in the middle, lined up like a military, drawing their black blades and preparing for war. Ruby's White Pawns groaned as they forced themselves to their feet, exhausted and just tired of the game at this point. While Ruby's pawns were scratched and battle-worn, the Prince's were pristine, clearly showing how these games usually went. But as she looked over the board, Ruby took note of a few empty spaces in her lines.
"Um, I think I'm missing some pieces over here?" Ruby asked.
"Hm? Oh, look at that! Indeed you are! How perfect you brought some friends to play with us then," the Prince smirked knowingly before snapping his fingers again. A cloud of red dust flew from his fingertips and snaked over to Weiss, wrapping around her. With a small scream of surprise, the heiress was suddenly shrunk down to a miniature size.
"Weiss!" Blake shouted and tried to reach out for her friend, only for the dust to ensnare her as well. The magical substance caused her to sneeze, shrinking her immediately as she let out an "achoo!"
"Give them ba-woooah!" Yang tried to defiantly say, only for the dust to grab her too, actually forcing her to punch herself into shrinking. With them all now the appropriate size, WBY were flung onto the game board, filling the three empty spaces Ruby had on her side of the board.
"Hey! What the hell?! Weiss?! Yang?! Blake?!" Ruby panicked, seeing her friends and sister shrunken down to miniature sizes.
"Now we're all Littles!" Little gasped excitedly. They were far too precious to inform them of the real gravity of the situation.
"We're...we're ok!" Yang reassured her now much bigger sister, "Nothing's...missing. Or out of proportion."
"So, this is what it's like to be Gray Matter..." Blake muttered, getting back to her feet and shaking her head, "Ruby, listen to me. Most important thing right now is winning the game. If you do, then we should go back to normal!"
"Should?!" Ruby panicked.
"I...am basing this situation off a cartoon, ok?! Don't judge me!" the Faunus huffed.
The arrival of these new pieces caused quite a stir among the other White Pawns, whispering among themselves and gossiping.
"What's wrong with them?" a Pawn whispered.
"Only one of them's white. One's yellow and one's black. Should those two be in a different game set?" another inquired.
"Maybe the Prince only brings them out for close friends?" a third suggested.
"Whatever the case, they kinda look stupid," a fourth deadpanned.
"And I suppose these are our teammates," Weiss motioned to the gossiping army of pawns before sighing and drawing her trusty rapier.
"No one...no one's gonna get hurt. Right?" Ruby asked, looking up to the Red Prince. His only answer was a smirk, but someone else had quite the answer in his stead.
Of COURSE, someone's gonna get hurt. You're the one making the plans again. That's always worked out -so- well for us all, hasn't it? Screw a proper plan, let's just ad lib the whole thing! Say what you want about the man, but at least Ironwood HAD a plan beyond 'hope and pray someone comes to save us.' You didn't even think of a back-up in case no one answered. the venomous doubts whispered in Ruby's mind.
"Now, let it never be said that I am not a gracious host! The White Pawns may move first," the Prince smirked.
"Begin!" the Prince shouted. At his command, the guards had moved in closer, surrounding the game table. They began spinning their halberds above their heads as they all let out a loud, drawn out "HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!" When the "P" left the guards' mouths, they brought down their halberds and struck the ground. When the blades collided with the tiles, the lights in the room went off, save for a single spotlight that shone down on Ruby, the Prince, and the game. Beyond them, it was sheer darkness, like they were floating in a void. Ruby couldn't help but shiver, thinking she'd see a pair of green eyes peer out from the darkness, accompanied by small stars sparkling away. Ruby shook away those ghosts of the past and looked down at the board, tapping her chin in thought. No special rules here so...might as well.
"Um, can...you advance one space please?" Ruby asked one of her Pawns. They looked over to see one of the Red Pawns, ready for battle, practically looming over them. The White Pawn sighed and drew their sword, charging into the fray with a fierce battle cry, engaging in a duel with its crimson counterpart. The Red Pawn shoved back its enemy, the White stumbled back and paused for a moment. It subtly looked up to the Prince, who simply gave a sly grin and a nod. With that, the pawn's hand shot to its forehead before they, dramatically, "died," complete with an audible "Blegh."
"Hahaha! Victory. For. Me!" the Prince cheered.
Ruby winced a bit at her pawn's defeat before a floating stretcher appeared next to the pawn. The piece rolled onto it and was whisked away to the discarded pieces area. Of course, to the pawn, this was just what they needed. They stretched and seemed to put their hands behind their head and kick their feet, ready to relax.
"...what," Blake deadpanned.
"You...must be joking," Weiss groaned.
"Uh...maaaaybe they just need some encouragement?" Yang suggested.
"Ok...ok. How about you three?" Ruby asked the next three pawns. The trio looked to each other and shrugged. Not like they had much of a choice. With a warcry, they charged forward into battle. Yang raised her fist to the air in an attempt to cheer them on.
"C'mon, guys! You got-" the blonde began, only to be cut off by the trio being thrown back to where they started in no time.
"-Neeeeeeevermind," Yang corrected herself before the trio of Pawns were whisked away on a single stretcher, comically stacked atop one another. Little winced a bit from the second defeat and looked up at Ruby, a hand to her temple in dismay.
"Weiss...please tell me you can take that space?" Ruby asked, hoping that the third time would be the charm.
The heiress looked up to Ruby with a raised brow before shaking her head. With a firm grip on Myrtenaster, she got into a combat ready stance, rapier leveled at her crimson opponent.
"Have some faith!" Weiss smirked. The Red Pawn narrowed their eyes and readied themselves for the next fight. Weiss, though, was unlike any opponent that the pawn had faced before. The game piece raced forward with its sword leveled at the heiress like a lance. She raced in to meet the living chess piece and expertly parried aside the toy broadsword, leaving the Red Pawn open. A strike to the knee to knock it off balance, a slash above the face to disorient, and a final diagonal slash to knock the pawn off their feet was all that Weiss needed. The White Pawns gasped in surprise, the Red Pawns looked on in shock and horror, and the Prince?
The Prince was just stunned. For a moment anyway.
"Tch. Beginner's luck," the Prince scoffed as his Pawn was removed from the board.
I don't get it. Ruby thought. This game is just purely based on strength. I bet the pawns on the king's side are the stronger of the bunch...he rigged it so he'll always win. Even if my friends are the size of Grey Matter, they're 10x stronger than anything those wooden dummies can throw at us.
"So… tell me, why do you want to go to the tree?" The prince asked, smiling like a smug cat.
"We want to go home." Ruby said, half ignoring the prince's expression. "We believe the tree can get us there. Yang, you're up."
Yang cocked Ember Celica and rushed forward. She flipped into the air and knocked another red pawn to the ground, delivering a barrage of blows. The white team cheered her on as she took in the glory. Blake gave a small clap for her. Yang smugly rubbed her chin with her thumb. The prince growled and nearly balled his hand into a fist, before calming himself down again.
"I take back what I said," one Pawn whispered, "They're not stupid at all."
"I know right?" the second pawn smiled.
The Prince just brushed off the comments from the Pawns. Like he said, this was all beginner's luck.
"And uh," the Prince cleared his throat, his voice going a bit higher in pitch before he fixed it, "And how exactly do you know this?"
"Oh, uh, it worked for...someone we know!" Ruby half-lied before she made a finger gun and aimed at the next Red Pawn, "Your turn, Blake!"
"Three for three," Blake smirked, bringing out Gambol Shroud. She looked down at the broken katana blade worriedly and brought out the large cleaver-sheathe. The Red Pawn roared with all its might as they charged forward, ready to take a swing. The blade then passed through the ninja's body, revealing itself as a clone. The real Blake was already up in the air behind the Pawn. With a quick flick of the wrist, Gambol Shroud wrapped around the Pawn's ankle. Blake yanked on the ribbon and tripped up the living chess piece. The Pawn thudded to the floor and Blake leapt in, landing a three-hit combo with the cleaver and taking out her opponent. She flipped off of the downed Pawn before they were flown out and landed back among the White Pawn ranks to a chorus of cheer. Even Yang was cheering her on, moving her hand in small circles to pump up her girlfriend.
"That's how it's done!" Yang smirked, making Blake blush a bit.
"Someone...someone you knew eh?" the Prince asked, his breaths short and angry. He was livid at the prospect of losing here.
"Oh! Oh!" one of the original gossiping Pawns called up, "What about us?"
"Go for it!" Ruby gestured towards the enemy line. With an actual battlecry, the White Pawn rushed forward and won their duel against the Red soldier in a single hit. It was so perfectly timed that they didn't even hit the board, they just landed in the stretcher.
"ENOUGH! It's my turn!" the Red Prince shrieked, slamming his fist on his throne, before jumping up and standing up in his seat, "ATTACK!"
On that single order, every single Red Pawn rushed forward and clashed with the White lines. Blades clashed against blades as the Red and White sides dueled. One unfortunate Pawn tried to avenge the first casualty on the royalists' side and go after Weiss. They barely landed a proper hit before Weiss just slashed across the Pawn's chest, downing it. By the end, the White side won, pushing back the Red charge and taking out four more pieces, much to the Prince's annoyance.
"...no...no, No, NO!" the Prince whined, jumping out of his throne and kicking it aside, "That's not how it's supposed to go!"
He raced on down the small steps that led up the throne with clinking steps of porcelain on tile, before he reached the dark shadow floor. Each step made a golden ring emanate out like a ripple of water when you throw a rock in a pond.
"This isn't right! This. Isn't. FAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIR!" the Red Prince whined, falling to his knees as a spotlight shone down on just him.
"Oh, god." Yang winced. "Is he gonna start singing?"
"I hope not. If he did, I doubt the sounds that come out of that body are as far from angelic as possible," Weiss frowned.
The Prince started to huff and puff violently. He looked utterly unhinged, like someone who lost everything. "Wait… what type of creatures did you say you are again?" He muttered.
"Well, uh, Blake is a Faunus, Little's a mouse, at least I think… " Ruby said, as Little popped out of her hood.
"Sure!" Little chirped.
"And the rest of us are human." Ruby said, casually. The word 'human' really echoed around the room, catching Ruby off guard. There wasn't an echo in here before!
As soon as the word echoed out, a few things happened all at once. Before it started echoing, a pair of disembodied turquoise eyes appeared behind Ruby, their white pupils shifting to lock onto her with interest. The White Pawns all gasped in shock, several dropping their weapons and one poor piece even fainting on the spot. The Red Pawns reacted violently, leveling their blades at Yang, Weiss, and Blake.
Seems the word human made the previous rules null and void.
But the person most affected by the word was the Prince himself. His eyes had shrunk as if he'd just seen a ghost. And then, out of nowhere, a giant crack snaked its way down the Prince's face, starting from somewhere under his crown and splitting off down between his eyes. One "branch" of the crack jolted off the right and cut through one of his painted-on rosy cheeks, while the other branch stopped just short of the other, forming an odd "Y" shape. Two other "branches" were visible just above the Prince's eyes.
"Human..." the Prince muttered, "HUMAAAAAAAAAAAN?! I knew it! You CHEATED! ALL OF YOU! Humans always cheat! And in my kingdom, cheating. IS. TREASON! Get them! GET THEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEM!"
Without warning, the opposing red and white teams charged straight for Weiss, Blake, and Yang. The trio locked and loaded, ready for combat. Blake propelled Yang around ferociously with Gambol Shroud's sturdy ribbon, sending pawns scattering in all directions. Weiss danced through the fray, dodging with nimble precision and zipping about on her Glyphs, racking up an impressive 'body count'. Unfazed, she took a daring leap off a sword that flew towards her, slashed her sword, and took out three white pawns with a swift grace.
Meanwhile, Yang was bombarding a white pawn with a flurry of thundering strikes, before attaching a few explosive rounds to it, and then reducing it to nothingness with a giant blast. A giant rook charged towards Blake, and she leaped out of the way just in time, using the momentum to deliver a devastating strike with Gambol Shroud. Blake raced forward to lend Yang a hand, but was flung into a wall near the edge of the board.
"Hey! Leave them alone! You're going to hurt them!" Ruby yelled, ready to throw hands with a child.
The Red Prince laughed, making Ruby angrier than before. "It's my royal birthday! And I can do whatever I like!"
Some of the eliminated pawns returned to the board on the stretchers. Yang was dogpiled by some white pawns. Weiss and Blake ended up getting cornered at the top of a cubed hill near the edge of the table. Blake tried to fire some rounds with Gambol Shroud's pistol form, but quickly ran out of ammo. Ruby helplessly watched as she put her head in her hands.
Look at how weak they are. That cruel voice echoed, once more filling her head with negativity, somehow seeming louder than before. How can you rely on them to protect you? They haven't really been there for you, have they? None of them asked how you're really doing. Maybe...you should let them get knocked around to teach them a lesson. You call the shots, they have to listen after all. This game, just like Ozpin's, is stupid.
Ruby grit her teeth, took a deep breath. She needed to choose her next move carefully...
It was an odd thing to remember at the moment, but her mind flashed back to something she and Ben did when they were younger.
"This game SUCKS." Awkward 11 year old Ruby said, looking down at the chessboard before them. "How does anyone LIKE this?
Ben, in his 11 year old squeaky voice, groaned. "No idea. People really have tournaments over this?"
"...we can make it better." Ruby hummed.
"Yeah. What's your plan?"
"Calvinball rules, baby." Ben said, picking up a piece.
Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Calvinball rules?"
Ben grinned mischievously. "Yeah. We can make up our own rules, change them as we go, and even use some of my Sumo Slammer figures if we want."
Ruby thought about it, then grinned back. "I'm in. But let's make them fair and not too crazy, okay?"
"Deal." Ben high-fived her and they began to set up the board with their own twists and rules.
Ruby slammed her hand down on the table. With one swift motion, she swept the pawns away from Blake and Weiss. The Red Prince gasped, as Ruby began flicking the pawns off of Yang.
"Stop! You're cheating!" The Prince yelled.
"CALVINBALL RULES, BABY!" Ruby yelled, throwing a piece at the Prince. "It's both squads against three players! A bit unfair here, so I'm just helping out."
"What?! That doesn't-! What's a Calvin?!" the Red Prince asked, the crack on his face getting larger and larger as his frustration grew.
Now that Weiss had some room to breathe, she focused her Semblance and created a pathway of gravity Glyphs that led right over to Blake. The feline Faunus hopped up onto them and made a mad dash for one of the other raised corners of the board. She looked over to her snowy teammate and nodded, already knowing the plan. Weiss gave a nod back and leapt off of the raised corner and summoned a Glyph on her back. The wings of a Nevermore unfurled from behind the heiress and took her skyward, giving her an almost angelic aura that even the Red Prince was awed by. With a swift motion from her rapier, the angelic Nevermore wings fired down on the horde of Pawns below, peppering them with razor-sharp feathers. Two more gravity Glyphs appeared in the air, one for Blake to hop on and one for Weiss. The feline Faunus tossed her weapon over to Weiss, setting up an improvised slingshot reminiscent of their initiation.
This time though, the ammo would be much more devastating.
With the dogpile lessened thanks to Ruby, a golden glow emanated from the pinned brawler. It was easy for her to bust through the mountain of Pawns on top of her with an excited grin. Now sporting her fiery hair and crimson eyes, Yang fired off two powerful shotgun rounds into the gameboard that propelled her skyward. Gambol's ribbon caught Yang as she flew higher and higher, setting up the force needed for the shot. The fiery blonde held her arms back and above her head as a third Glyph appeared. The Knight's greatsword materialized in Yang's hands, setting up for the coup de grace.
The Red Prince's hands were holding his crown as he watched in shock. Ruby and Little cheered on, as Blake and Weiss gave one final tug to launch Yang back down to the board. Spinning like a buzzsaw of fire and ice, Ruby's sister fell to the board and slammed the great sword into the ground, sending out a shockwave like a meteor strike that knocked each and every pawn onto their backs.
The game was over and the winners were Team RWBY!
The Prince's eye twitched as he saw the display, his anger reaching its boiling point. When you have a sore loser who's used to having all the power in a game stripped away, what does that usually result in? Chaos. Letting his anger take over, the Prince flipped the board and launched the victorious Blake, Weiss, and Yang into the air along with the other Pawns. The Pawns all shouted in fear as they flew over the edge of this square room and fell down, never to be seen again. WBY were much more fortunate as Ruby had used her Semblance to speed over and catch the trio before they fell again.
"If I can't win, then you won't either!" the Prince screamed, "I WILL HAVE YOU BEHEADED FOR YOUR POOR SPORTSMANSHIP!"
"Poor sportsmanship?! US?! You had the game rigged from the start, didn't you?! The White side usually takes a dive every time one of your guys so much as pokes them! They were winning for a change!" Ruby argued.
"We won by default, ya little brat!" Yang shouted.
"Yeah! So throw a tantrum if you want, but you will take us to the tree!"
"Ah ah ah ah! My birthday, my kingdom, my game, MY RULES!" the Prince corrected, "And my rules say I don't need to! GUARDS! OFF! WITH! THEIR HEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADS!"
The toy guards reappeared as the lights turned back on, all of them moving to corner Ruby with their trumpet-halberds lowered and ready to strike.
"Youuuuuuuuuur Majesty!" a new voice called out, catching everyone by surprise, even the guards. The Prince turned around to see the disembodied eyes hovering above the overturned game table. The eyes began moving and began to form a body around them, surrounded by a cloud of purple and turquoise pixels. The eyes...were those of a talking cat.
"Oh, do forgive me if now's a bad time. I couldn't help but hear your shrieks of sorrow. You must be so distraught," the cat went on, stopping only once to lick its paw, "Being denied your purpose like this? Tsk, tsk, tsk. I understand your frustration, but surely, you don't want to behead them!"
"Oh, I very much-!" the prince interjected.
"Believe me, you don't! They're such fragile things without their heads, unlike your guards. If you get angry and break them, why, they might never come back!" With an audible pop! the cat's head completely vanished for a moment, the body walking around as if nothing was wrong.
"But...but, but, but, but, it's my birthday! And they-and they-and they-and they won't let me wiiiiiiiiiiin!" the spoiled sovereign whined.
"Oh my god." Blake whispered. "I know who that is."
"I do too. That's...the Curious Cat." Ruby said, a bit shocked. He wasn't supposed to show up in this part of the story, right? Alyx would meet him on the run. What was he doing here?
"I know, Your Majesty, it truly isn't fair." The cat cooed. "You must play your game and win at any cost. It must hurt your heart. Let me help..."
As the Cat brushed up against the Prince's legs like any other feline would, a small cloud of purple and turquoise pixels lifted off the Cat's back and flew up to where the Prince's heart was. The pixels then sunk into the porcelain patriarch's chest and he seemed to calm down. Tears welled up at the corners of his big eyes and he sniffled, wiping away some of the tears, letting them clatter to the floor. The Prince...was crying marbles.
"F-fine," the Prince pouted, sitting down on the floor, "I won't...I won't behead them. But...b-but I never want to see them agaiiiiiiiiin!" He fell flat on his back and began kicking and screaming like a spoiler child, crying more marble tears that clattered against the tiles.
"Your Majesty! Quickly, console the Prince!" the lead guard ordered, ignoring Ruby and company and taking all of the other guards with him to comfort their lord.
"Wait, what about my friends!" Ruby called out, "They're still small and-!"
"Promised you something, did he?" the Curious Cat asked, appearing behind Ruby and walking along her arm with the greatest of ease, "Oh, Little Red Hood. Let me tell you something about promises!" the Cat then laid back on Ruby's arm and looked up at her, upside down, "They're like birds! Taste great but...ahhh they always escape."
"Wha-?!"
In an instant, the Cat was back on their feet and right up close to Ruby's ear.
"You should go before he changes his mind," the Cat whispered.
The Red Prince leapt back up, before slipping on some of his pearls and back down again. He started crying harder. Ruby winced- ow.
"Come! Quickly." The Cat called, starting to rush down the hall. Ruby hesitated, before scooping up her friends and sister and putting them in her cowl.
"Hold on..." Ruby said, running after the cat.
"EXILE THEM!" The prince screamed, "Throw them out of my kingdom! AFTER THEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEM!"
His guards saluted before they dashed off, chasing after them. Ruby, her small friends all carried in her arms, and the cat went up a set of winding stairs. The hallways of the castle were very confusing, twisting and turning, and some had Ruby running on the walls themselves.
"This wasn't in the book-!" Ruby yelled, mind sort of befuddled.
"To be fair, Alyx was never chased by the King's Guards!" Blake pointed out.
"Ok fair, I guess!"
"They went this way!" one of the guards shouted as they pursued Ruby and her new guide.
"Get them! For His Majesty!" a second guard ordered.
"Not a-one escapes the castle! By royal decree!" a third shouted.
"This way!" a fourth shouted. The soldiers marched after the girls and Cat hastily, their weapons at the ready should they manage to catch those who would dare upset His Majesty on his birthday. Eventually two guards got lucky and managed to cut off Ruby as she ran with her friends still in her arms. The guards popped out of doors on either side of the Huntress, rearing their halberds back for a swing. Ruby just sped right through the strikes with her Semblance, leaving the two would-be headsmen confused.
"Did...did she just-?!" one guard asked.
Ruby kept running until the Cat stopped and jumped up, tapping a portion of the wall and conjuring a small trap door into existence.
"In here, quickly!" the Cat urged, opening the door themselves and hopping in, "Don't worry, it'll close on its own!"
Ruby entered the secret passage with the cat, closing the doors behind them. The soldiers continued to run, searching and shouting at each other. Ruby heard their shouts continue down the way and rested against a wall. She let out a sigh of relief once those shouts faded, before slumping down to the floor.
"Thanks." Ruby sighed.
"Of course! I usually hate parties, but when I heard that some newcomers had stopped by the acre, I just had to see them. Not everyday someone pulls the wool over ol' Jinxy's eyes after all!" the Cat chuckled, "How did you end up in his game, anyway? He promised you something, yes, but what was it?"
"We...we wanted to speak to the Red King. But he's not here and...I guess we're back to square o-" Ruby began.
"The King?!" the Cat asked, getting right up in Ruby's face, paws on her cheeks, "How do you know him?"
"Uhhh, back up and I can explain?" Ruby said.
"What? Hm, oh yes! Apologies. Excited is all!" the Cat let her go and then began leading them through the tunnel, purring, "Though I must say...since the days of the King, times have changed. And so do we when it's our time to change. Don't you?"
Before Ruby could ask anything else, a light appeared at the end of the passage, engulfing the place. Ruby clamped her eyes shut- too bright. When she opened them, Ruby and her companions found themselves outside in the forest again.
"What the..." Ruby mumbled confused.
"Did you hear that? There was a Red King." Yang said. "WAS being the keyword here."
"Right," Blake was jumping into her theorycrafting mode. "And something's changed since then…"
"Great!" Weiss sounded more exasperated as Little (our resident sleeper) snored and leaned into Weiss, much to her chagrin. "So we're not in the stupid story after all. We're in its stupid sequel."
"Right then! First things first, introductions!" the Cat beamed as it jumped into the air, floating in front of Ruby, "What are you? What did you need to talk to the King about? And most importantly! What," the Cat rolled over on its back and looked up at Ruby again, "is your favorite dessert?"
Ruby made a face and groaned. "What, again? We're humans, and-"
"Ugh, I must say, you're not nearly as interesting as the others I've met. What about…" The Cat's head suddenly swiveled to spot a butterfly in the distance.
"Hold that thought." The Cat mumbled, clearly enamored with the thing. He proceeded to chase after it, full tilt.
"Can't anyone be normal here?" Weiss groaned.
"Ruby! Chase after him." Blake said. "The Curious Cat helped Alyx find the tree."
"Seriously? That thing is our ticket out of here?" Yang scoffed.
"Yes! Because who helped Alyx get back?"
"The Rusted Knight and the-" Yang paused and remembered the story, "Rubes! Follow that cat!"
Ruby nodded, and started to chase after the Cat. The cat paid them no mind, prefering to chase after the butterfly.
So. You had one good moment. Her mind smirked. But it WAS a temper tantrum. You're emotionally immature. What gives you a right to be a huntress?
Ruby didn't acknowledge it this time, seeing that inner voice as pointless.
Didn't mean it didn't hurt any less, though.
Some time later, the Red Prince was seated back in his throne, still wiping away some of the marble tears. The game board had been reset and the Pawns were being put back on one at a time. Some of the White Pawns were apologizing profusely to the Red Prince that they almost helped a human beat him. He apathetically waved them off.
"It's fine...it's fine," the Prince muttered, sighing in defeat. He could've won against that human if she hadn't cheated. But...this...was the first time he'd actually met a human, wasn't it? So how did he know that all humans cheat? Royal intuition, if you asked him.
As the Prince was about ready to just call in a guard for a redo game to make himself feel better, the doors to the game room were thrown open.
"Oh good! I was just about to call for you!" the Prince perked up.
"Your Majesty! I have news! Another royal has come to celebrate your birthday!" the guard announced.
"And you let them in?! Is it the Count? The Duke?!"
"Your Majesty, they are not from this acre!"
"...is it...her?" The prince asked.
"Yes, it's her! The Duchess!"
"Then let her in!" the Prince announced, "The Duchess and her court are always welcome!"
The guard saluted and stood aside, raising their trumpet-halberd and joining in on a chorus of royal fanfare. A giant red velvet cake was wheeled in, flanked by four individuals. Two of them were towering knights, their armor constructed from layers of gram crackers and wafers, all coated in white chocolate with pink swirls going down their arms and legs. Their helmets were entirely pink, made of some kind of hard rock candy.
"Your Majesty!" the third individual greeted, twirling a walking cane in his fingers as he approached the front of the retinue. He was clad in a red-lined white suit, long black pants with matching shoes, and a trademark black bowler hat with a feather tucked into its rim.
"Let me be the first to wish you a proper happy birthday!" Roman Torchwick announced with his trademark tricker's smile.