The Boy Who Fell Through The World X
"You remember them, but did you see any of them recently? Any after what happened in the paper village?"
The five looked at each other, shaking their heads.
"I took Juniper with me and we…pretty much tried go wherever before I heard Oscar's voice in my head. By then, I didn't care what happened with me." Jaune confessed.
"I hid away in a café." Yang sighed.
"I was…in the forests but I didn't see anyone." Blake was next.
"I just made a replica of my old home out of ice." Weiss looked away.
"And Little…Everyone…I was hunting Neo." Ruby was last. "They all disappeared but I didn't care. All I cared about making Neo hurt as much as she was trying to make me hurt."
"That's because, the negativity combined with your powers caused a great imbalance in the EverAfter. The fights you had with Neo and later Aqua, the combined negativity caused the stability of the EverAfter to falter. To save everyone, the Tree absorbed and ascended all the Afterans to save them from the impending degradation that was being caused by all the fighting." Penny explained, shocking the five, especially Team RWBY.
They had almost caused the EverAfter to collapse?
"The EverAfter is not like Remnant…It's a world governed by emotions and feelings of both the people who live here and those that find their way here." Penny continued. "And I fear that in response to the constant battles here, the EverAfter may have birthed new beings to stop it."
"New beings?" Weiss asked. "As in people to fight both Maidens and Keyblade Wielders?"
Penny nodded.
"But you're the new Drasil now. They wouldn't harm you, right?" Yang questioned.
"Drasil was an aspect of the Tree, one of many Avatars to have been born from it. She somehow gained control over it because even though I took her place when she possessed my body, I still have not been able to completely see where she came from or how she was born. I just know she is somehow tied to both the Tree and what has been happening here and on Remnant." Penny shook her head. "All I know is that I think the Tree was creating something in response to all the fights…And it's now finished."
That made everyone just a little bit on edge, especially for Oscar and Penny who were the ones out there in the physical world.
Penny opened her eyes in the real world, and she stood up. Reluctantly leaving Oscar in the wooden shack she had made for him, Penny rushed over the base of the tree, coming upon wooden statues, all them resembling every Afteran that Team RWBY had met in the EverAfter, along with many beings that had they had never seen or heard of.
None of them looked any different.
Except…
Penny paused, seeing one of the cocoons starting to crack.
An Afteran was emerging from the Tree!
She readied herself for whatever might come out, not sure if it would consider her friend or foe.
"Hey," Yang spoke up from inside Penny's Heart. "Isn't that-"
The cocoon burst open, illuminating the surrounding area with a flash of light as the new Afteran rose up, looking taller than its previous form.
"I live again!" The figure proclaimed, raising its hands above its head.
Penny stepped back, feeling very wary now.
"Oh great. What now?" Neo sighed as she stood up, doing a few stretches. "If it's not one thing, it's another with you Keyblade Wielders. Don't you believe in taking breaks?"
"What was that?" Ven asked, getting up.
Terra was the last to stand up and 'look' in the direction the rumbling had come from. "It came from the Tree."
"What did tree girl do this time?" Neo sighed, folding her hands behind her head. "If Little Red and her friends are responsible, I'm really going to knock their blocks off this time."
Penny stared at the tall imposing figure before her, wondering if she should be afraid given how she had become an avatar of the Tree.
"Penny, is that the-"
"Yes." Penny whispered with a wary nod. "That is the Red King."
And he looked every bit like the fabled king from the story who much…grander now.
Unlike the Red Prince who had been a spoiled brat of a ruler, this Red King carried himself much differently, looking less like a porcelain doll and more like a real man. Where the Red Prince was a little boy, the Red King was a tall, middle aged looking man with a pale white skin and was lean yet muscular looking with broad shoulders. His face was long with pronounced facial features, a pointed nose, a broad chin, strong cheek bones and red eyes that had diamond shaped pupils with lowered folds. Like the Red Prince's hair that was pale blond, the Red King's hair was also blond but with blood red streaks, reaching halfway down his neck with several bangs parted, unevenly framing his forehead, and partially obscuring his left eye.
He also had a blond bushy mustache which connected to his well-kept muttonchops.
His outfit consisted of a blood red royal jacket with golden shoulder pads, black trousers with a golden stripe, a golden belt tied around his waist, black boots and white opera gloves covering his hands. In addition, a white cape with a red interior flowed down his back, reaching his ankles and he had golden earrings on his ears with red jewels hanging down. A sword resembling a royal cutlass was sheathed at his waist with a golden hilt and red jewels encrusted upon it. Like the Red Prince, the Red King wore a crown, but it was more ornate than before, resembling the Crown of Choice with red jewels embedded throughout it instead of blue.
"I…Live…Again!" The King declared, his voice deep and booming.
Penny along with RWBY and Jaune inside her heart were stunned by the new, majestic form of the previous being they knew from before.
Where the Red Prince was a petulant, cheating, and spoiled child, this…Red King was much different.
He had the stature and presence of an actual king that left the girl with the five hearts inside of her stunned.
The Red King turned his gaze to Penny and his red eyes narrowed. "You…"
"YOUR MAJESTY!" Suddenly, four armored figures appeared around the Red King and bowed. "ALL HAIL THE RED KING!"
"ALL HAIL THE RED KING!"
"ALL HAIL THE RED KING!"
"ALL HAIL THE RED KING!"
"ALL HAIL THE RED KING!"
They looked almost like the Toy Soldiers and Guards that the Red Prince had commanded, now looking more realistic. They now resembled knights in blood red armor with golden highlights and red helmets over their heads while wearing black capes with a red interior.
"Are those the-" Weiss spoke to which Penny answered.
"Yes. The former toy soldiers and guards that served the Red Prince."
"It is good to have you back, Your Majesty." One of the Red Knights spoke.
The Red King said nothing to the Knights, his eyes fixed on Penny who stared uneasily back. "You…I know you from somewhere."
"I'm afraid we've never met, Your Majesty." Penny said carefully, taking a step back.
"Your color…" The Red King narrowed his eyes. "The same color as the wretched sword that girl in black and red had…"
Penny's eyes widened. 'Ruby…'
'He remembers? I thought you couldn't remember your past life after you Ascend.' Ruby spoke inside Penny.
The center jewel on the Red King's crown flashed bright red. "I understand now…Those humans who sowed discord and chaos across the Ever After. The Tree was forced to Ascend us, to protect us from those four and their constant fighting. Their powers, clashed with the Ever After, their emotions causing unending storms that ripped through the lands and endangered everyone. Even if the Tree Ascended anyone who was harmed by those four, the constant fighting kept the Tree from bringing them back for a new purpose…Until now."
Penny stiffened.
"I am the Red King reborn, the lessons of my past lives regarding humans have been etched deep into my heart. I once ruled only the Red Keep but now my purpose is to protect the Ever After…From YOUR KIND!" The Red King roared at Penny, his voice releasing an invisible blast that knocked Penny back.
The Red Knights stood up, pointing their spears at Penny whose form shifted, becoming Ruby. "Your Majesty, wait!"
The Red King's widened before narrowing in anger. "You…"
"Please, I know the last time we met it wasn't exactly ideal but-" Ruby was cut off as the Red King unsheathed his sword and shot at her like a rocket, his cloak spreading out behind him like wings.
Ruby summoned Crescent Rose and tried to block but as the Red King swung his sword, a wave of red energy exploded out from the blade as it made contact with Crescent Rose, sending it and Ruby flying back.
"One of many cheating, deceitful humans who entered this realm and caused the chaos that unraveled the balance of the Ever After." The Red King snarled. "You're a part of the green girl whose sword was given to me. You would offer me the color of the sky, the one thing the Red Prince could not control. Only things are much different now."
Ruby grunted as she stood back up, changing into Weiss. "You're right about one thing…Things are a lot different now!"
With that, Weiss summoned five Glyphs in front of her and channeled her Maiden powers through them, firing beams of lightning, fire and ice at the Red King spread his arms out to his sides. From the tip of his fingers came red energy that shot into the ground, creating a red circular glyph that created a glowing dome of energy around the Red King, protecting him from Weiss' attack. Once the attacks ended, the glyph vanished along with the barrier and the Red King teleported in front of Weiss, slashing his sword at her.
CLANG!
Only when it made contact with a shield, the Red King stared into the eyes of Jaune, the Rusted Knight.
"Again, you take the form of humans who have done great harm in the Ever After." The Red King noted. "You…You were with that little wretch that cheated me."
"Look, I get you're still mad about that but please listen-"
"I have no need to hear anything from you!" The Red King barked, shoving Jaune back. "You not only helped her escape, your tormented the Paper Pleasers to satisfy your own selfish desire to be a hero! Forcing them to play with your game instead of allowing them to ascend and find their next purpose!"
The Red King attacked again, his sword clashing at Jaune's shield, forcing him back. Jaune tried to fight back with his own broken sword, but Red King batted it away without even blinking.
"You should have ascended a long time ago! That is the only the way to bring you humans to heel down here in the Ever After!" The Red King continued batting away at Jaune's shield.
"Listen, things have changed-"
"Silence, Human! Do not presume to argue with a king!" The Red King snarled. "I am the Red King reborn, having been given the purpose to defend the Ever After from those who have come and disrupted the balance and endangered its people!"
With one final hit, the Red King shattered Jaune's shield with his sword that glowed red. He then followed up by grabbed Jaune's head with his free hand and grabbed his arm while still holding his sword.
He slammed Jaune down into the ground and raised his sword to stab him through the throat. "Now it's your turn to Ascend."
Only when he plunged the sword down, Jaune changed, now becoming Yang who grabbed the sword with her hands.
"Not interested." Yang's hair blazed with hair as her eyes flashed red.
The Red King's eyes widened and jumped back, barely avoiding a blast of fire from Yang. The Red King scowled, watching as Yang stood up.
"Okay, you're all ticked at the mess we caused around here." Yang stated. "But that's not reason enough to kill us. Penny is part of the Tree now."
"Is she?" The Red King asked.
Yang raised an eyebrow. "What are you getting at?"
"She and the rest of you, you weren't meant to become part of the Tree. Your existence is singular and chaotic, driven without purpose, you wreck everything around you." The Red King snarled. "We were Ascended and created to stop the chaos and restore the balance."
"We?"
The Red King's mouth curled into a smile. "Did you think that just because I have emerged from chrysalis I am alone? The Tree sees to the flow of life in the Ever After and is constantly expanding, growing, evolving. You did not think the Tree would not create something to stop you humans?"
Yang's eyes widened.
Just then, the Red King's shadow began to spread and grow in length.
"Behold, the four Great Winged Beasts of the Ever After!" The Red King declared.
His shadow was large enough to cover a small house and from the shadow, dark blobs rose up.
"Raven."
Yang's eyes widened even more at the name but the creature sharing the name of her mother looked more like its namesake. One shadowy blob let out a screech as dark wings sprouted out, freeing the creature from the shadowy mass it had been hiding under. Like its name implied, it was a Raven the size of a small house with a round body short legs that end in three-toed talons and a tail composed of numerous disorganized feathers.
Unlike regular Ravens, this one had two sets of wings and its eyes glowed red as it stared down at Yang.
"Gryphon!"
There was a roaring screech as a pair of claws slashed through the shadowy mass covering the next creature inside. It was a gigantic amalgam of bird and beast with its head and wings covered in glossy white feathers, while the rest of his body from the base of his neck-down, is covered in thick golden fur, having the powerful hind legs and long tail of a lion. The upper torso was more eagle-like, the beak was razor sharp, its eyes were pupil-less, and it possessed large, feathered ears on either side of its head, while the front legs were scaly and possessed large, curved talons.
"Dodo!"
A giant beak pecked through the shadowy mass and there was a loud bird screech. It was a giant white dodo with pink streaks along its neck. Its head alone was larger than a human, with a featherless face, a round body and stubby wings. It had blazing, wild pink eyes and a grinning mouth that ended in a small beak, with nostrils just above it, that got lighter in color as the snout progressed. Its legs were short and stubby, and ended in large, curved talons.
"Owl!"
Like the Raven, the Owl spread its wings, breaking free of the shadows it had emerged from. It appeared as a simple owl with black and grey feathers, closely resembling a barn owl regarding its lack of visible ears, facial structure and feet.
"Together, these winged beasts are the new protectors of the Ever After." The Red King declared.
Yang took a step back, eyes wide at the sight of the winged beasts now standing with the Red King.
"Now, Winged Beasts, cast your judgement on the trespassers!" The Red King pointed at Yang.
The nearest one, the Raven raised its head and glared down at Yang before letting out a loud screech.
"Figures it would be a raven first." Yang muttered.
The Raven spread its wings out and underneath, its shadow stretched out, connecting with Yang's and she suddenly found herself paralyzed.
"Wha-?!"
The Raven opened its mouth and a blast of blue fire shot out, hitting Yang head on and blasting her back.
"GAH!"
She skidded across the ground before coming to a rough halt, groaning in pain from the fire. "Dang it…And Uncle Qrow thought he was bad luck."
A screeching sound made her jump, and she rolled out of the way as the beast called Gryphon flew down at her, its claws scratching the ground she had been lying on before she had moved, leaving deep claw markings. Using her Maiden powers, Yang shot up into the air, spinning around and thrusting her fists forward, launching fireballs at Gryphon but they had very little effect on it.
In fact, the monster seemed to shatter into pink and white pixels that then vanished.
"Wha-Neo?!" Yang's eyes widened.
There was screech from below and Yang looked to see the Dodo jumping at her with its beak wide open. She barely dodged but a copy of it appeared above her, falling at her with its beak pointed at her.
'Oh great, it's the same as Neo's Semblance!' Yang complained in her mind.
Fire blasted from her feet like rockets, propelling her out of the way of the Dodo illusion. Given how real Neo's own illusions had become since landing in the Ever After, Yang was not willing to gamble whether or not the Dodo's illusions were different.
"OOT! OOT!"
Yang spun to see an owl…The Owl, now the same size as a regular owl that flew behind her and grew back to its original size and caught Yang in its talons.
"GAH!" Yang cried out, her Aura straining from the tight grip,
Down below, the Red King smiled in satisfaction at seeing how easily the new Afteran beasts were overpowering the humans.
As Yang continued to struggle, the rest were crying out inside Penny's heart.
"How do we stop them?" Ruby cried out, feeling even with their Maiden powers they were not doing much.
"They're too strong, even for our Maiden powers." Even though Weiss was not in control, she could feel the talons of the Owl crashing Yang's body…
Penny's body…
Their body.
"We got to do something." Blake cried out, clutching her sides, and falling to her knees.
Penny grunted, feeling the pain. "We can't overpower them one on one; they are four, five with the Red King. While even though we are five we are only in one."
"Five in one…" Ruby muttered before her eyes went wide. "Penny, can you combine our Semblances?"
Penny looked surprised…and then smiled.
The Owl still held Yang in its grasp as it prepared to slam her into the ground when a white glyph appeared under Yang…
And suddenly, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Penny and Jaune all appeared from the glyph, all of them glowing the signature colors of their Aura.
Ruby shot up, her Semblance dashing around the Owl's body and stopping in front of its face. She pointed Crescent Rose in its rifle form at its face and fired, blasting it in the face at point blank range. The Owl screeched in pain, letting go of Yang who grabbed onto the long ribbon tossed to her by Blake. The Red King frowned, watching as the humans, or at least the representations of the four with one real one landed on the ground.
The Raven and Gryphon screeched and prepared to attack when Weiss summoned her Glyphs, summoning her Arma Gigas with a white aura surrounding it and ice forming underneath its feet. It swung its sword at the Raven, knocking it out of the way with a blast of ice. The Gryphon shot at the humans again, but to its surprise and the surprise of the Red King, Blake actually grew to the size of the Arma Gigas and grabbed onto the Gryphon, body slamming it into the ground.
"Whoa! Are you guys-" Yang exclaimed.
"Through a combination of Weiss and Blake's Semblances." Ruby answered with a smile. "Using Weiss' Summoning Glyph and Blake's Semblance to create temporary bodies for us to use."
"No way!" Yang gaped and then smiled. "Bad ass!"
Penny fired a green beam that blasted the Dodo back and Blake tossed the Gryphon back at the Red King who remained composed but was scowling to see the Great Winged Beasts of the Ever After knocked back so easily. They got back up and were snarling at the humans now.
"You can't win now, Red King." Ruby declared. "Listen, we are not our enemies. We are-AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Ruby suddenly screamed and her form suddenly shattered.
"Ruby!" Her sister and friends cried out.
"Fool. Have you forgotten who I am?" The Red King calmly asked. "I am the Red King…and all things red fall under my dominion. Look around you."
Amid the battle, they had all forgotten they were in a part of the Ever After that was close to the Red Keep.
And the ground was red.
With a gesture of the Red King's hand, the ground came alive, shooting up through Weiss' Arma Gigas. Pieces of the ground were torn out and shot at RWBY, Penny and Jaune before they could even blink. The summon/clones for Weiss, Blake, Penny, and Jaune barely lasted a second before their forms were crushed and smashed from the very ground being used against them. One slammed into Yang, knocking her back down.
"You humans seem to like gloating when you think you gain the upper hand." The Red King remarked as he calmly approached. "It's annoying you managed to stand your ground against the Winged Beasts so quickly. But they are not only guardians to rise in defense of the Ever After."
Yang managed to sit up. "What? More of you?"
"You still don't understand our realm." The Red King smiled cruelly at her. "Or the beings that you have encountered."
Before Yang could say anything else, a fog descended upon her.
One she recognized.
The Herbalist emerged from the mist, looking more humanoid than he was the last time she had seen him, and a pair of butterfly wings sprouted from his back.
"Herbalist."
A black dog that was slightly larger than regular dogs in both overall size and muscular build. Bandersnatch has round, pupil-less gray eyes with deep, crimson-colored markings just behind his eyes.
"Bandersnatch." The Red King spoke the name of the next beast.
Next to appear was a large lion-like Chain with white fur and a black mane. It wore a small crown on its head and had tattered bat-like wings coming out of its back. It also wore a collar with a small golden pendant that isn't very visible because of the mane. It had brown colored eyes, which weren't very noticeable, because they were small.
"Leon." The Red King smiled but then frowned. "We are missing one. Of course, it should have ascended but the other human took it. We shall retrieve the final one and it will join us."
The Red King turned his gaze and smiled as he could see them approaching.
"Yes, the one with the Jabberwalker approaches. The Great Beast protectors will be made whole!" The Red King declared with an eager smile on his face as the jewels of his crown began to glow.