How big is this wardrobe? No matter how far Jeanne stretched out her arms or how many coats she had pushed aside, it always seemed that there were more the further she went in. However, she was sure that the breeze came from here since she felt it getting stronger as there were less coats blocking the wind's path. Those leaves were getting numerous here which pushed her to keep going. One thing she was certain was that she was long past what that wardrobe initially showed on the outside. She also felt as though she were descending considering the angle of her own feet. There were a few times she nearly fell.
Jeanne picked up the scent of trees and dust and pushed on. There were still coats but they had decreased in number. The wooden floors beneath her slowly gave way to dirt and stone. Leaves crunched under her heel. When the last coats gave way, Jeanne stumbled and fell on her face. She got dirty as she first met with the stones with her face. Having spent quite some time in that wardrobe, Jeanne had to adjust her own vision when she was met with a strong light. The first thing she noticed was that there was a massive structure of stone, a gateway of some kind, next to the wardrobe's exit. But it was closed off as the stones were next to a land formation. Jeanne guessed it to be a mountain.
She looked behind her. The wardrobe's doors on this side appeared newer and more furnished, as if it hadn't been used as much as the other side. This side had it wide open. Jeanne poked her head back into the wardrobe and stepped back out. She was still in the same place and those coats went nowhere. A pathway that led from Remnant to this…other place, beneath Remnant. At least, it felt like that since she had descended into this place.
Looking above her, it didn't appear as though she were beneath Remnant at all. Though obstructed by those leaves, there was still a sky above her with the difference being the diversity of colors poking through. It was as though one side was morning while the other was night. Jeanne could see the boundary that split the places as night and day. Jeanne couldn't even see a sun at all, not from where she was.
Stone steps led to the gate. Touching it, nothing happened except that Jeanne's hands got dirty. Putting some distance between herself and the gate, Jeanne came across a fallen branch. The leaves there had burnt off and had long since got cold. Patches of wet ground had begun to dry and there were clear signs of battle that had occurred here. Disturbances that can only be the product of a fight evidenced everywhere. It was chaotic by the looks of it. It was hard to tell by the numbers since there were sets of footprints that only appeared in the middle. There were others but Jeanne assumed that they had come from the single set of a mount that brought them here.
What kind of footprints are these? Jeanne thought. They're not all human. Most couldn't be recognized as shoes and some were long lines, like that of large snakes or worms. Only the mount was one that she had recognized. There were hints of chaos here, a scuffle of some kind with foot prints appearing out of nowhere.
Following the source of the mount's footprints, Jeanne went deeper into the forest. She jumped when a sudden statue of stone, covered by vines and those leaves, had appeared before her. It looked to be some kind of life-sized toy to her, a chess piece. She'll admit that the craftsmanship was excellent though the circumstances of it caught her off-guard. She kept walking and found that there a few others and of different shapes as well. Animals, toys, and other objects could be found here though they were small in number.
Jeanne hid behind one of the thicker branches. One of the stone statues cracked and broke. From it emerged a large bird that flew away. They said things that Jeanne didn't understand; she was too far to hear any of it. The more she observed, the more things started to click for her.
Is that? Is that ascension? Not the kind that Heroic Spirits would be familiar with. But the same kind that Remnant is. Time spent in that other Remnant had left Jeanne to be somewhat familiar with the tales that govern Remnant and if she wasn't mistaken, this was the Ever After. But how did that wardrobe get me here? Is this… Remnant's Reverse Side? It couldn't be. She wasn't sure. Ever After was a place governed by the whimsies of children's fairytales, it was the best way to describe it.
Stepping back out into more open spaces, Jeanne's eyes burned as she flew up. The density of trees and their branches only slowed her down but in time, she did manage to get herself above the tallest branch. That wasn't a forest she was in; it was tree with leaves and branches so thick it might as well be one. The largest tree that Jeanne had ever seen, comparable to a world tree of different myths with its sheer size. Jeanne managed to catch sight of the two suns that proved elusive from earlier, hiding behind many layers of leaves and branches.
The split skies of night and day were clearer up here. Jeanne's hair and banner cloth flew freely in the breeze, unobstructed by any branch or coat. From there, Jeanne could see that the lands themselves appeared split off. Each one seemingly governed by its own rules and laws as sights of a mishmash of things and colors infiltrated Jeanne's eyes. They were colorful, she'll give them that. But the contents made them horribly asymmetrical. The borders of these lands were clearly defined as they were all shaped in hexagons. Gaps between those hexagons showed hints of thickened roots connecting them to one another. Each of those roots led back to the tree.
The tree itself stood at the center of it, Jeanne concluded. She descended back down just to keep track of the wardrobe. There weren't any landmarks that she could make out and those statues appeared and broke, releasing a different form of the statue's image back into the open, they looked pleased, renewed. Those that couldn't fly ran off towards wherever they chose.
Using her Maiden powers, Jeanne created a more solid trail. She intended to follow them but they seemed to excited to notice and she needed some way of getting back here. She was sure that she would get lost around here. There was no other place for her to go back to Remnant other than here that she knew off; Jeanne didn't plan on exploring this place for too long. Taking a huge piece of stone from the stone steps, she broke them down and dropped the pieces as she walked her way out of the tree, making sure that each one was large enough to be seen. She picked up whatever broken pieces of those statues along the way. The leaves would have been blown by the winds.
These aren't exactly breadcrumbs. But at least I don't have to worry about some gingerbread house. Was there a gingerbread house?
Getting down was the difficult part that Jeanne made as straight a path as she could. Placing down more stones, she continued her trip further down from the tree's elevated platform. Jeanne had to be sparring with her stones at the bottom of the tree. There weren't that many stones that she could pick up again. If she wanted to, she had to go back up to gather more stones. She opted to put as much distance as the number of her stones allowed. The obstruction of shrubbery made that notion a task of resource management.
Once she received the edge, Jeanne now realized that the borders between these places were less definite than she initially thought. An unimpressive chasm split these lands. Those roots from earlier made them seem more massive than this. Looking from left to right, she found a bridge that connected herself to those places. The size of the bridge couldn't fit an army, only unit at best and only in a straight line. It was well-made. Jeanne didn't sway at all even when the winds were blowing. No creaks and no worrying about the ropes suddenly snapping.
On the other side of the bridge, Jeanne might as well step into yet another world. Illumined not by the lights above but by its own surroundings, it was a place of an eternal night life. Trees and mushrooms filled the place with those too low to see the light needing to compensate by generating their own. Mushrooms of different sizes glowed different colors with some emitting their own scents, albeit faint. The bodies of waters had gargantuan lily pads that made Jeanne think that she had shrunk in size and stepped into some kind of garden. They all led to a large flower at the center. There was activity there, a lot of it. She took one of those lily pads and made her way to that center.
The few creatures that she managed to see upon landing all rushed upwards. Jeanne followed them to the upper levels and saw more of the different creatures pass by. The variety of them increased as well. Teapots, cups, large birds, and many other little critters all walked about in the same manner as any human civilization, a child's imagination brought to life. She found herself in some kind of marketplace where everyone was selling their wares and services. Few large mice, but no bigger than her hands, were moving about and Jeanne had to watch her own step since she hadn't expected that there would be smaller ones among them as well.
Different wares were being sold with some being advertised as snacks. There were joyous and wonderful activities that Jeanne half-suspected that it was some kind of festival. Colors and liveliness matched only by the stress marking the seller's face. Voices came together into a cacophony of noise that made it difficult to hear any of it unless they specifically listened in. Even then, much of it was just shouting now. Jeanne stayed away from the crowded areas because of it.
What took Jeanne's attention the most were the star-shaped gemstones moving about. They were crystalline in form and were the kindest and most pleasant ones here compared to the rest, as if their entire purpose is to please everyone else. Their wares were creations of art that they give out to anyone. Their services were provided to every stall, making the market place more beautiful everywhere they go.
Everyone paused at the sound of fireworks. They all admired the beauty of it as the colors danced on the skies above them. Was there cover above them or was it simply night around here?
"Hello" said one of them, approaching her. The star-shaped gem had a hue of blue. None of the gems paid attention to the fireworks for that long it seems. "Is there anything you would like us to make beautiful for you?"
Jeanne felt it rude to deny. They seemed rather nice. But, she was here on a mission. "Actually, I'm looking for something. Some friends of mine said that they need it."
"Oh," they replied. "Then you might be looking for the Caretaker! He takes care of things around here." They moved aside with their stubby, gemstone feet. "You can find him by our acre. That way."
"Thank you!" She could at least return to them a grateful smile. The gemstone was nice and resumed their path, making things beautiful and spread it around. They were the most popular and whose services were most needed here from the looks of it. Those gems were quite genial in their demeanor.
Once the lightshow had finished, activity resumed. Sellers all tried to make their wares pleasurable for anyone passing by. A teapot was selling jars of different things that Jeanne couldn't guess the contents off. The market place led her downwards. There were yet another set of lily pads for her to go on. It eventually led her to a different pathway that opened up to a completely different view though this one felt a bit more familiar. Many went to and from this marketplace with the latter always looking satisfied.
Open skies and grasslands of a bright and pleasant summer day almost convinced Jeanne that she was back on Remnant and somewhere in an open field. But the sky's colors had a light-pinkish color which reminded her that this wasn't Remnant. She had just come from a place of night and was now back in the day. Ever After really operated on its own rules. Over the distance, there was an object poking upwards that shone under the light. As Jeanne walked closer, she managed to make the object out to be some kind of crystal statue. Water flowed on its own path without any regard for gravity.
Jeanne never noticed it but even the clouds were shaped like crystals. They didn't appear puffy and were more jagged on the edges. The trees were the only exception to this place of gemstones as they were made of paper. There were cuts there that served as the leaves, origami-like. Much like those gems from earlier, these ones appeared pleasing to see. The papers were old though, some having stained by water with others being torn or ripped.
A hut with an empty and open stable were located at the borders of the town. Jeanne hesitated to call it a settlement since there hadn't been any Grimm in the slightest. There was hardly anything there that was even remotely dangerous. The hut's windows were lit despite this place still having the equivalent of daylight in Jeanne's eyes. Was it considered night around here? There was no sign of either sun or moon that she could see. Not one that she could definitely say was a sun or moon.
Scribbling noises were faintly heard when Jeanne approached. There was a shadow there that moved and tossed aside discarded sheets of paper. A writer. It had to be. From the shadow's image, he appeared to be child-like in his height and had quite the hair, likely someone who had yet to or had just entered puberty. Getting closer, he turned out to be wearing glasses when he removed them from his face. He was massaging his temples.
Lonely leaves crunched and the person inside had heard it; his shadow stirred and appeared startled. The boy stepped out of the hut with some haste. From his appearance, he seemed to have been accustomed to the harsher suns of Vacuo than he would here. Jeanne would have wondered if he had come from Remnant but this place was rather odd that it didn't even register to her at all. An air about the boy also evidenced against it as he didn't exactly feel human.
The boy looked at her from head to toe, as if double-checking the sight before him. He checked a third time after cleaning his glasses. He came to a conclusion. "You're not Jaune."
"You know my little brother?"
That surprised him. "You're one of his sisters? By the looks of you, you look like a huntress at least."
"In a way." Jeanne shrugged. She then introduced herself. "Eighth."
The boy studied her again. "Eighth? No, wait. You're a Servant. Ah!" He seemed to have remembered something. "Jason's wish."
"Jason? Of the Argonauts?"
The boy nodded. "The same one. I'm the Caretaker. Most would know me by sister's name but I haven't gone by that or by Lewis, my actual name, in a long time, despite my not looking it."
Alyx? The author of the Girl who Fell through the World? Here? Jeanne raised a finger, asking for a minute. Mushrooms. A world tree. This place having evidences of paper-based creations.
"The Ever After." Jeanne accepted it fully. "The wardrobe led me to the Ever After."
"Oh so that's how you got here? Good thing that I thought about it. Read it in a story from one of yours, actually. About a lion and a witch. Reminded me of how me and my sister got here; we fell down a hole the first time. But that isn't why you're here, isn't it? If you found the wardrobe that would mean you met with the Summer Maiden. Is she a Master this time? Or whoever the successor is?"
Jeanne shook her head.
"Shame. Oh well. Fate weaves its own threads, I suppose. Come inside. Ever After must have been quite the sight for you, I think. I know I felt that way first time I got here, and that was before all this happened."
Lewis—or rather, Caretaker, invited Jeanne into the hut. The interior was spacious but only had about two rooms. Much of the space was taken as though it were the living room while the only other room is likely the bedroom considering the bed that could be seen. Something about the fireplace made Jeanne feel uneasy; it had to be the fact that the whole structure felt like paper.
"Sorry for the mess," Caretaker apologized. "Jaune didn't exactly leave this place in the best condition. He was probably in a hurry."
There wasn't much of a mess there unless one counted the unevenness of the rug. There were also the cardboard cutouts of armor that were scattered about. By the looks of it, they were meant for a child.
"Jaune was here?" The mention of her brother's name took her attention. "Is the Ever After—"
"Right timelines," Caretaker interrupted. "For me—or rather Lewis and Alyx met with an older Jaune many years back. That Jaune was the Rusted Knight to us and to the rest of you. Though from what he told me over the campfires, he should have been here sometime later."
Then, Jeanne slumped. "I don't think he would ever come here, Le—Caretaker. He—"
"I know." Caretaker reserved his tone. But a hint of grief escaped him. "I know. The Jaune from the Remnant you just came from is gone."
"You could see the events unfold?"
"I saw many things unfold, Jeanne. Even things that had happened to me that I know never did. I saw things where I never met Jaune or that I met someone else instead."
The wind outside blew, the ball-shaped paper decorations swayed along with it. So did Jeanne's banner.
"It's one of the reasons why I came back here," Caretaker continued. "Remnant isn't the only thing that's changing. The same could be said about this Ever After. This one is… cut off, so to speak from the rest of the world. Copies of this place replaced it now, or something like that. It's the best way I can understand it. Come, sit. I'll get that weapon while you wait."
Caretaker hid himself to the back. Jeanne could still see him clearly whenever she looked. But her eyes were drawn to the cardboard cutouts. They were drawn with crayons and put together by string. Jeanne was correct in thinking that they were for a child. By the shape and color, it appeared to be armor.
Other cardboard cutouts were there as well. Jeanne recognized a few as being those star-shaped gemstones from earlier and various depictions of the people of Ever After. There was one of a girl and a younger-looking Caretaker. The girl had to be Alyx.
There were discarded papers on the table. Most of the words there had been crossed out with only a few letters here and there scattered. Drawings of maps were there with one, likely the Ever After, hanging on the wall; that one had labels and didn't match the written drafts on the table.
"Here you go." Caretaker brought out an open case that held the weapon. The weapon's shape was that of Harpe. The case however, seemed to be meant for more. There was a poorly hidden compartment there but Jeanne didn't open it.
Jeanne took the case. But she wanted to know. "What's with the cardboard?"
"Hm? Oh that, Pran likes to think of himself as the Rusted Knight. He heard my stories and used those for his imaginations."
"Pran?"
"Pran. Little Prince. It took me a while to figure out that his real name was Voyager."
"Voyager?"
Caretaker nodded. "He's the reason for my new name, my new purpose. I'm Voyager's Caretaker. But since the Grail War started, I'm left with a lot of free time."
Jeanne took one more look of the weapon. "Thank you, Caretaker." She stood up and was about to make her exit but Caretaker stopped her.
"Just one favor," he said. "If you find Voyager. Take care of him, okay? He's only a child doing what was told of him: delivering a message from planet Earth."
"I will." Jeanne said. She looked back at the cardboard cutouts. She had a good feeling on where she should look for first. She was headed there anyway.
"If you come across a lovely carpenter," added Caretaker. "Tell her I said hello. You probably can't tell who she would be at first, but you'll know who she is when you see her."
Jeanne stepped back out of the hut. The skies above her still looked the same. But with the weapon in hand, and her own thoughts thus far, she was sure that this Holy Grail War should probably have a different name. It wasn't just some ritual where seven teams duke it out in the hopes of obtaining a wish.
"Hey," Jeanne asked. "Did you listen to it?" Like any other Servant, Jeanne would be granted knowledge courtesy of the Holy Grail. In this regard, she went through Voyager's information.
"I did," Caretaker. "After a while. Remnant didn't exactly have any record players for me to listen. Let alone one meant just for that."
"Can I ask what it is that you felt about it?"
"It was beautiful, Jeanne. The most beautiful thing I've ever heard. Though, I have no doubts that not everyone would see it that way. And I'm sure that they would have… strong feelings against it."
With what Jeanne knew from Archer and that League of his, she could guess those who wouldn't be a fan.
"We look forward to hearing yours one day," Jeanne said. She wouldn't help Archer and Watts in that regard, but that didn't mean that someone else would accomplish it as well.
"That's not up to me to decide, now is it?"
Jeanne nodded. It really doesn't. But the Companion Servants have been moving since before Jeanne herself had arrived. With Harpe in hand, whatever balance the Grail War had would be tipped. Memories of how Salem from her timeline returned. This time, it wouldn't be by that intervention.
The trip back was just as long as it did here. The open fields and whimsical roads was a different sight. Jeanne looked back at the town of gemstones. It had to have changed. There was a newness to it that must have come from the remains of what came before it.
Unlike before however, the trip back wasn't as long as it was since she already knew the general direction of where she would go. She found her way back to that marketplace and soon returned to that forest of glowing mushrooms. There was a mild scent there. Someone was smoking but it was rather faint and had a natural aroma to it that Jeanne almost mistook it for one of the peculiar traits of this forest. It was only when she laid eyes upon a butterfly that had a pipe on its person that she knew it.
Making her way back to the bridge was the difficult part. The forest of mushrooms didn't leave much of recognizable landmarks that Jeanne had to roam a little further just to find it again. Eventually finding it, there was a moment of hesitation if Jeanne had found the right bridge. She could have flown there if she wanted to but finding the exact spot was going to take a long time. She might as well take the scenic route and get better grasps of her surroundings.
Cross that bridge, Jeanne spent the next hours looking for that trail of pebbles. Once she did, it was a simple matter of following it back. While some pebbles were moved, most stayed in their spot and Jeanne more or less knew where to go. Her ascent was as straight as her descent from earlier.
Then came the difficult part. Stone pebbles still guided her way but there were others now, new stone shapes of Ever After's people and those that had broken free from their shells mixed in with the trail that Jeanne left behind.
Jeanne paused her steps and focused on her hearing. For a moment, she thought she had heard the sound of a hammer clanging. But it had been faint and short that she shrugged and moved on. There was no other sign of anything else around this place other than it was meant for whatever these new forms of Ever After's people are going to take. Finding her way back to the open enough area with the stone gate, Jeanne found that wardrobe again.
Getting closer, she noticed that there was a package, wrapped in paper, waiting there. There were patches of sawdust that Jeanne had to blow them away. There was a letter attached there, addressed for one Companion of the Ever After, to be burned in their presence.
"Ever After's Companion Servant." Jeanne concluded. The League did mention that the Companions were seven in number as well. Counting herself, there were only six that have been accounted for in Remnant. She took the package; it didn't take that much space.
Back into the wardrobe, with Harpe in hand, the wardrobes felt heavier even for Jeanne. Each one slamming against the case of Harpe. It had to be deliberate. While it doesn't stop anyone from entering the place, it is rather a hassle to get past it. The number of coats would have stopped weighed anyone down unless they were specifically looking to get to the other end.
The wardrobe's wooden floors took their time in returning. Jeanne felt herself descending when she first went here and now it was the opposite. Going up a slope always demanded more energy than going down and those coats didn't make it any easier. Some had fallen on Jeanne, momentarily adding extra weight on her. She can't fly here, there was a clear ceiling above her that she had to put away her banner.
Once she had gotten on the other side again, Jeanne felt a wind leave out of the wardrobe. Lightweight things flew about and suddenly dropped. The doors shut tight. Opening it again, Jeanne found the end of the wardrobe quickly; it had become a wardrobe like any other, finely made but aged.
No matter how hard Jeanne pushed, the wardrobe's end did not budge. Some of the hung coats that were unfortunate enough to have been there had been cut off. They had fallen on the ground that she found it difficult to move there without stumbling.
Seeing as there was no way back, Jeanne stepped out of the wardrobe. The weapon was still in her hands along with the package wrapped in paper. The packaged was tight that she would need to cut the ropes that tied it together. It was folded well that she couldn't see what it was. All that was clear was the note on it.
Getting back out of the home was much simpler. Now that she looked at it, the home itself had hints of being well-lived. A long time ago, it might have been a wealthy enough person's home. Her head tilted to the side, there had been a disturbance in the ground. An object had fallen near here and the ground had since been adjusting to it. Voyager. This was where the space probe had fallen. Where it had been taken away, Jeanne could guess.
Back towards the open desert, Jeanne was met with the harsh sunlight of the afternoon sun. Already the pleasantries of the Ever After had better weather than this. The wavy mirage of the distant horizon had been absent from the Ever After, now that she thought about it.
With no one else around, Jeanne found a stable enough place to take one good look at Harpe, a weapon to kill immortals. A weapon that had been here since the last Grail War, and kept away even from Ozpin. It was meant for the Brother gods should they return. But Jeanne had a thought. The Brothers weren't the only immortals around. There were others.
Should I? Jeanne pondered about it. Though it was meant for the Brother gods, there was another immortal who this could be used against.
/-/
On the other side of the wardrobe, the doors burned, removing any further access back into the Ever After in this manner. Should anyone ever wish to return to the Ever After, it will be through other methods. Even then, it will never be this Ever After. This one has changed, cut off from the rest of Remnant. Every other version will be but an illusion of what the Ever After had been.
The giant of a figure stepped away from the destroyed wardrobe. Hollowed eyes looked back at it and smiled. The clanking of metal sounded with each step. Then, one could hear the sound of a hammer ringing like a bell. There was a table where the giant sat. Wooden carvings in the image of Remnant's heroic spirits decorated the table like collectible figures.
"Now then, time to sit back and watch it unfold."
AN: Literature-wise, I do try to implement the source materials related to the main characters in question. On the RWBY side of things, it helps me as I try to lean into the character allusions while also exposing me to more readings to better improve my writing. Those that I already read for previous fics get carried over to the next one/s and those I could sometimes read in-between.
This is my way of saying I've just read through the Narnia books and wanted to put it somewhere by having Lewis straight up read through it. I was already going through them when I came across the Oz books (ngl, surprised that the Oz books were a series). Reason for that was because originally I wanted to do a rabbithole or looking-glass but felt that it either is likely how Alyx and Lewis came to the Ever After the first time. Wanted something else that is similar enough to Alice in Wonderland.
On the Fate side of things, I might have to go back to this Ever After business in future Fate/RWBY fics. Not confident given my current understanding on this Reverse side of the World thing to have a "Reverse Side of Remnant"
