A Gamer's Grand Journey ReMix

by Side-man

Waking up in a white room instead of your bedroom is not normal, hearing a voice in your head is not normal. But being chosen to be a Gamer is something that I'm all in for. Now all I have to do is not abuse this power- oh who am I kidding? I'm going to break the universe in two with this. Grey SI/OC. Occasional lemons.

35. Ever After: The White Rabbit

Disclaimer: I own nothing; just the OC

'Thought'

"Talking"

*Action*

"Powerful entity (gods, demons, dragons, etc.)"

[System]

{Spirit}

Beta'd by Omni-Creator Kami of Anime and triscythe59.

---

Earthland – Magnolia

The townspeople can be seen working hard rebuilding their town, helping each other after suffering the near swap of their universe and merciless invasion of the demons.

Many lives were lost. During that brief time of universal transference, thousands of innocents have either perished or gone missing and with many more being reported every minute. The Magic Council has been working nonstop to investigate the cause, as well as the culprit behind the catastrophe.

Makarov was able to convince the council that it was Rustyrose, an S-Class Dark Mage and member of Grimoire Heart, who was responsible for throwing the world into chaos using Dragons, Demons, and an ensemble of kidnapped female mages whom he brainwashed to follow his bidding, all using "unknown" Lost Magic he learned during his time in Alvarez. He was after the power of the Five Dragon Gods of Guiltina for the purpose of powering a magical ritual that would give him infinite power, but thanks to the efforts of the Fairy Tail guild and the newcomer Asmodeus, they defeated him and turned the world back to normal.

When asked who Asmodeus was, Makarov simply replied that he was a wandering mage who was passing by. That without his Magic Power and wisdom, they and by extension Earthland won't be here today.

The Magic Council wondered how they had never heard of this mage, as news of a prodigy like this would have reached their ears even from somewhere like Guiltina. Makarov responds that he's a bit of a hermit and only uses his magic sparingly. This was one of the rare times he was using his full power.

And while Ishgar was dealing with its own problems, the rest of the world wasn't faring any better.

Alakitasia was in ruins. The Alvarez Empire was completely destroyed and replaced with a gigantic forest that seemed to stretch across the continent. Emperor Ajeel and his advisors were leading the rebuilding efforts while also demanding for the heads of the "tomato-head demon" and the "raven-haired woman" that decimated his forces and kingdom, as well as creating the massive forest.

Brandish, Irene, and Dimaria, along with the other formerly dead members of the Spriggan 12, persuaded Ajeel to seek help from Ishgar in order to hasten the restoration efforts while also building a good relationship between the governments. They never told him it was Asmodeus who summoned the forest and decided it was better if he never found out, lest they ruin the budding alliance.

Guiltina, while having suffered minimal casualties, their finances were another story. Alchemy guilds and their subsidiaries are a big source of income to the continent, mainly because they have a monopoly on minerals and other resources, much to the Magic Council's annoyance. But with the #1 alchemy guild, Gold Owl, effectively no more and their strongest legal magic guild crippled, the economy took a hit. Even with other guilds trying to take the number one title, there just wasn't enough supply to meet the demand. Mercphobia and Elefseria, along with Athena, Métis, and the Signario Sisters decided to help with reconstruction efforts and stabilizing the economy.

She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, August, Bloodman and Tempester went with the female Spriggan to Alvarez. Selene and 18 took a handful of the girls to Elentear and the rest went to Edolas with Ur and Ultear.

"Faster people. Faster!" A familiar voice yells. It was Erza donning a pair of blue overalls, a pair of classic leather boots, a yellow hard cap, gloves, and a white v-neck t-shirt that showed off a bit of cleavage.

"Man. Can't Erza let us rest? We've been working since 3 AM." Droy groans.

"I know… she hasn't let up since we arrived." Jet sighs.

Flashback

The Aincrad cruises through a kaleidoscope tunnel of light and energy, constantly spinning on its axis.

Inside, everyone is silent as they try to process what had transpired.

"I… I can't believe he's gone…" Brandish sobs while her mother embraces her.

"That idiot." Cell grunted.

"Master…" Seilah clenches her hand in her chest.

"Dammit!" Natsu rages and runs straight for the controls. "Take us back, you stupid castle!"

"Hey, don't touch that idiot" Gray yells but is too late as Natsu presses a random button in the console panel which immediately explodes and sends the Salamander crashing to the wall behind him.

Alarms rage to life as the entire room lights up with sparks scattering from various surfaces and a portion of the controls shoot out from their hinges.

ALERT!

MULTIPLE OPERATIONAL FAILURES

The [Aincrad] shoots out of the vortex, spinning out of control as its gyroscope starts to fail. It flies through the sunny skies uncontrollably, passing Guiltina and Alakitasia as its crew hold onto dear life as the fortress shoots itself at uncontrollable speeds.

Lamy slowly moves towards the exploding console in the hopes of stopping the castle before shooting forward as the entire structure tips on its side and then on the other, sending the rabbit Etherious backwards.

EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY!

Fissures form everywhere as a surge of energy bubbles from under their feet. Fire and explosions spread everywhere, the stoney walls start to crumble, the velvet clothes fall in the torches and burn, and the ceiling above the console starts to break apart.

Xeno Goku blasts the doors open with a Ki shot. "Everyone out!"

Everyone quickly runs out of the control room. Karen and Divine make a grab for the unconscious Athena and Métis and leave just as the fire spreads until-

*BOOM!*

The entire room shakes in a violent explosion, with fire covering every nook and cranny of the once medieval-inspired control room.

Everyone jumped out of the way from the incoming ocean of fire only for Natsu to quickly swallow it all whole.

"De-*BURP*-licious~" Natsu burped, tapping his stomach with a satisfied look on his face.

Kisuke, 21, Gildarts, Yoruichi, Lamy, Happy, and Lady Avalon peek inside only to find a mess of charred, melted steel and dangling wires as the bells tolling louder in the background.

"Oh dear." Kisuke grimaced.

"But wait, if no one's in control, then-" Before Gildarts can finish, the entire crew is sent flying back.

The Aincrad crashes into Lake Scilliora with its upper section colliding with Fairy Hills, destroying it.

Flashback ends

"It's a good thing Ruchio was out when we crashed, though the earful Master got wasn't any better." Droy states. "Laki gave the girls a place to stay thanks to her improved [Wood-Make] and the mayor was kind enough to let them use the bathhouse for free until the repairs are done."

"Those girls are definitely enjoying that perk at least, but according to Mira and Cana, the 2 of them and the rest of Asmodeus' girls prefer to hang out at Selene's hot springs, with those other hot babes who were rescued from that bastard Rusty also joining them." Jet says.

"…what I would give to join them even for 5 minutes." Droy wishes, with his friend nodding in agreement.

It was a popular topic of gossip with the male members of Fairy Tail. How both Asmodeus' harem and Rusty's victims were bathing together at Selene's hot springs in Elentear, whether to relax from aiding in the reconstruction and recovery efforts, for introductions and bonding for the various females, or to support one another while adjusting/coping from either Rusty & Towa's modifications or the current disappearance of Asmodeus.

The rest of Fairy Tail's female members were invited to join as well, but only a few like Erza, Lisanna, and Lucy actually accepted. The majority of Fairy Tail's females declined largely as to not wanting to cause trouble due to feeling both envy for how impossibly sexy they all were, yet also sympathy for Rusty's victims given that their current looks were the result of said madman's brutal experiments to fulfill his sick desires.

Most of the males in Fairy Tail wanted to somehow impress a few of the rescued girls in hopes of getting a shot with at least one of them, but after the brutal beating Elefseria received after secretly arriving in Elentear to sneak a peek at the "heavenly goddesses" bathing and the death threat he got from Selene for intruding in her domain, even the biggest perverts in Fairy Tail knew better than to push their luck.

Jet looks at his partner up and down. "... you know. I still don't get how you're still fat despite training for years."

Droy flexes his arms as stars twinkle all around him. "Does this look fat to you?"

Just then, two cinder blocks hit their heads.

Erza glares at the two. Her eyes are sharp and her aura is menacing. "If you two have time to play around then get back to work!"

"Y-YES MA'AM!" The duo quickly grab random construction tools and run off.

Erza watches the two run and sighs before shifting her gaze to the heavens.

"Asmodeus… I hope you're alright. Wherever you are…" Erza said longingly.

Meanwhile

I raise my hand into the empty space before I'm suddenly pushed back by a repelling force.

Semblance – [Nemesis] has been restricted. Dimensional travel is unavailable.

I try to use [Instant Transmission] to pinpoint Fairy Tail's energy only to sense nothing.

[Instant Transmission] is locked and unavailable.

"This is impossible." I pull up my skill sheet.

[Ki Manipulation] - Locked

[Infinite Dragon Slayer] - Locked

[Almighty Magic] - Restricted

[Salvation] - Restricted

[Unlimited Blade Works] - Locked

[Psionic Manipulation] - Locked

[Energy Manipulation] - Restricted

[Kaioken] - Locked

[Shadow Force] - Locked

[Sheer Cold] - Locked

…

"It can't be." I close it and open my Trait window.

[Silver Rinne-Sharingan] - Restricted

[Regenerator] - Locked

[Radar] - Locked

[Ultra Ego] - Locked

[Perfected Ultra Instinct] - Locked

[ULTRA Asmodeus] - Locked

[Chaos Mode] - Locked

[True Dragon God Transformation] - Locked

[Legendary Super Saiyan Mutation] - Locked

[Majin] - Locked

[Supreme Seraphim] - Locked

[Payback Over Requiem] - Locked

…

"That's not right. How…?"

"Is something wrong, sir?" Delta asks, unable to see the system.

"Give me a second." I pull up my main screen only to pale at what comes up.

Ǹ̸̻͇̄͝a̶̘͓̤͑̃̉͗͘m̴͈͋e̴̢̟̯͛̌͑͜͜:̴͚̼̐͋̚ ̵̧͖̮̣̥͒̈́͗E̷̯͚̣͆̈́̏̚R̶̩͔͖͌͗͌̃R̸͇̺̚O̸͍̦̎R̶̼̋

Ṯ̸̛̇̈́ï̸̱̳t̵̻̤̮͝l̷͉͓̒̎ͅẽ̴̠͇:̵̫̬̈́͠ ̸̘̭̗̎̉͠E̷̙͌R̸͙͍̪̈́R̴͙̐̌Ö̸̱̫́̑̈́Ŗ̴̆

R̸͂ͅa̴̝̐̈́c̶̡̻̝͓̲̋̂ȩ̷̫͙̋́:̵̛͖͐͌̀̇ ̵͇͊͠É̴͎̬̬͗̂̈͜R̶̘̦̬͖̓́̓̊̚͜Ȓ̵̻̀̈͊̔Ǫ̴͉̻̟̥̽̑͐R̶̰̱̋͝

A̷̩͕̤̩̓͊̂̏l̵͇̦͓̰̺͂̑î̷̡̼̲̺̏͋̀̆g̸̝͙̫̮̤͂ṋ̵͍̌̉̓́̏m̶̮̠̤̄͝e̵̤̣̩͋͊͒̎͘n̷̢͑̈́́̇͒t̴͈̠̓̍͠:̸̛̮̳̪̓ ̵͙̥̗̩̦̔͐E̴͉̪̐͝R̷̟͖͎̜͋̚R̸̯̲͔̿̇͗̕O̵͍̕R̵̨̥̈͗̀̎

L̷͈̭͈͠ẹ̶̈́̓̈́v̶͖̣̀̀̂̄͝ę̷̞͓̞͎̉͋̔ḷ̸̛͓̅̎͝:̶͖͙̄̏̃͆͐ ̸̝͐̆Ë̶̛̫́̉̓͘ͅŖ̶̳͖̀Ṟ̸̥̻̤̈̚̚O̵̩͍̲̜̓͊̒R̷̗͎͔̮͊̋͘͜

'What the fuck!?' I mentally scream in horror at the zalgo-like mess of errors that is now my status screen.

[It wasn't me]

'What the hell happened, Tobi!? And you better give me a straight explanation!' I yelled.

[I don't know what to tell you. Nothing should be able to mess with the system like this. The only way that can happen is if-]

'If what?'

[... is if the system itself is interrupted. Remember the message you got after completing the mission? The system update connected to {Han Jihan's Heir}? When you tried to stop the Halo Array's implosion, your body absorbed ridiculous amounts of Negative Chaos Energy, resulting in the update files becoming corrupted and leaving the system in an unstable state, allowing for outside forces to punch through and mess with your soul]

'So this is my fault!?'

[To put it bluntly, yes]

'Then how come you're not corrupted?'

[I may be a part of the system, but I run on an entirely different operating system. Or have you forgotten that I'm a copy of the being who gifted you with the system in the first place? Good thing too, because it is a mess down here. Who knows how extensive the damage is or how long it's going to take to restore it?]

'At least it's not a complete loss. My [Aura] is still working and I can use [Nemesis] to an extent along with my lesser abilities.' I huffed.

[The best way is to vent out the excess negative energy. But with Chaos Mode locked and your Energy Manipulation restricted, it may take us much longer than we hope]

"I do not want to interrupt your internal monologue sir, but I detected a faint heat signature 7.2 clicks of your current position." Delta chimed.

I look up and, in a short distance, there are distinct markings on the sand. I speed walk towards it and see that they're footprints. Human footprints, and they're leading towards the entrance to a jungle of sorts.

[No other way but forward now]

With nothing else I venture into the jungle. In the jungle, there are rocking horse flies with plants in the ground, colorful plants and trees. I keep on walking until I find myself standing exactly where I was before.

"What?" I look around, clearly confused. I walk onwards but the same thing happens again. "Goddammit."

"It would appear that this jungle has trapped us in a spatial loop." Delta said.

I sigh and take my attention to the sky. "How am I supposed to get out of here?"

"Perhaps I can be of assistance, sir." A voice calls out, it sounds refined and with a British accent.

"Proximity alert. I advise caution." Delta warned.

I open my right hand and black sparks surge out of the fingertips. "Who goes there?"

A rustle of leaves grab my attention and out comes a snow-white rabbit standing on its hind legs like a person.

[... what?]

"That is not scientifically possible." Delta said.

"Hello." The rabbit hops towards me and raises its paw. "Good to meet you."

I kneel and shake his paw. "Good to meet you, too."

I let go of the rabbit's paw and the two of us stared at each other.

[Well this has turned awkward rather fast]

'I know help me!' I yelled.

"Pardon me good sir, but what are you?" The rabbit asks, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"I could say the same to you." I replied.

"Oh that's simple, I'm the White Rabbit." He replies.

'The White Rabbit…' Of course I know who that is. He is one of the characters from Alice in Wonderland. In the story, Alice follows the rabbit and falls in the titular rabbit hole and is transported into Wonderland. Since RT based the Ever After after Wonderland, this isn't much of a surprise.

"Well, I'm Asmodeus." I said.

"Is Asmodeus your purpose?" The rabbit asks.

"No, that's just my name." I said. "What about you? Do you have a name?"

"We of the White Rabbit clan do not have names." He said.

"Well, one shouldn't live without a name." I cup my chin in thought and an idea quickly surfaces. "I got it. How does 'Peter' sound? 'Peter Rabbit'?"

[Really? He's already a character from Alice in Wonderland and you're gonna give him the name of another fairy tale character?]

'Hey, if it fits, why not?' I countered before looking back at the now-named Peter Rabbit. "I figured since you're from a clan of White Rabbits, 'Rabbit' could remain as your family name, but 'Peter' will now be your personal name."

"And how does one… 'Peter Rabbit'?" The newly named Peter Rabbit asks and I chuckle.

"That's just your name, silly. It's who you are." I said.

"Fascinating." Peter says, his eyes sparkle with interest. "It is an honor to be blessed with this incredible experience."

[You should ask him how to leave this place]

"Say, do you know how to leave this place?" I asked.

Peter tilts his head confused. "Leave sir? What do you mean by leave?"

"Just out of this jungle. I'm a bit lost, you see."

Peter Rabbit thinks for a moment. "I cannot say for sure. Maybe the Elder will have the answers."

"The Elder?"

"The Elder of my clan." He starts hopping towards the trees, the exact same ones that I've been trying to pass. "This way!"

I stare at the trees before finally walking towards them but instead of ending at the beginning, I am standing in a small village full of nothing but white rabbits all staring at me.

[That's a lot of whabbits]

"Over here!" I look up to see a waving White Rabbit standing next to a large hut.

I walk towards the hut, ignoring the gazes of all of the white rabbits until I finally reach the hut.

"Apologies. My clan is a very isolated community. We have not had an outsider visit us in quite a long time." Peter opens the door. "Wait here. I will let the Elder know of your presence." He then disappears inside.

I sit down on the floor and wait. Time feels so slow when you have nothing to do.

"When was the last time I sat down to think…?" I mused before feeling something poking my side.

I glance down and see a small white rabbit holding up a… rainbow apple?

"Uh… thanks." I take the apple and the small rabbit quickly hops back to its parents, who were pulling these apples from the ground.

"Quite an interesting specimen." Delta said.

I look at the apple.

Rainbow Apple - [Rank: E]

Despite its colorful appearance, it's really just a normal apple.

[And here I thought it was a pot apple]

"I would recommend withholding from consuming it. We do not know what sort of effects the vegetation on this planet will have on humans." Delta recommends.

"Don't worry. I'm not even hungry anyway." I throw the apple into my hammer space just as the door to the hut opens.

"The Elder will see you now." Peter says and goes back inside.

I stare at the entrance; it's big enough for a child to go through. 'This is gonna be annoying.'

I push myself inside until I finally manage to get my whole body inside.

Inside is a throne made of branches and tree bark, and on that throne is a large white rabbit with droopy ears, fur covering his eyes and a beard that reaches the floor.

[Well he certainly has the elder look down]

"So you are the outsider that my child spoke of." The older rabbit said. His voice is deep but kind. "I am Augur, the leader of the White Rabbit Clan."

"Child? I didn't know he was your son." I said and the Elder chuckled.

"Is it wrong to see all of my clan as my children?" He said. "I am the Elder White Rabbit. Leader of the White Rabbit clan."

"I am Asmodeus." I introduced myself.

"Is that what you are?" Augur asked.

"It's who I am." I affirmed.

The elder hummed. "... no."

I arch an eyebrow. "No?"

"You do not know who you are, much less what you are." Augur said, catching me off guard.

"That's ridiculous. Of course I know who and what I am." I said.

"You do not know who and what you are because it hasn't been unveiled to you yet. As long as that truth is hidden, you will never achieve the true potential you are seeking." Augur said.

'Do you have any idea what he's talking about?'

[I am just as lost as you right now]

"The road you walk is full of infinite possibilities. You will receive love, friendship, knowledge, power, and wonderment. But you will also gain danger, revelations, rage, and death." He adds.

"There's no way you can possibly know that." I muttered.

"Like how Towa tried to invert reality so that she can free her universe?" Augur said, causing my eyes to widen in surprise.

"How did you know that!?" I exclaimed.

"There is still so much you do not know. And so much for you to discover." Augur said.

I was starting to lose my cool. "Stop being cryptic! How do you know that name!? Who even are you!?"

"Do not raise your voice at the Elder, sir!" Peter Rabbit hisses but the Elder raises his paw.

"It is alright, my child, he has every right to distrust me." Augur told him. "The Tree has given me the role of Oracle. As such, I hold the power of prophecy. And I have been waiting a long time to meet the one who walks the path of chaos and twilight."

[Is he saying what I think he's saying?]

"Are you saying you've been waiting… for me!?" I skeptically asked.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. It could be you or it could be another. What I do know is that you have a role to play here." Augur muses before the atmosphere around him changes.

"When Entropy ravages the Ever After,

The God of Six Races shall descend, followed by his five disciples, and will mend the Crack of Eternity.

Seek out the Rusted Soul,

Do not be tempted by the God of Games,

Do not listen to the Caretaker's whims,

Face the twisted reflection in the Shattered Mirror,

And polish the lost Gem to shine brighter,

Only then, shall God Ascend."

I was rather surprised by the Augur's words, but they definitely gave credence to him being an Oracle, as it sounded exactly like the type of prophecy you would hear in popular fantasy franchises.

'Well, it sounds like things in the Ever After will be even crazier than what they were in canon.' I mentally remarked.

[No shit, Sherlock. The first line alone implies greater danger than what Team RWBY faced in canon. Most of the prophecy thankfully is easy to understand given your meta knowledge. The "God of Six Races" is clearly about you since you are a chimera composed of Human, Demon, Angel, Dragon, Saiyan, and just recently Void. The rusted soul, shattered mirror, the caretaker, and the gem are clear references to Jaune, Neo, the Curious Cat, and Ruby, but who is the "God of Games"?]

'No idea. At first I thought he was referring to the Red Prince and his obsession with chess, but when I think about it, that doesn't make any sense.' I noted. 'I'm more interested in this "Crack of Eternity" in the first line of the prophecy. What does that mean?'

"What do you think, outsider? Did my words vanish any doubts you had before?" Augur asks which knocks me back to reality.

"I will be honest… I wasn't expecting that." I bluntly admit which made the Elder smile.

"You are the first to tell me such a thing." He said before letting out a painful cough.

"Elder!" Peter quickly rushes to his side.

"I am alright. This is merely the result of withholding [Ascension]." Augur says between coughs.

"Withholding [Ascension]?" I asked.

"The Elder White Rabbit is the first and the oldest in our clan. He is the only one of our kind to have been blessed by the Great Tree. Legends say that he is one of the first beings to walk this land and given the task of prophecy. Even after the centuries passed by, he refused to Ascend, and patiently waited for the one in the prophecy to appear." Peter turns to Augur as tears begin to fall. "But now… he can no longer hold it back. If he doesn't Ascend soon… he will crumble to dust!"

"What is [Ascension]?" I asked.

"It is a fundamental part in our lives here in the Ever After, after we have reached the conclusion of who and what we are we ascend to find new meaning for us in the next." Augur replies.

"So it's death."

The elder gives me a fatherly smile. "Not death. Renewal."

[When you think about it, it kinda reminds you of Doctor Who]

"Oh! So basically it's [Regeneration]." I thought as I do to see the comparison of the two.

"Now then, there is no point in prolonging the call." Augur grips the side of his throne and forces himself up. "My task is finally complete." He plucks a rainbow leaf from his throne and eats it.

"Elder…" Peter Rabbit sobs.

The elder's body starts to emit a kaleidoscopic glow. "I have but one request. Please take this young one on your journey. He is bright but he is still young. He needs to learn of the world before he can become the leader of our people."

Peter's eyes widened. "But elder, I can't! There is no one who can lead us. You have watched over us for so long!" He feels a hand on his shoulder.

"You are different, little one. You simply need to trust yourself." He said.

"You keep saying that, but the Tree didn't give me a role or purpose. I'm nothing!" Peter cried.

"The Great Tree has a purpose for all of us, but more often than not, you must find it yourself. Have faith, learn well, and persevere. That is the key to discovering your purpose, little one." Augur reassured him before looking back at me. "If you wish to leave, you must let the Tree guide you to where it knows."

[What does that mean?]

But before I could ask, Augur's body glows brighter as he looks up at the ceiling. "I hope the ears are a bit less conspicuous this time."

Suddenly a hole opens under Augur's feet and it swallows him whole before it promptly closes.

Peter Rabbit wails on the floor. I pull myself out of the hut to give him some space only for the village to be suddenly blanketed by spontaneous rain.

"I can't tell if this is the typical eccentric randomness of the Ever After, or the Great Tree showing its own form of mourning for the passing of the Elder." I mutter in annoyance at the weather as I get soaked, before using [Nemesis] to create a dome above me to block the rain.

Just then, Delta appears on my shoulder. "I have cross-referenced this 'Ever After' to the fictional story Alice in Wonderland. However, I am unable to find any references to [Ascension] or the Tree in the story book."

I nod. "Yeah. I expected that."

"There is also the matter of the Elder's prophecy. I am having a hard time deciphering who the key figure's identities are." Delta adds.

"I believe I have a clue on the identity of the 'gem' but I am not entirely sure yet." I said.

"What of the Shattered Mirror, the Rusted Soul, the Caretaker, and the God of Games?" He asked.

"No idea, especially on the last one." I admit with a sigh.

"It would help my research if I could access a database." Delta said, causing my eyes to widen.

"Maybe you can." I poke Delta's hologram and his body begins to glitch out.

"W-W-W-Wh-a-a-a-t?"

"I just gave you a copy of [Super Archive]. I honestly forgot it existed until just now." I said to Delta's glitchy state. "You should be fine. Handles had the same reaction but it'll wear off after a while." Delta then shuts down. "Okay. That's a first."

[I think you bricked him]

"I hope not. The last thing I need is for a bunch of tiny multicolored hologram people yelling at me for killing their brother. " I winced at the mental image of all the AI fragments lashing out about Delta, except Church because the guy's an asshole and probably Epsilon.

After about 5 to 7 minutes, I push my head back inside to face Peter Rabbit.

"You okay?"

Peter wipes the tear tracks off his fur. "I… don't know."

"I am sorry for your loss, but the Elder left this world without any regrets." I console him.

"But what should I do now…?" He asks. "With the Elder gone, I don't-"

"Yes you do. He wishes for you to journey out into the world and grow from the experience so that you can one day lead your people to the future." I told him.

He looks at me square in the eye. "Y-You really think so…?"

I smile. "Sure. I believe in you!"

The rabbit starts crying and gives me a hug.

[Looks like you got your first disciple]

After a couple minutes of sobbing, Peter lets me go.

"I…I know the Elder already asked this of you, but may I come with you?" Peter asks as he wipes his tears.

"Of course." My neutral expression turns serious. "Though I should warn you that it's likely going to be very dangerous."

"I understand." He said, but I didn't buy it.

"This is serious. We're going into unknown territory and your life will be in grave danger." I firmly said. "You can back out and I won't judge you."

Peter Rabbit looks down. "You have a point but," He looks right at me. "I want to fulfill the Elder's final request. And I think my first step into finding my purpose is to be by your side, sir."

[Wow. The little critter sure is determined]

"But before we leave, I must inform the clan of the Elder's [Ascension] as well as my role as his successor."

"Alright." I nod.

I pull myself out and allow Peter to leave the hut and to speak to his people while I sit and watch.

[Are you ready? Those other "disciples" are likely Team RWBY, and this will be your first time ever meeting them. Or at least a version of them]

'Yeah. I honestly don't know how to feel. On one hand, I'm excited to meet the iconic team in real life. On the other hand though, they've been through some traumatizing shit and considering canon's in the toilet, things could have gone worse for them.' I thought with a sigh.

Peter quickly hops back to me as happy cheers ring in the background. "It is done, sir. We can go."

I arch an eyebrow. "Just like that?"

"[Ascension] is a part of life. My clan is happy that the Elder has finally Ascended because it hurts them to watch him slowly wither to nothing." He has a sad smile. "I just… hope I'll see him again."

"Maybe." I said. "But I know for a fact that he'll always be with you," I poke his chest. "In here."

Peter Rabbit smiled at this, which I reciprocated until I sensed a surge of [Aura] in the distance.

'Looks like Team RWBY is getting into a fight.' I thought before looking at Peter. "We should get going, I can sense other outsiders fighting here in the Ever After, and they are likely related to the Elder's prophecy."

"O-Oh! Of course! Follow me." Peter hops towards the village entrance and I follow suit.

I run through the dense jungle forest with only Peter's shining white fur as my guide. Suddenly I find myself out of the jungle only to be greeted by a grizzly sight.

It was a large, tall humanoid creature with a dark purple body. Its physique appears emaciated with a pronounced spine, collarbone, shoulder-blades, ribcage and pelvis. It has giant purple crystals protruding from its shoulders and back. There are two sets of purple and dark-yellow striped horns sprouting from the back of its cranium and lower skull. There are dark-yellow stripes on its hips and on the forearms. Their hands and feet are the same dark-yellow color as the stripes. It has four digits on each hand and three digits on each foot, each ending with a claw made of sharpened rock. It has a long tail that starts thin and fans out close to the tip, adorned with spikes at its end. On its face it appears to wear a grey lupine or reptilian masque with white highlights with a crystal coming out of its right eye.

It was definitely the Jabberwalker, but it looked sick, corrupted.

Name: Jabberwalker

Title: Walker, The Searcher, Chaos Vessel

Level: 371

HP: 498,111

SP: ?

Thoughts about you: &%#*$

[Chaos Vessel? That's not good]

As I ponder looking at the clearly different Jabberwalker, my attention immediately shifts to the other individual lying on the ground before it.

She's a beautiful girl in her late teens with deep lilac eyes and long, thick, wavy bright golden hair that fades to pale gold at the tips with a cowlick sticking out at the top. Her outfit primarily consists of khaki overalls that hug her physically fit yet curvaceous body, the gold zipper of which is unzipped just below the E-cup breasts to reveal a white low-cut cropped tube top, along with other features. What was noticeable, however, was the apparent lack of a right arm, along with the slash marks and cuts all over her outfit and body, with blood slowly covering her outfit and the ground around her.

Name: Yang Xiao-Long

Title: Blondie, Sunny Little Dragon, Firecracker, Yellow Berserker

Affiliation: Beacon (Former), Mistral (Former), Atlas (Former), Team RWBY

Level: 93

HP: 10,342

MP: 0

SP: 25,667

AP: 0

Thoughts about you: none

"Agh, fuck." Yang curses, clutching the slash wound on her side.

A shadow looms over Yang and she can only stare as the monstrosity readies its long black claws to tear her apart.

"Sorry Rubes. Looks like big sis wasn't strong enough." Yang closes her eyes.

"Get away from her!" A loud male voice roars and Yang's eyes snap open just in time to see someone punch the daylights out of the monster and send it flying.

"W-What the?!" Yang stutters, only for a prominent blush to appear when she sees her savior's exposed abs and handsome face. 'Whoa, talk about eye candy.'

"Goodness. You certainly surprised me sir." Another voice catches Yang's ears and she turns to see white rabbit standing on two legs and walking towards her!

"Greetings, madam. I am a White Rabbit, though you may call me Peter Rabbit. Pleasure to meet you." Peter Rabbit bows to the dumbstruck Yang.

"W-What are you?" Yang sputters out.

"Hm? I just said I am Peter Rabbit. I thought I was very clear." The rabbit said.

Before Yang can argue, a loud roar causes her to whip her head back to the fight and he sees the boy grappling against the monster AND winning at that.

"Ha!" I push the Jabberwalker back causing it to lose its balance and use that window to kick its face breaking the crystal that was its right eye.

The monster wails in pain, writhing on the floor as it clutches the now empty socket.

'I couldn't make a dent, yet this guy is able to hold his own against him without a weapon…!' Yang thought in shock and slight envy.

"Strong. Dangerous. Abnormal." The Jabberwalker says while it clenches its damaged face.

"Oh. So you can talk after all. Good, because I have some questions for you." I walk up to it.

"What. Are. You?" The Jabberwalker questions as it slowly looks up at Asmodeus. "Power. Familiar. …Father?"

I freeze at his question. "What did you call me?"

"Yang!" A familiar voice catches the attention of not only Yang but also myself as I see three newcomers arrive.

The first is a fair-skinned young girl in her mid to late teens with [Silver Eyes] identical to my own and spiky-choppy black hair with red tips and the bangs swept to the right side. Her outfit is comprised of a black and red lined lace-up corset with four buckles hanging loose over a mesh sleeveless top over a white low cut long-sleeved blouse, as well as a black choker around her neck, and a red pleated skirt that is split at the side with a small brown belted strap across the gap, and bright red shorts under it that hugs her budding curvy yet fit figure and her C-cup breasts.

The second person is a pale-skinned young woman with pale blue eyes and long white hair tied in a braided ponytail. Her outfit is a pale blue sleeveless dress with deep red lining, bow detail fixture, and two diamond-shaped pieces hanging from the corners of the hem, over a white diagonal hem strapless dress, above which she wears a vivid blue shrug with a raised collar, puffy sleeves and the Schnee emblem on the left sleeve, fastened by a blue, silver outlined strap, hugging her own curvy yet fit figure and C-cup breasts. On her arms are a pair of long navy blue gloves with silver top trim surrounding a red gem at the top.

The last individual is a fair-skinned young woman with short black hair and amber eyes, with black cat ears protruding from her head. Her outfit is a purple sleeveless leather catsuit with a high neck with a single short silver zipper alongside matching zippers that run from her thighs to her ankles on the front of the legs that end with boots that have light purple soles and trim, with kneepads present on her legs. Her outfit hugged her lithe yet curvy figure like a glove, showing off her D-cup breasts and heart-shaped ass.

Name: Ruby Rose

Title: Cookie Monster, Red Reaper, Leader of Team RWBY, Last of the Silver Eyes

Level: 88

Affiliation: Beacon (Former), Mistral (Former), Atlas (Former), Team RWBY, Team RNJR

HP: 41,321

MP: 23,444

SP: 56,009

AP: 52,123

Thoughts about you: you have Silver Eyes

Name: Weiss Schnee

Title: Ice Queen

Affiliation: Schnee Dust Company (Former), Beacon (Former), Mistral (Former), Atlas (Former), Team RWBY

Level: 87

HP: 40,865

MP: 0

SP: 51,511

AP: 58,800

Thoughts about you: Skeptical but thankful that you protected her friend

Name: Blake Belladonna

Title: The Beauty, Princess of Menagerie, Freedom Fighter, Black Cat

Affiliation: White Fang (Former), Beacon (Former), Mistral (Former), Atlas (Former), Team RWBY

Level: 92

HP: 52,900

MP: 0

SP: 54,140

AP: 62,082

Thoughts about you: Thankful that you saved Yang

"Yang! Are you okay?!" Ruby says in horror upon seeing her sister's injured state, with her and her teammates crouching by Yang's side.

"…I'll live, Rubes. Ugh." Yang groaned.

I stare at the interaction happening not too far away. "It's them." My lips curve up slightly. "It's really them!"

[I think you should focus on the fight. That Jabberwalk thingie does not look right]

I turn back to see the Jabberwalker slowly getting up, but it doesn't look right. Its body was trembling, like it's in pain.

"Pain… Hurts…" Oh yeah, definitely in pain.

[It must be the Chaos Energy infecting him. It's eating its body from the inside. We need syphon it out or it'll keep mutating]

*CRACK!*

More crystals sprout out of the monster's body before it opens its mouth and unleashes a potent sonic attack.

"AAAAAHHHH!" Blake screams as her human and cat ears start to bleed. Everyone else covers their ears.

"Ugh." I take a knee while blocking my ears as they also bleed.

The Jabberwalker stops its sonic attack. "Flee. Flee!" He then vanishes in a flash of light.

[Did that thing just use Chaos Control? Oh, this could be trouble]

'We can worry about that later.' I stand up and quickly use magic to heal my eardrums.

[The Chaos Energy has mutated it. It wouldn't surprise me if the denizens of this world don't have similar afflictions. We should remain cautious]

'But first, we should probably take care of them.' I glance at the hurt and disoriented team RWBY.

"Ugh! This fucking sucks!" Yang yells.

"WHAT?" Blake yells back.

Later

I finish healing the little mouse and it quickly hops to Ruby's side.

Name: Little

Title: The Adorable Talking Mouse

Level: 1

HP: 100

MP: 0

SP: 100

AP: 0

Thoughts about you: Kind

"Thank you. Mr. human!" The mouse, Little, said.

"No problem." I said before looking down at my hands.

'[Salvation] is usually instantaneous, but now it took almost a full minute to heal. Not only that, but I couldn't regrow Yang's arm.' I noted.

"Um…" I turn to see a nervous Ruby. "Thank you for protecting my sister. And also healing us."

"It was nothing. I'm actually surprised that there were other humans here." I lied.

Ruby stares at me with interest. More specifically she stares at my eyes. "You… have [Silver Eyes]."

"So do you. Guess silver isn't that rare of an eye color huh." I remark with a light chuckle but Ruby looks crestfallen.

"Yeah…" She whispers under her breath, but I was able to hear it.

[Oh dear…]

"I'm Yang by the way! Thanks for saving my butt back there!" Yang says with her signature grin.

"I am Weiss Schnee. A pleasure to meet you." Weiss bows.

"My name is Blake, and thanks for saving my partner." Blake says with a light smile.

"And I'm Ruby Rose." Ruby said with a small smile but without the usual cheer that accompanies it.

"Nice to meet you all, my name is Asmodeus." I gesture to my companion. "And this little guy here is Peter Rabbit."

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance." The rabbit bows.

"... That rabbit just talked." A shocked Blake points out.

"And you guys have a talking mouse." I countered.

Just then, said mouse makes a reappearance. "Hi again! I'm Little! I'm Ruby Rose's friend."

"And a pleasure to meet you too, sir Little." Peter nods in acknowledgement.

The little mouse tilts his head cutely in confusion. "What's a sir?"

"Asmodeus? That doesn't sound like a color." Weiss points out.

"You're right, it's not. It's actually the name of a demon." I said which freaks the girls out.

"You were named after a demon!? What kind of parents would name their child after an evil monster!?" Blake exclaims in outrage and I shrug.

"Well, I wouldn't know. I'm an orphan, and I gave myself that name." I told them.

Weiss and Blake give me a look that basically says "are you stupid?"

[While not technically a lie, you knew full well what you were doing when you chose that name]

"... are you a demon?" Ruby nervously asks.

"Yes… but also no. I'm the best of both worlds." I said with a grin.

Blake's the only one who understands the meaning behind his words. "You're a half-demon?"

"Not quite." I said. "I'm what most would call a chimera. A being with a body made up of different races." My Saiyan tail unwraps from my waist and wiggles back and forth.

"Cute." Yang comments.

Weiss then steps in. "Okay, now I know you're not making sense! How can you be a chimera!? You look like any run of the mill Monkey Faunus!"

My right eye twitches with slight anger. Guess my Saiyan pride won't allow me to let that go, especially given the current limited interference on [Gamer's Mind].

"Don't call me a monkey. I hate it when people do that." I warned her and she winced.

"S-Sorry!" Weiss said and I sigh.

"Anyways, I wasn't always like this. I was human at the beginning."

"Did someone make you like this?" A concerned Ruby asks and I shake my head.

"No. I chose this." I said. "Where I'm from, I had to fight enemies that were beyond human strength. So I had to become what I am now to match them all in power."

Blake picks up on what I mean. "You mean you're not from Remnant?"

"It's complicated, but essentially yes." I said.

[Though you are from Remnant, you aren't from the same timeline as them, so technically you aren't lying]

Weiss has it. "Are you serious!? Are we just supposed to believe you're from another world or something!?"

I gesture to the world around us. "Look around you Weiss. The evidence is staring right in front of you. Or are you saying your world also has talking animals?" 'Though Earthland has talking cats but that's beside the point.'

"He's got you there, Weiss." Yang comments.

"And besides, what would I gain from lying to you?" I ask rhetorically.

[Except that you've been telling them half-truths since this conversation started]

My response caused Team RWBY to relax a little, though Blake still seemed a little guarded.

"How do we know that you're not just tricking us? For all we know, you could be planning something." A skeptical Blake states.

"And what might that be?" I egged her on.

"Our souls. I read in a book that demons feed on souls. And the souls of Huntsmen are considered a delicacy for your kind." Blake responds which shocks her team.

[I'm surprised Blake knows something like that. I thought Remnant didn't have a religion or a mythology. All they have are fairy tales]

"A-Our souls!?" A frightful Ruby squeaked while Yang and Weiss got in front of her.

"Eep!" A frightened Little hides in Ruby's cloak.

"I can't speak for others but I definitely don't need to eat souls. I'm plenty strong on my own." I crack my neck to emphasize my point.

[Was the neck crack really necessary?]

Little slowly peaks out from the cloak. "S-So does this mean you won't eat our souls?"

"No, I won't. Because it's beneath me. It would defile everything I worked for." I firmly state.

[Well, aren't you being humble?]

"Besides, you girls aren't my type. Though the cat ears are pretty cute." I send a wink in Blake's direction causing her to blush.

Yang sees this and glares daggers at me with fiery red eyes.

"Now then," I began. "Now that I've answered your questions, it's only fair that you now answer mine."

"What do you want to know?" Weiss asks.

"Well firstly, how did you girls end up here?" I ask, making the girls give me looks of uncertainty. "If you don't want to answer, that's fine too."

"No, no. It's okay." Blake takes a deep breath. "We fell."

I arch an eyebrow. "Could you elaborate?"

"We enacted a plan to safely evacuate the people of Atlas using an artifact called the [Staff of Creation]. But we were ambushed by two of our enemies and pushed off the bridge." She continues.

"And where exactly was this bridge built over?" I asked, continuing my act of ignorance.

"It was a pocket dimension of sorts, like the vaults where the staff was stored. With bridges that connected to portals so that people could travel from one kingdom to another in an instant." Weiss explains and I narrow my eyes.

"So you created a gap between the dimensions in order to skip the spatial differential to move locations, all while existing within the relative time bubble." I see the girls' confused looks as my expression hardens. "That was risky, and stupid. One misstep could have ripped the entire planet in two!"

"We were trying to save people!" Weiss defended.

"And you would have killed many more. You were lucky you had that staff act as the anchor, otherwise we wouldn't be talking right now." I fire back. 'I already had to deal with two maniacs trying to mess with reality. I don't need a group of naive little girls trying to mess with it too.'

Ruby goes pale at the implications. "Sorry…"

I sigh. "Look, I know you mean well, but you can't just do stuff like that without some degree of understanding and precautions beforehand. You were lucky this time, but luck can only get you so far."

"…We understand." Ruby says in a resigned tone, with her and her teammates looking down at the ground in shame.

[Isn't that a little hypocritical of you? You can manipulate space-time as you please whenever you want and yet you chastise them for doing the same thing]

'That's different, Tobi. I can get away with it without consequences thanks to my extensive abilities and meta-knowledge. But these girls have none of that. They have no idea what they're doing nor the experience to control it, and it could have blown up in their faces if they weren't careful.' I countered.

[But they used the staff to do the heavy lifting, so doesn't your argument become moot at that point?]

'... it doesn't change the fact that they were stupid, and now they're stuck here. Like me.' I huffed.

The atmosphere was heavy between the five of us. Peter wasn't sure on how to process all of this given how fast things escalated and Little hid under Ruby's cloak and covered his ears.

[Let's just focus on getting out of the Ever After and whatever new dangers we may face. The Elder's prophecy clearly indicates things will be more dangerous than in canon]

"Back to the point, I wish I could send you all back home, but my powers are on the fritz right now." I snap my fingers a few times but nothing happens.

"You can do that?" Said a surprised Yang.

"Comes with being part demon. Spatial magic is very useful when you want to get somewhere fast. Especially when you master it." I comment which got the Huntress' attention.

"Magic… that's what you used to heal us?" Ruby silently said.

"Yeah. But it's usually instantaneous instead of a full minute." I sigh at how magically weaker I've become.

Upon hearing the revelation that I could use magic, Team RWBY once again tensed and became guarded, with Blake and Weiss drawing their swords since they were the only ones armed at the moment.

"Hm?" I gave them a confused look before my brain clicked. 'Right! I forgot that only the Maidens and Salem have magic in RWBY. And these girls didn't have a good experience with magic users.'

"How do you have magic? You're not a woman so you can't be a Maiden." Weiss states, her saber poised for battle.

[Is she joking or was she not paying attention]

"I just told you I was a demon, didn't I? And demons have magic." I said, like it was the most obvious conclusion. "Also why would I need to be a woman to have magic?"

The girls look at me sheepishly.

"Right, sorry. We forgot for a moment that you're not from our world." Weiss said.

"It's fine. Don't worry." I sighed. 'Thank god my acting skills haven't faltered. It's been a while since the last time I've used them.'

[Your innate Aizen-level acting still baffles me. I'm surprised it isn't a skill]

'I'm just a natural.' I point out. "Now would you all care to explain the sudden hostility?"

The four girls turn to each other before Weiss sighs.

"There are four women on Remnant who can use Magic to control the elements. We call them Maidens." Weiss answers.

"Really? Just four? Can't you guys or anyone else in your world use magic?" I asked but Yang huffed.

"Oh I wish." Yang scoffs thinking of how useful that would have been back home.

"No, we can't. The Maidens are the only ones." Weiss responds though I know that's a lie.

"And I'm gonna take a wild guess and speculate that one of your enemies is a Maiden." The girls nod. "That's bullshit."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Yang grumbles before continuing. "Now that we answered your questions, I have a few of my own, like how did you get here and where are you from? We can rule out Remnant since you didn't know about the Maidens."

[If only she knew the things that ramage in your head, she would not hesitate to try to beat you to death]

"In order: My friends and I were fighting a pair of megalomaniacs who tried to control the multiverse. We defeated them but I was caught in an explosion and when I woke up I was on a beach." I said keeping it as vague as possible.

"Multiverse?" Ruby asks genuinely curious about the subject, as are Little and Peter.

"It means multiple universes, Ruby." Weiss clarifies.

"Right, so do you girls know anything about Multiverse Theory?" Only Weiss nodded. "Well to put it simply, it's very true and very much real. And the universe I was in had over hundreds of different types of magic that you can learn. It's as common as a cold."

"Damn, that's sick. Wish I could go there and learn some kickass magic." Yang comments.

"You don't know half of it." I chuckle, remembering the diversity in Earthland magic. "So, what's the deal with your arm?"

"Huh?"

"That's right." Weiss turns to the blonde brawler. "What happened to your arm, Yang?"

"…It got stolen by a talking raccoon riding a purple wagon filled with trash." Yang grumbled.

"You must be joking!" Weiss chuckles but Yang's blank stare made her reconsider. "... You're not joking."

"We fell from the sky, met a talking mouse and rabbit and even a real-life Demon, and I was just attacked by some monstrous creature that clearly wasn't a Grimm. I can safely say that I am dead serious here, Weiss." Yang deadpans.

"That raccoon you mentioned sounds like the Jinxy Peddler, Lady Yang. He's the only talking raccoon I know of in the Ever After, and he is known for finding and auctioning items in a purple wagon." Peter reveals which Blake's ears perk up.

"Jinxy Peddler? The Ever After?! Guys, I think this is the same Ever After from [The Girl who fell from the World]." Blake realizes and Weiss scoffs.

"What we're experiencing is already highly improbable, but an actual fairy tale world? That's ridiculous, Blake." Weiss said.

"Think about it, Weiss. In the story, Alyx fell from the sky, met some hunter mice, got trapped in vines, fought a Jabberwalker which I'm guessing was that creature that attacked Yang, and got her knife stolen by a talking raccoon called the Jinxy Peddler." Blake counters as she recounts the story.

Weiss looked exasperated but ultimately didn't argue, grudgingly conceding to Blake's argument.

"And then she beat the Red King in a board game, met the Curious Cat and the Rusted Knight, and then finally got out through…the Tree." Yang recounts in realization.

"It sounds like the four of you are on a journey." Peter Rabbit says in realization, before looking at me. "Sir Asmodeus, if they join us, then we will be fulfilling the first part of the Elder's prophecy!"

Ruby looks at me. "Prophecy? What is he talking about?"

I opened my mouth but I was reluctant to say anything. That is until the rabbit jumps in.

"The prophecy of the Elder White Rabbit states that when entropy plagues the Ever After, a God will descend, and with his five disciples, journey to the Tree and save our world!" Peter explains.

"Save… the world?" Ruby slowly said not understanding what's happening at all.

"Care to elaborate?" Yang narrows her eyes at me.

"It went something like this." I went and told them the Elder's prophecy in detail.

"So you believe that we're these disciples some old rabbit talked about?" A skeptical Yang asks only to be met with Peter's glare.

"Do not disrespect the Elder's oracle. He recently Ascended." Peter Rabbit hissed but a hand pats his head.

"It's okay, Peter." I said before turning to Yang. "I don't know Yang, but I ran into you as soon as I left the village and then your friends appeared soon after. And with how wacky this place is, it can't be passed off as simple coincidence."

"Okay, but who is this 'God of Six Races' that we're supposed to follow?" Blake asks.

"I don't know." I lied again.

"What did he mean by Ascend?" Weiss asks.

"Do you not know what [Ascension] is, Lady Weiss?" Peter asks in confusion.

"If I knew, I wouldn't have asked." Weiss retorts.

"Reaching the end of your journey in life." I answered, but the meaning wasn't lost to them.

"You mean… he died?" Ruby paled.

"No, I don't think so." I quickly denied. "From how the Elder described it, [Ascension] is a cycle of rebirth. Once their job is complete, they just… get sucked into the earth, and become something new."

"What?" Team RWBY said in unison at the last part.

"Hey, I'm just as confused as you all are. Never been in the Ever After before, so I have no idea how the laws of nature work here." I shrug.

"You are all so weird, considering you don't know what [Ascension] of all things is." Peter notes, before looking at me. "Shall we head forth, Sir Asmodeus? You're supposed to lead us as your disciples in your quest to save the world, after all."

"Wait, lead?" Ruby tilted her head hearing that last part of what the rabbit said.

[Busted!]

"Wait, wait, wait! Is he saying you're this 'God of Six Races' thing?" Weiss skeptically questions.

"He did call himself a chimera earlier." Blake notes as she places the pieces together.

"I wouldn't call myself a God, though. I'm not that arrogant." I point out.

Ruby scowls at me. "If you knew the prophecy was talking about you, why did you lie about it?"

I glanced at the angry reaper and decided to be honest here. "I was afraid you'd think I was using you. I mean, my appearance doesn't scream godly and we've only known each other for less than an hour. Plus, even though I'm a chimera and normally pretty powerful, I'm not going to constrict you into a role you likely want no part of."

"That still doesn't give you the right to deceive us." Ruby shoots back.

"Like how you suddenly got hostile when I revealed I can use magic? AFTER I saved your sister's life and healed you all with said magic?" I fired back, which made her and the others feel guilty at that fact, but I shook it off.

"Putting that aside, we should get moving in case that Jabberwalker comes back, and you guys seem lost in more ways than one. We can start by tracking down the Jinxy Peddler and getting Yang's arm back." I look down at my rabbit companion. "Peter, do you know where we can find him?"

"Hm, he's likely in the closest town to auction his items. Follow me." Peter hops off and I follow.

Ruby glances at her team. "We should go before we lose him, he's the only one we know who knows his way around the Ever After."

As we follow Peter, we walk up to the cliff and we see beautiful landscapes. With each one divided into several hexagon-like areas with environments unique to them. One seems to be a land full of candy, one is entirely composed of red leaves with a red castle in the center, one is a forest with giant mushrooms, one is a field seemingly made of origami, one has active volcanoes and so on. And at the very center of it all is a giant tree with beautiful fluorescent leaves that give off a vibrant glow that reaches to all in the Ever After.

"We really are in a fairy tale…" Weiss says, marveling at the bizarre sight before us.

"Um, guys?" Yang points to the sky and we all look up.

What greets us up there is a giant crack of light just above the tree seemingly overlooking the land below.

Though what's more disturbing is that I recognize the crack.

[It can't be…]

"Is that a crack in the sky?" Weiss asks in bafflement.

"... It's not just a crack. It's worse." I suddenly said.

"What do you mean?" Blake asks, but instead of answering, I proceed to walk away.

"How is this possible? I made sure that the implosion was minimized." I whisper to myself as I try to figure out an answer.

[The Genesis Wave is able to rewrite the multiverse. An incomplete version of that can still cause some serious damage. Thanks to Mira though, the damage was reversed. But nothing is ever truly fully healed. There will always be a scar left behind]

"You're muttering a lot over there. Care to share it with the class?" Yang asks.

I point to the crack. "That up there… is a rupture in space/time. It's the result of two parts of space and time that should never have touched, pressed together." I said.

"What does that mean?" Ruby asks.

"It means that reality is unwinding on us." I turn to them. "That is a prime example of what happens when you tamper with space/time carelessly. If we don't close it off, it could have catastrophic consequences; transport you to another dimension or simply erase them from existence."

"E-Erase!?" Little squeaked.

"The Jabberwalker, it was different from the book. Those crystals seemed to be hurting him." Blake said, remembering the pained state the monster was in as crystals grew from its back.

"The crack… it must lead to the moment the Genesis Wave first went off. It'll saturate this world with [Negative Chaos Energy] until everything is twisted… or destroys itself." I surmised whisper under my breath. "... It's my fault."

Ruby looks at me, having heard what he said. She wants to say something but doesn't know what… or if she even has the right.

"Um, Asmodeus?" I whip my head to Blake's direction. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Are you the God of Animals, by any chance?" Blake asks, which confuses me.

"The what?"

"Who's the God of Animals?" Yang asks her partner.

"The God of Animals is a shapeshifting Faunus Deity featured in the myths told to us on Menagerie who supposedly played a role in the creation of Remnant." Blake explains. "Considering Asmodeus is the apparent 'God of Six Races' who has a monkey tail like certain Faunus and we know the Brother Gods, the 4 Maidens, and now even the Ever After are real, I'm curious."

"That's an interesting claim there Blake, but no, I am not the God of Animals, not really sure if the Deity from where you come from is even real." I answered. "If you must know, I am connected with the race of Human, Demon, Angel, Dragon, Saiyan and Void. The tail I have is connected to the Saiyan race." My tail wiggles at her. "But personally, I think Humans and Faunus are under the same category, if you ask me."

"Wait a minute. Angels and Dragons are actually REAL?!" Weiss exclaims in surprise, to which I nod in confirmation.

"Void is a race? How does that work?" Yang asks.

"It's complicated." I said.

"How can you be both an Angel and a Demon? That doesn't seem possible." Blake said.

"There is a race called Nephalem who are the children of both Angels and Demons. So it's possible." I explained.

"What exactly is a Saiyan?" Weiss asks in bafflement.

"One of the greatest warrior races to ever exist, unparalleled due to their adaptive capabilities and their ability to grow stronger through adversity or intense emotions. They're near-identical to humans in appearance outside of having a monkey-like tail, which is likely why Blake thought I was a Faunus." I told her.

"Oh." Yang makes an O face.

"They're also known to be attracted to strong women." I said with a wink which made Yang blush.

Blake growls and quickly gets between Yang and myself, causing me to chuckle at the sight.

I turn to Peter. "Can you continue taking us to where the Jinxy Peddler might be?"

"This way." The rabbit guides the group down the cliff.

"How much farther until we reach the Jinxy Peddler?"

"Not far, the town he is likely in is just across the bridge we are approaching." Peter gestures to the bridge across the canyon in our path. "Anyways, are you planning your lessons to teach us while we travel, Sir Asmodeus?"

"Lessons?" Yang asks in confusion.

"Why yes, Lady Yang. According to the Elder's prophecy, the 5 of us are supposed to be Sir Asmodeus' disciples as we travel to save the world. Disciples are students, meaning he is meant to guide us in the pursuit of knowledge, wisdom, and experience." Peter Rabbit says while looking at me with hope, causing Team RWBY to stare at me.

"I'm not really that much of a teacher." I shrug. "While I do have a student back home, I don't exactly have the temperament for it. I'm more of a hands-on kind of guy." I said. "Plus I get the feeling that whatever I'm supposed to teach you all isn't something that you will understand at first glance."

"What does that mean?" Weiss asks.

"I don't know. I guess we'll just have to wait and find out." I replied.

"I don't like this…" Weiss whispers looking slightly down.

"Don't worry Weiss, we'll find a way out of here and then we'll go back home." Ruby assures her.

But then Weiss stops as everyone continues walking.

Weiss…" She calls her partner.

"I… it's all gone. There's nothing for me to go back to, Ruby." Weiss grits her teeth, the frustration and grief she's been piling up is finally spilling. "Just like Beacon."

Ruby looks down, her bangs covering the left side of her face but tries to look optimistic.

"You did the best you could for Atlas, Weiss." Ruby tried to comfort her but it seemed to have the opposite reaction.

"But it wasn't enough. We hatched a crazy plan that put the kingdom, no, the whole world at risk." She shakenly grabs her weapon handle. "We don't even know if we saved the Relics from…"

Ruby then looks at her hands.

"Maybe Jaune and Winter were able to get them out. Despite… everything…. despite us..." Tears begin to trail down her face. "A-And Penny… P-Penny wouldn't have-!"

"W-What happened to Penny?" Ruby asks, but Weiss keeps crying.

Yang and Blake turn back just as it spontaneously starts to rain.

"She died, didn't she?" Ruby whips her neck in my direction and sends me a glare.

"Shut up." Ruby hissed before turning back to Weiss. "That's not true, right Weiss!? Penny's not dead!"

"I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Weiss sobs which only confirms her fears.

"No…" Ruby staggers back, her face pale. She turns to Yang and Blake who had just heard everything.

"Ruby?" I call out before we all watch her suddenly collapse.

"RUBY!?" Yang quickly rushes to her sister's side.

We huddle around Ruby, Peter and Little use leaves and grass to fan her.

"This Penny… she was dear to Ruby, wasn't she." I said, it wasn't a question but a fact.

"She was Ruby's best friend." Weiss said.

"Who was also a robot." Yang adds.

"Former robot." Blake corrected her.

I arch an eyebrow. "Wait, she was a robot?"

"I know. We were surprised too when we found out." Yang lightly chuckles.

"But she didn't remain a robot forever. The staff we mentioned before was used to turn her into a real, living being. Not that Penny wasn't already alive in a way, since she had a soul." Blake said.

"She always had a quirky and bubbly personality that we didn't always understand, but we later realized it was due to her innate desire to be more human and understand the world." Weiss sadly adds, looking grief-stricken.

"She might have been an oddball, but she was definitely one of the best of us and one of the few good maidens we ever met. And she had a whole future ahead of her that would give her a true appreciation for life. Now…it's gone." Yang solemnly states.

I stare at the four, not saying anything. I thought talking about Penny would help alleviate some of the grief, but it just feels like I'm rubbing salt on a stab wound.

"I'm sorry." I said sincerely. It didn't mean much, but there wasn't much I could do.

"It's okay. You didn't know." Blake assured me which made me twitch a bit.

'But I do. I know so much.' Was what I wanted to tell her, but I held back. "Look, I may not have known Penny like you girls, but from the sounds of it, she was someone who saw the best in everything and wanted to do everything she could to help others even while knowing the risks, and gave her life so her friends and innocent people could live. You may not have been able to stop it, but you can make sure her sacrifice wasn't in vain by keeping moving forward and stopping that Salem bitch for good. That's how you honor her memory."

"…Thanks, Asmodeus. You're right. It's just that it hurts so much." Weiss cried, tears streaming down her face.

"I know, it's normal to feel this kind of pain when grieving those you care about. But it shows how much you valued and cared for her, for what is grief but an expression of enduring love?" I consoled her as I pulled her into a comforting hug, much to her surprise. "But if she was truly as positive and upbeat as you girls were implying, would she want you all to blame yourselves for her choice and sacrifice? It would probably break her heart if she knew how much pain that this is causing you all. I'm not telling you not to feel pain or to ignore and repress it, but use the pain to become stronger to motivate yourselves and try to avert other sacrifices and to keep going with the hope of a better future. A hope Penny believed in to the very end."

Weiss silently absorbed my words as she reciprocated my hug, her sobs dying down while Yang and Blake watched the scene as they quietly processed their own grief but felt better by listening to me.

[Really wish Ruby was awake to hear you say all of that. She definitely could have used that consolation the most]

'I know, but we have time before they eventually get back to Remnant. I'll help Team RWBY and likely Jaune overcome their issues before then.' I thought with a steely resolve.

After a while, Weiss calms down and wipes the tears from her face.

"I just thought of something." The girls turn to me. "If you four fell off the bridge, who's to say that there wasn't another?"

The three seem to be caught off guard by the question but before they can answer a familiar voice chimes in.

"Neo's here, too." The four turn to see Ruby slowly get up.

"Rubes, are you okay? You made us really worried there." Yang says while kneeling next to her and helping her sister up.

"Neo?" Blake asks.

"She attacked me when we were falling." Ruby elaborates.

"Right. And Neo is…?"

"She's this crazy mute girl with multicolored hair and eyes. She used to work with this thief named Roman Torchwick before turning up again as Cinder's lackey." Yang states.

"She has a Semblance that allows her to not just change her appearance but create physical illusions she often uses to deceive or torment us, fortunately they are very weak and shatter like glass." Weiss adds.

"So, we have a mute assassin who can disguise herself as anything after us, a Chaos-mutated monster, and the threat of reality self-destructing. Sure, no pressure." I said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry, did you say that this Neo individual can create illusions that shatter like glass?" Peter says, drawing all of our attention. Upon receiving nods of confirmation from Team RWBY, Peter then turns towards me. "Sir Asmodeus, it's just like the elder foretold in his prophecy! This Neo person must be a reference to the 'twisted reflections of the shattered mirror' he mentioned!"

"You're just joking, right? I don't wanna be near that little psychopath if I can help it." Weiss groaned.

"Not that there's much of a choice since she'll likely come to us." Blake said.

Yang helps her sister get on her feet. "You sure you'll be okay, Rubes?"

"Yeah…I can manage." Ruby assures her, though she still appears saddened.

"Then let's go." I say as we continue to follow Peter in locating the Jinxy Peddler.

"I'm really sorry you had to hear the news like that, Ruby. It just felt like… like I failed to protect my home twice." Weiss apologizes to Ruby, who remains despondent.

"It's… okay, Weiss." Ruby said.

"... Did you fail?" The two girls turned their attention to me as did Yang, Blake, and Peter, who watched the scene from the side. "Did you fail in saving Atlas?"

"The Kingdom was destroyed, so the answer is obvious." Weiss snapped.

"But are the people okay?" I persisted.

"…Assuming Jaune and Winter succeeded, yes." Weiss admitted.

"Then focus on that. A Kingdom isn't a place, it's a people, who should always be the top priority." I say, paraphrasing a quote from Odin in the Thor movies, since it fit here.

[Nicely done!]

Weiss looks down contemplating his words. 'A kingdom isn't a place, it's a people.' She can safely say that she never thought of it like that. 'General Ironwood wanted to save Atlas too, but he wanted to save the kingdom. He prioritized the safety of the city itself over its people…'

"Buildings can be rebuilt over time, but lives are priceless and irreplaceable, even if the hardest job of being a leader or protecter means making tough decisions or accepting you ultimately can't save everyone." I followed up, knowing this was something they NEEDED to hear after the shit they've been through. "Everyone messes up or makes mistakes or even fails from time to time, but what is important is accepting responsibility for it and to learn from it so it hopefully won't happen again. And being a protector isn't easy, but you do your best and help as much as you can, that's all anyone can truly ask for."

The two girls look at me just as the rain starts to light up and the sky clears.

"I think I can see why Peter said we were supposed to be your disciples. You're wiser than you let on." A light smile adores Weiss' graceful features. "Thank you."

"…Yeah, thanks Asmodeus." Ruby says, looking somewhat better than before.

"No problem, always willing to lend an ear or a shoulder to lean on. Just let me know if you need any help or advice." I say with a smile.

"The Elder was right about you, Sir Asmodeus! You truly do have much to teach us!" Peter's voice draws our attention, leading us to see not only him but also Blake and Yang watching from the side in amazement.

"Weiss is right. You are wiser than you let on, and I can see why you're supposed to teach us." Yang says with a warm smile, glad to see their new friend helping her sister upon realizing Ruby was upset.

"I…hope you don't mind extending that offer to us, Asmodeus." Blake shyly asks with a small blush on her face.

"Of course, I'm always willing to help. Just let me know and I'll do my best." I smiled.

"Oh, oh!" Little eagerly raises his tiny paw. "Do you have any advice for me?! I've been trying to find my purpose, but I still can't find it!"

"Try? Here's some advice, Little: Do or do not. There is no try." I say in a sagely voice, drawing awe from the mouse in question and from Peter, but confusion from Team RWBY.

[Did you seriously quote Yoda? And to a mouse of all creatures?]

'Hey, pop culture offers all kinds of insights, wisdom, and perspectives. Besides, quoting franchises like Star Wars and Doctor Who is my favorite pastime.' I replied.

"Uh, no offense, Asmodeus, but what does that even mean?" Yang asks, with the rest of her team also looking at me in curiosity.

"It means that if you're gonna do something, you need to do it with resolve and commitment. It's normal to have concerns or doubts since it shows you are aware of potential consequences, but hesitation or half-hearted attempts are not productive for matters of great or personal importance, and one should either fully engage in a task or not do it at all." I reveal. "Those that go farthest in life have and often need conviction, regardless of whether they succeed or fail. If you let fear and doubt dictate your actions, it can keep you from being who you want or need to be, along with what you wish to accomplish. The only real power fear and doubt have over you is what you give it, but by acknowledging them, it's the first step to overcoming them."

Team RWBY, along with Peter and Little, look in awe and amazement.

[Wow, and here I was thinking you were just fucking around by quoting Yoda. You really are living up to your teacher role]

'I want Team RWBY to overcome their trauma. I don't need to have an otherworldly ability to see that they're beating themselves over for not saving Atlas. And even though I can't use [All of the World's Evil] right now, I can still sense the negative energy coming off the girls.' I can practically see the dark auras enveloping team RWBY, with Ruby's being more profound and darker. 'I have to help them, even if they may end up hating me in the end.'

Afterwards, we continue our journey and eventually reach a rickety-looking bridge.

"The King's Acre is on the other side of this bridge. There's a town where the Jinxy Peddler sells his goods." Peter said.

Little rushes to the bridge with wonder in his eyes. "Wow! I've never been to another acre before! This is so exciting!"

"Wait, you mean you don't know?" Yang asks.

"Nope! Never been this far before." Little said.

"It is the same for me." Peter Rabbit adds.

"Oh, uh, maybe you should go back?" Ruby suggests.

Little's smile didn't falter. "I wouldn't have any idea how to go back." He starts looking around. "Maybe I'll live by this bridge."

Upon hearing this, team RWBY have various shocked expressions for taking Little far away from their home.

I glance at Peter. "You seem to know a lot of the land's layout."

"The Elder… he taught me everything he knew about the Ever After. He said… this knowledge would be useful one day…" He said.

"It seems he knew this would happen." I comment.

Peter nods. "Yes."

I walk up to Little as he builds a makeshift house from the stones, sticks, and leaves lying around.

"Building a house, my very first house, gonna find my purpose in my first house!" Little says in a sing-song voice.

I kneel in front of the little mouse. "Little?"

"Hm?"

"Do you want to come with us?" I ask.

The question catches the mouse off guard, causing the house to instantly collapse.

"Yeah, that's probably for the best." Little said.

We follow Peter across the bridge and enter the red forest.

"Listen guys." Blake says to the rest of her team and myself. "I've been thinking that if we're gonna go to this town, we need to be careful. In the story, Alyx didn't know their customs and ended up starting a war among the townsfolk. Trouble followed her everywhere she went."

"Really?" Ruby asks. She doesn't remember much from the story, but it seemed pretty nice.

"Now that you mention it, she did seem like a mean person, right? She lied and cheated her way through most of the book." Yang replied.

"She was just a little girl trying to survive. The morals of those old stories are so simplistic." Weiss retorts.

"Either way, we should tread lightly." Blake cautions.

"Appearances can be deceiving, Blake. You really shouldn't blindly follow a children's book like a perfect guide." I said. "The author could have omitted certain events or neglected to mention something bad on their journey here." I give her a foreboding smile. "After all, nobody dies in a fairy tale."

Blake felt a chill running down her spine at his insinuation.

Eventually we reach a town full of what appear to be various toys.

[It's like Toy Story meets Alice in Wonderland]

As we walk past the townsfolk, I notice a pamphlet glued to the wall.

"BY ROYAL DECREE OF HIS HIGHNESS: THE PREEMINENT BIRTHDAY PARTY OF HIS MOST ROYAL IS HEREBY ANNOUNCED!"

I look around and see the same pamphlet is placed on parts of the street.

I saw Team RWBY and Peter walking by various vendors and stalls in the marketplace.

"Just... act like you belong, everybody." Blake said.

"I've always wanted to be long, but I'm still just small." Little comments.

Yang smiles a bit at Little's comment.

In the center of town, the townsfolk gather around the purple wagon. The name "JINXY" can be seen on it in big white letters.

Yang gasps. "There it is! So what's the strategy? Just start roughin' him up or what?"

Blake notices some toy soldiers watching the crowd, likely to keep order.

"In the book, Alyx had to barter with Jinxy for her dagger." Blake recounted but Yang wasn't having it.

"Nah. I'd rather hit him."

The wagon is shown opening up with purple smoke and in front of it is a walking light brown raccoon. They hold a wooden cane and wear a beige robe. They also have purple harem pants on.

"Welcome, one and all!" Jinxy greets his customers/audience.

Weiss coos at the sight. "He's adorable!" She then looks at Yang with a shit-eating grin. "You got your arm stolen by him?"

"Shut up." Yang growled.

"He's a lot older than I remember from the book…" Blake comments, noticing the crow's feet around the racoon's eyes.

"After the talking rabbit and mouse, a talking raccoon doesn't even phase me." I remarked.

"I am Jinxy, and these... are the finest treasures of the acre!" Jinxy taps the shelf behind him with his walking stick, a golden scepter appears first, then a pink rabbit statue, and a green marionette-like doll shows up last.

"I... don't see my arm." Yang said.

"All of Jinxy's treasures... are just other items in disguise, so that people think they're buying something extremely valuable." Blake states.

"Okay… so which one is Yang's arm?" Weiss asks.

"What does your heart tell you? That's how Alyx knew." Blake asks Yang as she holds up her chest, causing Weiss to gag.

"What about that?" I point to the golden scepter.

"I mean…" Yang looks at the scepter. "That one looks roughly arm-sized... ish."

Blake sighs before noticing Ruby stare at something.

"Ruby?" Blake looks at her leader.

"Rubes, what's wrong?" Yang asks her sister in concern.

"There's…" She stares at the marionette. "Something about that one."

Jinxy spins around the stage, showing off the pink rabbit statue in his hand.

"First item!" Jinxy began as the crowd was in awe. "The diamond-studded rabbit! You!" He points to a yellow toy-like townsperson before appearing on their shoulder. "Jinxy's!"

[He certainly knows how to put on a show]

The townsperson chuckles and joins Jinxy on stage.

"How exactly are we going to bid without any money, Blake?" Weiss said.

"Pretty sure they don't use money in the Ever After. Jinxy just names whatever price he wants." Blake informs them.

"What did Jinxy want from Alyx?" Weiss inquires.

"Her saddest memory, and her happiest." Blake answers.

"In all honesty, it doesn't feel right having to barter with a thief just to reclaim something that already belongs to Yang, but if we wanna avoid drawing unnecessary trouble, we should play along for now." I inform them, before pulling the [Skywalker Lightsaber] from my [Inventory] and looking at Yang. "Though if he tries to pull a fast one on us, I'll use this to 'convince' him."

Ruby looks in confusion. "Where did that come from? I've never seen a weapon like that before, and I'm kind of a weapon expert."

"Something special, trust me." I smirked mysteriously.

"Sold! For a hug." Jinxy hugs the townsperson, causing the rest to coo at the cute scene.

"Hugs are valuable!" Little exclaims.

"Very! Hugs are what symbolise connection." Peter added.

Yang smirks confidently. "Maybe this won't be so bad after all."

"Second item! A golden scepter! You!" Jinxy points to a Toy Soldier… and me?

"Eh?"

[I guess Jinxy saw something valuable in you]

"The bidding starts at-" Jinxy glances at me and for a brief second, he smiles at me.

[What is he-]

"Revealing… your innermost secret." Jinxy finished.

"!" My eyes widened.

"Well?" Jinxy asks and the townsfolk all turn to me.

I look at Team RWBY and they all look at me. "I-I…"

"Revealing your innermost secret! By royal decree." My head snaps towards the Toy Soldier as he pulls out a parchment to show Jinxy.

BY HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS'S DECREE, TO BE PAID IS THE SUM…

WHATEVER JINXY WANTS!"

"Sold!" Jinxy declares.

"What!?" Yang screamed.

[That's so cheap!]

"You mean I could have just gone with that instead?!" I shouted in disbelief, realizing that I was pretty much tricked. Instead of revealing one of my innermost secrets, I could have offered something else of equal or less value if that Toy Soldier was willing to offer anything for Jinxy to get.

"But that's my arm!"

"Whatever it is, it's royal property now. No price is too high for his majesty's birthday." The Toy Soldier says.

"Last item! The jade marionette!" He gestures to the doll.

"Unbelievable…" I shook my head, not liking how this was going, as well as how that peddler tricked me so easily like that.

"We tried your way, Blake." Yang huffed.

Blake looks on nervously.

"You!"

Ruby raises her hand. "Me?"

"Bidding starts at…" He opens an empty jar. "... enough hope to fill this jar."

Ruby gasps upon hearing this, and she hesitantly lowers her hand.

I widened my eyes at seeing how Ruby reacted, and then I turned and narrowed my eyes towards the raccoon. 'That little rodent knows Ruby is not in her best condition!'

[It seems the Jinxy Peddler is more than he appears.]

"Hm, you don't have enough, do ya?" Jinxy comments.

Before I could give that con of a rodent a piece of my mind something unexpected stopped me from doing so.

*Roar!*

A loud roar grabs everyone's attention and they all turn to see a toy townsperson running towards them.

"Help. HELP!" The townsperson screams before a giant foot crushes them.

Shadows loom over the town as the creature makes itself known.

It was a giant! Like at least 25-30 feet tall, dressed akin to a caveman with ripped clothing kinda like a loincloth, giant feet, extremely robust yet wrinkly and ugly as hell, bad teeth and not much hair on the head. What immediately caught my attention however, are the crystals that are currently protruding the creature's shoulders, back, and biceps. The same kind that were on the Jabberwalker.

Chaos Troll

Level: 273

HP: 301,563

MP: 100,211

SP: 207,342

Thoughts about you: FOOD

"Seriously? First that corrupted Jabberwalker and now a freakin' TROLL!?" I exclaim.

"What the fuck is that!? That wasn't in the book!" Yang's scream brings me back to reality.

I turn to the Huntresses and the rabbit. "You need to evacuate! Get the townspeople and lead them into the forest!"

Ruby flinched. "E-Evacuate…?"

"But we can't just leave you here! We can help too! We're huntresses!" Weiss argued.

"With all due respect, Weiss, that thing is too powerful for you four combined even if you were all fully armed, and this thing is empowered by something that can bypass your [Aura] and potentially poison you." I inform them, before smirking at them. "Besides, if you thought my fight with the Jabberwalker was amazing, trust me when I say it wasn't even a warm-up, and chances are this won't be one either."

Before any of them can argue further, I ignite the [Skywalker Lightsaber] and a blue beam of light comes forth, drawing looks and sounds of awe from not only Team RWBY and Peter, but all of the townsfolk. Makes sense, considering they've never seen anything even close to a lightsaber before.

"This is no time for arguing, Weiss. Remember, as protectors, your primary duty is to the people and trying to help them, not simply fighting. Now go!" I reiterated, causing Team RWBY to reluctantly nod and start evacuating everyone.

"R-Right! Let's go guys!" Weiss and Blake quickly guide the townsfolk away.

"Let's do this!" I charge towards the giant monster.

Meanwhile, Jinxy stands in his stage watching events unfolding with a small smile on his face.

Unbeknownst to Jinxy, Little sneaks up on stage next to the marionette. Jinxy hears something move next to him, noticing the marionette gone from its place. He then notices Little trying to drag it off the stage.

"Huh?" Little looks to see an angry Jinxy glaring at him.

"Why you little…!" Jinxy lunges forward, and Little runs out of the way. "Leave that alone! You can't touch it until the deal is done!"

Suddenly, the marionette disappears in a puff of purple smoke, and it turns into one of Penny's Maiden-powered Floating Array swords.

Ruby gasps in shock.

"Stop! Stop! There has been no Royal Decree for-" But the soldier didn't finish as a toy person steps on his foot. "Ow!"

The soldier holding the scepter screams in horror as it turns into Yang's arm and he tosses the arm away.

"My arm!" Yang runs towards the prosthetic and grabs it only for another Toy Soldier to grab the other end. The two do a tug of war for the prosthetic arm, with Yang dodging out of the way of the soldier's sword swing, followed by Yang shooting them away with the gauntlet just as she sees Ruby running past her with Little in one hand and a green crystal sword in the other.

"Fair is fair!" Little yells.

"Quickly! This way!" Peter Rabbit shouts as he points to the exit.

"I got it!" Yang proudly exclaims while carrying her prosthetic arm like a trophy as she runs off.

I look back to see Weiss and Blake guiding everyone out and turn my attention back to the troll.

"Now that the bystanders are gone, I can finally cut loose a little. And while the [Chaos Energy] inside you likely makes you a persistent wild card, that won't be enough to stop me from kicking your ass." I excitedly exclaim, my Saiyan instincts responding to the thrill of battle but kept in check by [Gamer's Mind, before a more sympathetic expression appears on my face. "But for what it's worth, assuming you were a regular Afteran before this, I'll try to make this as quick and painless as possible for a more pleasant [Ascension]. You didn't ask for this, but it's the only way to free you from your condition while protecting others."

I then charge forward while channeling whatever [Aura] and [Chaos Energy] I can muster into the [Skywalker Lightsaber].

The Chaos Troll roars as it pulls its left arm back to strike me, but I evade it without issue and cut off the arm above the elbow, causing the Chaos Troll to screech in pain at the loss of limb and cauterized wound.

"Best part of using a lightsaber against individuals with healing abilities? The cauterized wounds are harder to heal, especially when enhanced with [Chaos Energy] to counter the darker or negative variants." I mocked, causing the Chaos Troll to growl angrily.

[It seems this troll is somewhat intelligent. Best keep your guard up]

The troll throws its large arm forward but I dodge it, however I barely manage to block the kick that sends me spiraling straight to a building.

'No damage notification. I guess I really am on my own.' I pull myself out of the building and land back on the pavement as I watch the troll hold a nearby building and rip it out of the ground before throwing it straight at me.

"Hm!" I grab the handle with both hands and raise it above my head before bringing it down, slicing the building in two before it could reach me.

"!?" The Chaos Troll steps back in horror.

"Well that was disappointing. At least I know I still pack a punch." I smirked.

[It's still too early to call it a victory. Be ready for anything]

The troll grunts as the crystals on its shoulders start to grow in length. Power starts to gather in the crystals and converges in between the crystals before it fires an energy beam.

"!" I dodge the beam and it hits the building behind me, leaving only a smothering crater in its place.

"That was too close." I remark before turning back to the monster. 'I should avoid enticing fate. With the system on the fritz, I'm not as strong as I used to be. I need to be more careful.'

The troll fires more beams at me which I dodge but they're only leading me further back.

'Damn. This thing's trying to drive me back into the entrance!' I stare at the abominable monster. 'This would be easy if I had access to my strongest skills. I gotta figure something out, and fast!'

The troll roars as it raises its arms to the sky and energy balls of various colors appear, each of them brimming with high concentrations of [Chaos Energy].

"Bastard. Is it trying to destroy half the acre!?" I yelled.

The sphere all shoots forward heading straight towards the forest.

"[Susanoo!]" Black flames erupt as the skeletal torso of my avatar manifests.

It sprouts six arms and grabs six of the orbs before throwing them at the others.

*BOOM!*

The resulting collisions cause an explosion that covers the town in a dense layer of smoke and rubble.

The troll glares at the smokescreen before its eyes widen as something shoots out.

*Squelch!*

I stab the lightsaber right between its eyes before slicing off the top of its head.

I jump off just the troll's body into the street with a loud thud, creating a cloud of dirt in the process.

"And that's that." I put away my lightsaber before I noticed something. "Hm?"

The troll's body starts to pulsate as the crystals on its body begin to glow brighter.

[The Chaos Energy is becoming unstable! You gotta do something fast!]

I run towards the body and place my hands on it. I immediately use [Nemesis] to encase the corpse in a bubble of super dense [Dark Matter].

*Boom!*

The bubble expands as an explosion erupts before it deflates. Dissolving it reveals a scorched earth along with ashes.

I sigh before the sounds of moving stones grab my attention. I look back to find nothing until I spot a raccoon's tail quickly scurrying away.

"Follow him." My shadow begins to twist and shiver. "And when you have the chance, interrogate him."

Something quickly jumps out of my shadow and it quickly gives chase.

"No EXP, and I don't feel my [Aura] regenerating. I guess the system really is fucked up." I mutter. "I should go check on the girls. I hope they're safe."

I ran towards the town entrance.

---

The girls and Peter all run into the red forest along with the townspeople as explosions are heard behind them.

"What was that!?" Weiss exclaimed.

"Just keep running, Weiss!" Yang yelled.

Eventually they all came to a stop at a small clearing just near the rickety bridge.

"We should be safe here for now. Let us rest." Peter says between breaths.

Everyone tries catching their breath at a metaphorical marathon they had just run. Ruby takes a seat on a nearby stump, her fingers tracing the sword's glass-like surface.

"Hehehe… these people… sure take auctions… very seriously." Yang comments between breaths with a smile and holds up her prosthetic. "High five?"

Blake groans and walks past her.

"High five?"

Weiss scoffs and walks past her.

"High fiv-AH!" Yang yelps at my sudden appearance.

"Looks like you guys made it out safely." I give Yang her high five.

Blake scratches her head in frustration. "How did this happen!? Alyx never encountered trolls in the story. This makes no sense!"

"Yeah." Yang reattaches her arm. "Did you see those crystals poking out of its body? It was just like the Jabberwalker."

"It's a sign that it has been corrupted with [Chaos Energy]." The girls quickly turn their attention to me.

"I never really asked, but what is [Chaos Energy] exactly?" Weiss asks as I sit next to Ruby.

"To put it in layman's terms, its thoughts turned into power. It is arguably the greatest and potentially most dangerous source of power." I answered. "The villains from my universe were using a negative variant of this to power themselves so that they could reshape the multiverse as they saw fit with something called the Genesis Wave. And even though we stopped their plan, I was still too late to stop the wave from expanding. The only thing we could do was launch a positive wave that would collide with the negative and have the two cancel out."

"But it didn't." Yang points out and I sigh.

"But it didn't, and now the Ever After has become like this." I said. "In its raw state, its effects are unpredictable and are different from being to being like having a sonic attack or firing laser beams." I turn to Peter.

"Entropy… Entropy will ravage the Ever After." Ruby mutters, recalling the first line of the prophecy.

"B-But what will we do, sir Asmodeus? You'll save us and the world as the Elder foretold, right?" Peter nervously asked, drawing the attention of not only himself and Team RWBY, but even all the evacuated townsfolk, all of whom were looking at me with hope, desperation, and anxiety.

As they all look at me, I can't help but feel ashamed. They are all relying on me to save them and their world, but in my current state I'm not sure if that's possible. I really wanted to say "I don't know" but I don't want to shatter their hope, the only thing that keeps them going.

'Is this how Ruby feels now? To be crushed under everyone's expectations?' I bite my lower lip before the familiar calm of [Gamer's Mind] sets in. 'No, I can't let my weakened state stop me from fixing this bullshit in the Ever After and helping Team RWBY survive and return to Remnant. Tobi, not to sound like an asshole, but I need you to triple your efforts in fixing the issues with the system.'

[Way ahead of you, but there's no telling how long until the issues are resolved and the update is complete]

'Just keep me up to date on your progress.' I take a deep breath.

"If we're going through this then the five of you need to stay by my side at all times. If any of you start to feel weird or any unusual changes in your body, I'll siphon out any [Chaos Energy] in your bodies." After receiving nods of understanding from the five of them, I then focus on the townsfolk with a small smile. "We'll help you guys find some shelter to be safe in the meantime as we try to fix this mess."

This drew murmurs of relief from the townsfolk. Obviously, I couldn't drag all of these townsfolk with us to the tree, but we could drop them off somewhere safe. Maybe those toy soldiers can help, it is part of their job, right?

[Somehow I doubt that]

I glance at my neighbor who seems to be in her own little world, staring down at the familiar blade resting on her legs.

'Penny.' I grimace at the memory of her death.

"... do you want to talk?" I ask but she doesn't even look at me.

"I couldn't explain it but…" She began. "I was drawn to it. And now I know why…it's because of Penny."

I winced at that last part and looked away knowing full well the fate that has befallen on the sweet innocent girl who risked it all to save the people of Atlas and Mantle. Weiss overheard what her partner said and looked away in shame and sadness.

Thunder roars and the sky turns dark. It's raining again.

"Ugh. This weather is just dreadful." Peter complains as he takes refuge under a tree to stay dry.

"Great, now it's raining on us. That's it! We're getting out of this nightmare! Alyx went to the tree, right? Let's go." Weiss said, as she broke out her sorrows as she began to lash out. Her patience is reaching its limit.

"It's not as simple as you think, Weiss. This isn't a book." I told her, as I snapped out of my self doubt.

"You're right, it's not a book, given that we just ran from a TROLL of all things that were NOT in the story! And even if we were, we know how it ends: right over there!" Weiss points to a nearby tree.

She walks towards said tree and we all watch. We all looked to the opposite side of the clearing to see Weiss was walking in a loop. Weiss gasps and decides to quicken her pace. She goes in a loop one more time. Frustrated, she picks up a rock.

"Stupid tree!" Weiss throws the rock, but it just goes in a loop too and hits her head from behind, knocking her to the ground. Some of the Afterians chuckled and laughed at the scene, at least that eased them from their current situation for a bit.

[Heh, way to screw yourself Ice Queen]

Peter ponders on their next move while Weiss' talking nonsense in the background.

"Do you know whose it is?" I ask hoping to at least make her feel better by talking about Penny. Ruby's head lowers further.

"It's from Penny, it's-" But Ruby was cut off by the sounds of familiar voices.

"This way! Somebody's sad!"

"I'd be sad too if I ruined the royal birthday!"

[Well, speak of the devil and they shall appear]

Weiss scoffs hearing them.

"They are certainly a tenacious bunch." Peter remarks.

"Blake." Blake turns to her leader. "What did Alyx do next?"

The rain stops and the clouds part.

'I know that look. She's formulating a plan' I thought.

"She…" Blake thinks for a moment. "She went to the Crimson Castle… and beat the Red King in its own game."

Suddenly, the Toy Soldiers hop out of the bushes, riding on horse sticks.

"Hands up! You treasonous birthday ruiners!" The Toy Captain ordered.

I stand and glare at the Toy Soldiers. "Don't even think about it, especially since I just dealt with the troll you all RAN from."

The Toy Soldiers reel back in fear.

"We can go to the birthday party." Ruby lifts her up and stands. "We can go to the birthday party!"

"Well, too bad, because we're going to–" The Toy Captain stops mid sentence as he realizes what this means. "Oh, yes... Ahem, that's where we're taking you! As prisoners! For kidnapping and stealing royal property!"

"What if we offer you something better?" Ruby presents the green blade. "The blade of a powerful warrior."

Team _WBY was shocked by the idea.

I arch an eyebrow.

The Toy Soldiers are in awe.

"Go on." The Toy Captain said.

"Not just a powerful warrior, the most powerful to ever live. She was touched by magic, and she risked everything for thousands. She took a message of hope to the stars, and she saw the world through better eyes. Take us to the royal birthday, and allow us to present this most precious gift." Ruby explained.

[Quite the storyteller, isn't she]

"Ruby…" I whispered.

The Toy Soldiers are moved to tears, some reacting rather unorthodox and comically.

Toy Captain wipes his tears. "Yes… by Royal Decree!" He takes the sword. "Come on, men! You heard them! We got a birthday to celebrate!"

The Toy Soldiers proceed to gallop on their horse sticks, saying "Hup, hup, hup" as they go.

"Ruby, are you sure about this?" Blake asks.

"If it means we can get out of here." Ruby said.

"But-"

"Look, we may not know exactly what's going on, but for whatever reason, this place is putting us on a similar path as a book we all read as kids. I say we follow it." Ruby walks forward. "And stop pretending we know what we're doing…"

"Ruby." I decided to step in. "If there's something bothering you, you can tell us. Holding it in won't do you any good."

Ruby stops for a second before moving onwards.

Team _WBY exchange confused glances at each other, before joining their leader and following the Toy Soldiers to their next destination.

I turn to the townspeople. "Come on. Hopefully the royal family can find you a new place to live."

The townspeople all look at each other with uncertainty.

"It's okay." They turn to Peter. "Sir Asmodeus is a good person. You are all in safe hands with us."

With that in mind, the townsfolk follow their unknown saviors as they walk down the path that leads to what seems like a castle in the distance.

Meanwhile

The Jinxy Peddler is seen packing up his wagon, ready to leave the town and the acre for the next one until a shadow looms over him.

"You seem to be in quite a hurry to leave, little guy." The raccoon quickly looks back to see a clone of Asmodeus standing there.

"Well, it seems I have one loyal customer in this acre. Sadly I don't have anything for sale." Jinxy said.

"I'm not here to buy anything, racoon. I just have a question for you." The clone told him.

"And that is?" He asks dismissively before getting grabbed by the collar and picked up to meet my eye level.

"Why did you pick me?" I ask him. "I saw it in your eyes. You know me, Jinxy and don't think I didn't notice the bidding you made with my friend back then. So start talking."

Jinxy chuckles. "Simple, it's a game like truth or dare. I dare my customers to give up their innermost parts of themselves and give them one of my wares in return."

The clone narrows his eyes at the raccoon. "A game?"

"Yes. Until those girls ruined it. I suppose it is time for me to play a new game." Jinxy said.

"And what game is that?" The clone retorts but the raccoon smiles.

"Why, you of course." He smiles. "The girls you were with are interesting, but you are different. You are human, yet not. A literal oxymoron!" He starts getting giddy with child-like excitement. "You have no idea how many YEARS I've waited for this moment! A new player in the celestial board!"

"... what are you?" The clone slowly asks only to flinch at Jinxy's face-splitting smile.

"I was erased, forgotten. But now I am returning. And I want to play a game." The Peddler and his wagon then disappear in purple smoke, leaving a confused and creeped out clone behind.

'Looks like we figured out who the "God of Games" the Elder warned about, though I definitely wasn't expecting it to be the talking raccoon of all things.' The clone thought before a contemplative expression appeared on his face. 'The boss will want to know about this. The way he spoke and what he said sounded… familiar.'

The clone's body then dissolves into a black smoke and heads towards the castle in the distance.

---

Authors Notes

And that concludes the first chapter of the Ever After arc. Pretty interesting start, huh?

I know I said this was going to be a single chapter, but my ideas for this arc will obviously make it longer.

As always, leave a comment. Good, bad, it doesn't matter.

Peace~