Yo! Back with more of this story. Update schedule will continue to be slow for the time being, as I am very busy with classes, and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future.

Start Chapter 4

They made the difficult decision to abandon their water source once it was clear that no else was coming. Jaune had a feeling that was due in large part to the fact that he'd touched that weird… time fruit, and that had launched them, seemingly, back into the past.

Team RWBY weren't due to arrive for a while. Hopefully, no more than a few months.

…He just wasn't too certain they were going to be that lucky.

Still, abandoning a source of water without knowing how easily another could be found was clearly not something Winter was keen on. They'd made more than a few 'containers' out of things like palm fronds and reeds to carry the water in, and they'd already made the decision that if they were running low and didn't have another source lined up, they'd be coming back here as soon as they possibly could.

Winter used the Maiden's Fire to rocket herself to the top of one of the nearby trees, taller than many around, and then marked the bark of the tree with fire, coloring it a dark black. In theory, she would be able to spot that difference from a distance, and let them more easily find this place.

Jaune wasn't too sure on the logistics of that, but then, Winter was the specialist, and he wasn't, so he just sort of shrugged and went along with it.

Jaune and Winter were the ones carrying all of the supplies, to be clear. They'd both agreed that making children do the work was either going to result in them getting cranky as all hell, or, just as likely, result in them dropping or misplacing the supplies at some point during their journey.

Jaune was familiar enough will hauling weight at this point, too, given that his armor weighed a good fourth his bodyweight. The containers of water didn't impact Jaune much.

They ended up atop a tall cliff as they kept moving, one which hadn't seemed terribly steep to Jaune, but one which the kids were struggling with. Alyx, of course, put up a tough front, as she always seemed to, but Lewis was clearly flagging.

"Hey, Winter," He called out to her as quietly as he could. "I think we may need to slow down."

Winter seemed surprised about that, although Jaune wasn't much so about her reaction. She had, after all, likely spent the entirety of her life surrounded by military men and women; people who had no issues at all with something like this. Hell, people who wouldn't have even considered something like this all that exerting.

Jaune would know; he'd had to become one of those people over the course of about a year and some change.

"Alright." She nodded his way. "We'll take a break once we make it to the top of this hill, you two." Winter called out to Alyx and Lewis, and though the former looked frustrated that they'd realized she was struggling, the latter seemed happy to hear it.

As they approached the very top, however, Jaune had his breath taken away by something entirely different than the climb.

"Whoa…" He let out without even meaning to.

What stretched out before them was a grand and varied vista. Just in front of them laid the last little bits of their current biome, with palm trees, grass, and dirt. He'd sort of expected this entire place to look just like that, only…

To their right laid a forest that gleamed in the sun above, the leaves all a fantastic crimson color. It reminded Jaune of Forever Fall, except almost more spectacular. A little beyond that seemed to be a more normal forest, except for the titanic mushrooms which stuck out of the flora, towering above any of the trees.

To their left, however, was where things got weird.

Because there was a land of great peaks, and harsh valleys… but they were all made entirely of ice cream.

Jaune was doing his best not to let the kids see that. Mostly because a land made entirely of ice cream seemed like it would be a nightmare if there were insects of any kind.

And, y'know, dairy didn't mix particularly well with any heat at all, and it was pretty balmy out.

It was possible it was magical ice cream; probable, even, but Jaune didn't really want to go walking around in it, either.

It was while Jaune was distracted by that particular event – ice cream land – that he heard a skittering off to his right. He looked over, and sure enough, there was an odd, raccoon-like creature making off with Crocea Mors.

…

Hey, hold on…

"HEY!" He shouted out, startling the other three with him. "That's mine!"

Unfortunately, shouting that out did not make the raccoon stop on a dime and return his weapon to him. It simply caused it to speed up, and run as quickly as it could in the opposite direction.

"Come back here!" Jaune shouted as he rushed ahead, giving chase through the trees.

The little bastard was quick! Then again, humans and faunus were both distance hunters, who relied on tiring out their prey in long chases. That would be Jaune's plan, then. To run until this thing couldn't anymore.

He slowed down, not worrying too much about keeping pace, and only making sure that the raccoon never left his line of sight. Idly, he noted that Winter and the kids had been entirely left behind, but eh, he knew which way he'd come, and if need be, he could light up a fire for them to track him via the smoke.

In the end, it turned out that persistence hunting only really worked on creatures that got tired over longer distances. Raccoons, it turned out, were not among those creatures.

Now, that wasn't to say that Jaune couldn't keep up. He was managing, just…

About as well as the raccoon was.

"Would you just…" He panted, only his semblance keeping him up at this point. "Stop running… and give me my stuff back!?"

The raccoon remained silent other than its own heavy breathing.

This did not particularly surprise him.

Eventually, however, he'd had just about enough. He powered as much of his aura into his legs as he could, surged forward, and leapt at the raccoon in front of him. He caught the creature by the waist, and dragged it down.

"A-AH!" The creature let out in a panic, even as it dropped Jaune's weapon and began to laugh nervously. "Ah, uhm…"

"Wait, you can talk!?" He shook his head, realizing that really wasn't important in that instant. "Y'know what, forget it. Give me that!"

Jaune scooped up Crocea Mors, and kept a firm grip on it. The raccoon looked rather frustrated to have lost its prize.

"…Dirty little thief." Jaune panted out.

"I'm not a thief!" The raccoon seemed almost offended. "You didn't seem to be using it at the moment!"

"Not using–" Jaune scoffed. "It was on my hip! How was I not using it?"

"It was not in your hands."

"I had it around in case I needed it!"

"Then you weren't using it!"

"Y'know what, sure, I wasn't using it." Jaune shook his head. "You're still not allowed to just take it!"

"Well, I don't see why not!"

Jaune gave up around there.

"Tell you what?" He shifted gears. "You can make it up to me. Is there anyone else who can talk in… this place?"

"Uhm… well, of course. There're many places with many anyone's."

"Wait, really?"

"You missed the mice colonies?"

"What?"

"Nevermind." The raccoon coughed into one paw. "But still; there are more of you?"

"Yes, there are–" Jaune caught himself. "Wait, how didn't you see them? They were right next to me!"

"Well, I was focused on your item."

"Oh, of course." He sighed out. "Listen, just… can you take us to civilization, then?"

"I do not know this 'civilization'," the raccoon made air-quotes. "But I can take you to the land of the Red King, perhaps?"

King? That sounded like a civilization. Then again, this place was weird, so maybe they just didn't have that word? Even though they had plenty of others?

Jaune just wasn't questioning these things anymore.

"Sure." He nodded his head. "Take us there."

"Alright. Will you give me your item if I do?"

"No."

"Hm." The raccoon hummed. "Well, alright. I suppose you'll owe me one."

So, this world had the concept of 'owing someone', but not the concept of civilization?

Crappy place.

They ended up doubling back for a while after that, making their way back towards the cliff where Winter and the kids were. It didn't take nearly to meet them as it had for him to cover so much distance, since the others had been coming their way, and they thusly met somewhere in the middle.

Jaune waved, and Winter nodded towards him.

"I see you caught your thief."

"I am not a thief!" The raccoon claimed. "He was simply not using the object that I–"

"Yeah, yeah." Jaune didn't want to start this again. "But they've agreed to take us to someone called the Red King."

"A king…" Winter seemed to be going through the same emotions he had been. "That sounds promising."

"I thought the same."

"Alright." Winter nodded to the raccoon. "Take us there, then."

/

The second – and far lengthier – journey was a bit more involved than the first. Where they had previously been walking across relatively tamed wilderness, now, they climbed small hills, bobbed and weaved around great vines, and ducked beneath large canopies.

All of them were a bright red in color, of course, since this place seemed to have a theme. The most concerning of those obstacles were certainly the roots, given that the tree's bark was the normal brown, and yet the roots were a deep crimson.

It wasn't technically a problem, but Jaune didn't much like it.

"Ah, there we are!" The raccoon suddenly spoke out.

Jaune turned towards the direction one of its fingers was pointing, and sure enough, through the canopies of the many trees above them, he could barely make out the tip of a tall spire in the distance.

A castle, and, hopefully, a kingdom to go along with it.

He actually smiled, then, looking towards Winter to see her breathing in relief. She hid her emotions well, but it was clear she'd been worried that they were here all alone, with no one and nothing to guide them out of it.

Hopefully, they could get some real answers now.

The raccoon led them first to what seemed to be a castle town. It was a quaint place, with all different sorts of creatures hanging about. There was a creature who seemed to be perpetually holding onto both sides of its body, which heavily resembled clam shells. There was another that had the top half of a fish, and the bottom half of a horse.

Both were talking to each other like it was the most normal thing in the world.

The Ever After – assuming that was where this was – was really weird.

The entire place was also being patrolled by life-size nutcracker-men. This was oddly nostalgic for Jaune, because he'd watched a lot of Winter Festival movies as a kid that featured living nutcracker-people, and seeing them actually walking around was as neat as it was completely terrifying.

"Uhm…" Lewis was hiding behind Jaune, and he couldn't really blame the boy for that. "Are they… mean?"

"Hm?" The raccoon turned around. "You mean the toy soldiers? No, as long as you're not making trouble, they're perfectly harmless."

"Oh. That's good."

"Hey!" One of the toy soldiers rounded on their group. "It's the troublemaker!"

Jaune, Winter, Lewis, and Alyx all looked down at the raccoon in front of them, who was currently being stared at by the entire square full of people. Nearly every toy soldier had drawn their weapon, and was pointing it towards them.

"Ah." The raccoon cleared their throat. "Well… you see…"

Jaune could really only sigh.

/

They were escorted the rest of the way to the castle at spear-point. Jaune was doing his best to glare daggers into the back of the raccoon who was walking ahead of them all, who had, the moment they'd gotten in trouble, thrown the rest of them under the bus without a second thought.

"Halt!" The guard at the front of the convoy – if this was a convoy? Jaune didn't really know military jargon all that well, despite training amongst the members of the Ace-Ops for so long – called out to them, and they did just that. "You are about to meet the Red King. You will behave yourselves in his presence, or you will be confined to the dungeons!"

Jaune and the other stayed silent, even as the raccoon themself continued to stutter out excuses as to how the soldiers "had the wrong raccoon", or that they "were totally blowing things out of proportion".

Those two things didn't really match up, but then, this raccoon didn't seem to be the best at making up excuses, either.

Eventually, the gate in front of them opened, and they stepped inside a rather… psychedelic room. It was like something out of one of those optical illusions Jaune had seen growing up. There were staircases that went up into the upper portions of the castle, but upside-down, and curving at impossible angles. There were spinning, swirling paths that led this way and that. There were doors hanging in the middle of nothing, that opened to nowhere.

Jaune was doing his best not to read into any of this all that much. That way laid madness, and Jaune had enough of that already with the rest of the Ever After.

Once they stepped into the main corridor, they were greeted with yet another nutcracker-person. Yet this man seemed a bit more regal than the others. His clothing seemed tailored. He wore gleaming golden tassels, and a long, flowing cape. Atop his head rested a gleaming crown.

This, Jaune gathered, was the Red King.

"Ah." The Red King sighed, and he sounded almost tired. "Jinxy."

The raccoon in front of them wasn't meeting the king's eyes. "Red King…"

Huh. Apparently, the raccoon's name was Jinxy.

…Was it racist that Jaune had assumed the raccoon's name was just 'raccoon'? Yeah, actually, that probably was pretty racist.

"Have you not learned your lesson after the last eleven times you've been sent to the dungeons?"

"I, ah… er…"

The Red King sighed. "Guards, take them to the dungeons. Lock them away for a full descent this time. See if that will teach them."

Jinxy grumbled out under their breath as they were escorted away, brought to a staircase that traveled down, but at an impossible angle. They somehow perfectly navigated the obstacle without any issue, walking right down and off the edge like it was nothing, and not falling to their dooms.

Jaune… was doing his best to take this all in stride. It got harder with every new thing.

"Uhm…" Lewis suddenly called out, and Jaune was initially panicked that he'd spoken out of turn.

Instead, the Red King turned back to them with a warm smile. "What is it, young one?"

"Oh, uhm…" Lewis looked up at Jaune, seemingly wondering if it was alright to say whatever he wanted to. Jaune nodded down to him, even if he was pretty sure he didn't have much say in the matter. It was good that Lewis looked to him for guidance.

"How long is a full descent?"

"Ah, you wish to know how long your guide has been sentenced to the dungeon?" The king nodded. "The time it takes for the light in the sky to fully descend, and rise again, is a full descent."

So… they were locking him up for a single day?

Huh. The Red King seemed to be a rather forgiving person.

"Okay." Lewis nodded his head. "Thank you for answering."

The Red King laughed. "How very polite. It is not often I get those with such manners in this hall."

It was good to hear the man sounding almost jovial. Jaune had gotten a… while not a negative impression, certainly not a terribly grand one from being escorted into the building at the tip of a spear.

"Now, what is it that the four of you have come here for?" The man asked. "According to my guards, Jinxy spoke of you asking them to take you here."

Ah. Once again, the raccoon had sold them out. On this particular front, however, that might have been a positive.

"We're trying to figure out how to leave this place."

"The King's Acre? Well, you walk until you're no longer within it."

Winter stepped forward this time. "No, this world. The Ever After itself."

The Red King's eyes widened, and he nodded his head slowly, subtly, like he wasn't exactly shocked by what they'd said.

"Ah. I see. So, you are not denizens of this place, are you?"

"We are not." Winter was taking charge in the conversation, and Jaune was willing to let her. She knew what she was doing.

Or, well, at the very least, she pretended like she knew what she was doing really, really well.

"Hm. Then allow me to ask; how did you arrive here in the first place?"

"We were in a dimension created by some sort of genie." Winter spoke, and while she did, Jaune snuck a glance at Alyx and Lewis.

They weren't entirely surprised. So, like he suspected, they, too, had come here through something to do with the Relics as well.

"While there, we… fell."

"Hm…" The king rubbed at his chin. "I see. How odd. I have never once heard such a tale, but then, I have never once encountered someone from outside the Ever After, either. Very well, I shall tell you how to leave this place."

Jaune's eyes widened, and he turned towards Lewis – who still clung to him – and smiled down at him reassuringly.

"But," The king's voice stymied any further joy. "I wish for you to earn said information. I will ask that you partake in a game with me."

"What sort of game?" Winter inquired.

"A simple game." The king chuckled. "One which will pit you and your wits against mine own. We shall each control a contingent of soldiers, with the same skills and power. The goal will be to defeat the opponent using superior strategy."

Ah. So… they were going to be playing him in chess, then?

Jaune had a feeling that Winter was going to be pretty good at that.

The King conjured forth a table from out of nowhere, upon which already stood a good fifty or so figures. They seemed to be just… toy soldiers, but small. They had the same weapons, the same outfits, everything.

And yet, as Winter stepped forward, seemingly to sit down in the chair opposite the one the king was walking towards, Alyx blitzed right by her, and sat herself down in front of the king.

"Oh?" The man chuckled. "Are you the one who wish to play against me, young lady?"

"Alyx–" Jaune made to start, but before he could get a word in…

"I am." She answered, and Jaune could do nothing but sigh.

Winter didn't seem terribly pleased, either, and yet she walked over to the table. She stood beside Alyx, and then looked to the Red King.

"May I advise her?"

"I don't need your–"

"You may." The Red King nodded. "After all, I've played this game many a time. It wouldn't be fair if she did not have some advantage to counteract my knowledge."

Winter nodded, and then looked down at the board below.

Jaune stood back with Lewis as Winter and Alyx were told the rules. They weren't particularly complicated. It played like a mix of chess and checkers, where the pieces moved according to what type they were, but if a piece knocked out another, that player could make another move. It was all about, seemingly, setting up massive combinations, and not allowing one's opponent to do the same to them.

As much as she'd been gung-ho about being the one to play, it seemed as if Alyx was a bit uncertain as to what she wanted to do. She looked at the pieces, reached for each individual one, and then pulled her hand back.

She was feeling in over her head. Jaune would know; he'd been there.

He turned to Lewis.

"You should encourage her."

The boy's eyes widened, and he turned to look up at Jaune with some confusion. "I don't think she'd want to hear from me."

Jaune almost laughed. Kids could be a bit clueless about these things, it seemed. "Trust me."

Lewis didn't look like he believed Jaune, but he did seem to trust him. He sucked in a breath, and then cupped his hands in front of his mouth, before yelling, "Y-You can do it, Alyx!"

His sister jumped, before looking back at Lewis with a somewhat embarrassed expression. She appeared annoyed on the surface, but the way she fidgeted in her chair as she turned back around, and the way she was suddenly looking a lot livelier and more confident, told Jaune she had very much appreciated her brother's words.

Jaune had been pretty sure she would.

In the end, the game was a lot closer than Jaune would've assumed. Winter was a good tactician, but the King's experience was coming into play as well. He set up a few combinations that took out huge swaths of Alyx and Winter's board, and it was only a heroic play at the end of the game that allowed Alyx and Winter to finally claim victory over the Red King.

Unfortunately, judging by the frustrated look on Alyx's face, it had not been her idea that had won them the match. If anything, she likely felt helpless, like she'd had to rely on Winter to bail them out.

It was a touch cruel, even if it was also the truth. Still, Jaune made a mental note to encourage her later.

"Ah, it seems I've been defeated!" The Red King guffawed, clearly having enjoyed the game itself. "Oh, well. That is life, is it not? Now, then, seeing as how you've fulfilled my selfish request, I see no reason to not answer your question."

He cleared his throat. "If you wish to escape the Ever After, you must make your way to the tree. That which towers over our land. It is said that there is a gateway there that can lead one outside the Ever After. I am told, however, that there exists a catch. I would not personally know; I myself have never been."

Jaune frowned, but was ultimately unsurprised. He'd been hoping the man would lead them to a magical door and wish them goodbye, but things didn't seem like they were going to be that simple.

"But, before you leave, allow me to give you this piece of advice…"

"One does not find the tree;" The Red King's words were calm, yet carried an undercurrent of something Jaune could not fully identify. "The tree finds them."

With that, the Red King pushed his way up from his seat, and gave a small, courteous bow towards them.

"And with that, I bid thee adieu. Goodbye, children. Safe tidings."

/

They exited out of the castle a lot more calmly than they'd entered, which was helped by the fact that no one was poking them with spears.

Jaune, for his part, was mostly focused on watching the kids, who were walking in front of him.

Alyx was silently fuming, doing her best to pretend like she was fine. Jaune would know; he'd done that exact things more times than he could count as a child. Lewis tried to catch up and talk to her, but she shunned her brother away.

Jaune could only really sigh.

"It appears as if my help was unappreciated."

Jaune breathed out a quiet laugh as Winter stepped in time with him at his side.

"I'd say it wasn't unappreciated. I'm pretty sure she's just frustrated she needed it at all."

"Everyone needs help sometimes."

"Yes, you can say that now. But did you think the same way when you were her age?"

"Ah." Winter nodded her head. "I suppose you're correct on that account."

"Mm." He was silent a while. "…I'd say give it time. I think she's just frustrated that she has to rely on the two of us so much. She wants to be able to prove herself. And I think she wants Lewis to look up to her; not that she'll ever admit it."

Winter hummed. "I only hope her insistence on involving herself in such matters will not cost us."

"Yeah…" Jaune muttered.

"You can say that again."

End Chapter 4

Alright, Jaune and Winter continue to do their best with Alyx, and Lewis is a good boy.

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