King: This one took a little longer for a number of reasons. It was a fun write, though~ Oh! Before I forget, I have a note for you all. I went back and put in the inspiration for each world in the beginning notes. Anything labeled "Inspiration: n/a" are my personal ideas based on the RWBY world. I wasn't going to do that before because of far along I've been, but I had nothing to do yesterday and just decided to set it all up... Anyway~! We have a new chapter! IcySnowSage asked for this one and I wanted to get this one done~ Let's do this.

Inspiration: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

/\

The theater fell hush as King finished his explanation. He sighed, breaking the silence among them, "And you want to go back, the door in the back of the theater labelled exit. It's kind of hard to miss… You do what you want, but no fighting in the theater. I've officially made it a physical law. Any hostility will drain you of strength."

Tyrian groaned, "That's no fun…"

"I'm not here for your fun. The screen acting out is bad enough, I don't need any more headaches. You do you, I don't care…" King dissipated, leaving them alone with each other.

Enemies stared one another down for what felt like an eternity. No one dared to move. Well, that's not quite true. Someone tried. Hazel was blinded by his hatred of Ozpin and tried to lash out, laws be damned. He was currently face down on the floor, having only made it one step.

Salem, for her part, took things rather well. "I say we stay. I'm interested to see what other worlds may look like."

Watts nodded, "I have to agree. I've read up on various theories, but to see it? It's incredible."

Hazel just groaned, still feeling his punishment in full force.

Salem and her group took up their seats, not far from Cinder. It was clear her cover was blown long before this. Why bother hiding it now?

The screen started to form the next world.

Salem smiled to herself, "Let's see what we find in this new world…"

The screen opened to a throne room adorned with stained glass windows of various times and individuals. Standing before one such window was Grand Prince Ozpin, dressed in his white and gold regalia. His hair was cut at shoulder length, seeming to glow in its silver form.

Glynda blinked in surprise. "Prince… Ozpin?"

Ironwood sighed as his head fell back.

Qrow couldn't help but laugh. Port and Bart joined him after seeing Glynda's blush, though they remained discrete enough to avoid repercussions from the disciplinarian.

Ozpin sighed. "I fear our options have run thin…"

"That may be putting it lightly." Behind the prince was the Lady of the Midnight, Salem. This version was very much human and dressed in dark blue dress as her hair fell away, seeming like the night sky.

Salem raised an eyebrow. "So, that's supposed to be me then?"

Ozpin took a sip from his mug, "So it seems…"

"I fear our spell may be fading…"

"Then just gather the Maiden Stones and let us put that monster back into stone. Simple."

This caught Salem's attention. "Maiden Stones?"

Cinder remembered this one, "We've seen this reality type before. In this version, the Maidens are powerful gemstones that can accomplish great feats of magical abilities."

"Interesting…"

"It's not quite so simple. We can no longer wield the Maiden's power. We have lost their connection…"

"Then what do you propose?"

Ozpin turned back toward Salem. "Oh, ye of little faith. If I remember correctly, there just so happened to be a group of young ones that were able to wield those powers and return you to normal."

"Do you think they can handle it?"

"They handled you."

"And I was a very different beast, dear brother."

Qrow would have done a spit-take but trained himself to never to waste good booze. Once he could speak again, he coughed. "Brother?!"

Ozpin and Salem had a very similar set of reactions. Neither could ever even begin to imagine such a state. Then again, they were in the same room at that moment, so anything was possible.

"I'm aware… But we don't really have any other options."

The doors swung open as the familiar faces of RWBY, plus Pyrrha and Nora, ran into the throne room. Ruby was front and center, "You needed to see us, Prince Ozpin? Oh! Hi, Lady Salem!"

Salem waved rather nonchalantly.

Ozpin's mind blanked. The very idea of all this was starting to get to him.

Ozpin sighed. "Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie… I fear that Vale must call upon you all once again."

All of the girls had a look of determination. "We'll do whatever we can to help!"

Ozpin looked back up to one of the glass windows. "I fear one of our old enemies has returned from his millennia-long prison. One that my sister and I can no longer combat…"

The glass before him showed Ozpin and Salem on either side of the lower panes. Above and center to them was a man in a throne. His entire form was a hodge-podge of weird. His coat was a patchwork of browns, reds, greens, and blues. His trousers were separated by pantleg: his left being plaid and the right being yellow and red stripes. His shoes were mismatched, and he wore a glove on only one hand. His eyes were just as odd, one being blue while the other was a bright pink. Atop his blonde head, a crown of sorts was adorned by a ram's horn on one side and an antler on the other.

Coco passed out, foaming at the mouth. The sheer fashion travesty before her was too much to fathom. Velvet was freaking out, trying to revive her partner.

Neo, on the other hand, found him rather interesting. The single pink eye did help, but she was totally bias.

Ruby was wide eyed, "Jaune?"

Blake sighed, "Looks like this one's a psycho-Jaune…"

This got her mother's attention, "A what?"

"A version of Jaune that's seriously messed up in the head." Sun's head fell back, "Assassins, murderers, pyromaniacs, and the sort. It's happened enough there's a term…"

"Oh dear…"

Ozpin's eyes narrowed toward the glass. "Discord…"

The glass work's smile seemed to widen. The panes moved, allowing the visage to stand, "In the flesh."

Salem blinked in shock. It was an… odd sensation. "What?"

All but Oz and Salem recoiled. Ozpin just continued to glare. "Did you think I didn't know you were here?"

"No. But I do know that I moved your precious Maiden Stones. Can't be too careful, you see. After all, a thousand years stuck in the gardens, watching people come and go as they pleased and being unable to interact was difficult for me. But you wouldn't know what that's like would you? After all," Discord's tone held a real venom within it, "I never turned anyone into stone…"

Salem ran to the display holding the Maidens. Sure enough, they were gone. It was supposed to be impossible to take them away from it. She growled. After all, impossible means nothing to him, does it?

Discord chuckled. He placed a hand on his chest, faking insult, "You didn't believe me? I'm hurt." He moved from his pane to the next window. "But I'm sure I'll get over it~ Allow me to introduce myself for the new lackies and the people in the seats, "I am Discord. Lord of Chaos and Disorder. Once, I was a man by the name of Jaune. If that's easier to remember, you just use that. I really don't care."

Coco blinked and suddenly shot back up. She looked up to the screen, "That's… Huh…"

Velvet was still shaking, "Coco! Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine. Strangely… Truth be told, if he's supposed to embody Chaos, then the outfit works…"

Velvet just hung her head and sighed, long used to her team leader's antics.

"But I'm a fair man. So, I'll give you a riddle. Solve it and you'll find your gemstones."

Watts sighed, "It would be more useful to not tell them where to find it…"

Tyrian chuckled, "But that's no fun! Give them their chance as see their eyes fall when its too late. See their heart break when they realize they weren't smart enough!"

Watts blinked toward his compatriot, not expecting that kind of answer.

Jaune cleared his throat, "Follow my riddle and your find your stones. Then these little ones can return to their homes. The twists and turns of my master plan, you'll find your Maidens back where you began." He laughed, and the panes faded as he disappeared.

Salem placed her index finger over her mouth in thought. Her eyes widened after a moment. "Oz… Where did you keep Discord when he was a statue?"

The Prince hit the same realization. "The garden labyrinth…"

"Twists and turns of his plan… where we began…"

Ozpin turned to the girls, "Hunt down Discord! Find the Maiden Stones! Act with caution, however. Discord is a dangerous foe with near limitless abilities. Be careful."

Ruby saluted, "We won't let you down, sir!"

The team made their way to the entrance to the labyrinth with heads held high. Ruby stretched her arms when they arrived, "The way I see it, we can have Yang and Pyrrha fly over the maze and lead us through the hedges. Worse comes to worse, we can use a spell to rip our way through."

Weiss let out an exhale with a smile, "I must say, that's a rather apt plan given the situation."

Ruby grinned, "Thanks, Weiss!"

"Yeah… no." Jaune walked up from behind them with his arms behind his back. As they jumped back, he turned toward them. "That's not going to happen because that would ruin the spirit of the game. There will be two rules in this maze. Rule one, no flying." With the snap of his fingers, Yang and Pyrrha started to glow, part of their aura seemingly pulled away. Two miniature pairs of auric wings appeared in Jaune's hand. "Rule two, no magic." A wave of his hand had the same effect on Ruby and Weiss, pulling two symbols from them (a rose and a snowflake, respectively). "If any of these rules are broke, then I win our little game. You can only use your physical attributes from here on out. Good luck little ones~!" He disappeared with a cackling laughter.

Ruby's eye twitched, but a deep breath calmed her. Not that it helped. She was still clearly unhappy with having her magic stolen away. "Okay! Doesn't matter! We can still do this! As a team, we're unstoppable!" The ground shook beneath her. Her eye twitched again as she heard the cries of her team, now separated by thick hedgerows. "Why do I say things…"

Weiss sighed. "A sentiment I know too well…"

Ruby chuckled nervously. She knew what her team was like. Voicing something out loud was usually an invitation to tempt fate.

Weiss groaned, "As much as I love the gardens, I'd prefer to have done sooner rather than later… What's the new plan?"

Ruby took a deep breath, "Okay… We'll move through the maze and meet up in the center area. Be careful everyone!" With plan set and emotions high, the six made their way into the maze.

Blake moved through the maze easily enough. Her path seemed fairly straightforward up to this point. After a while, she found the first of the internal rooms in the maze. She walked in, investigating if there was another entrance. If she was lucky, they could all just meet here instead. Luck, however, was not on her side as the room had only one way in. She cursed under her breath and made to leave the internal garden. Something up a tree, however, caught her eye. She looked up to find a black cat just lying there, staring at her.

Blake's eye narrowed. "Okay… Where is this going?"

Blake was about to leave when a voice caught her, "Do you think what you're doing is right?"

Blake froze and looked around. She didn't see anyone.

"Up here."

This only made her thought processes worse. The only thing above her was the… No…

The cat was staring down at her, "How long until it all comes crashing down?"

Nora gasped. "Oh my gosh! A talking cat! Ren! We need to get a talking cat!"

Ren sighed, "I don't think they have any in our reality."

"Phooey…"

Blake glared up toward the cat. "I must be losing it…"

"No more than usual."

"Quiet you…"

The cat stood on the branch. "I'm not saying anything you don't already know. It's simply the all too painful truth. They will abandon you, if they learn what you've done."

"Shut up!" Blake glared toward the tree-bound feline, "I've moved on and chosen to do something with my life! Live a life worth living…"

"I'm aware. You've made friends and started to new life. But what would happen if your old life returns? Can you keep lying or will you run away again?"

Blake's eyes fell. She asked herself that question a lot before coming to Beacon. But she moved on and found real friends. Even when they learned about her past, they stuck by her side. But that didn't mean the questions ever really left her mind.

The cat jumped down from its branch and reformed as the Chaotic lord, Jaune. Blake didn't seem to flinch seeing that. In fact, her eyes seemed to be blanking. Jaune's eyes, however seemed to glow slightly as he spoke, "You'll simply run from your life again. You ran from your home, your people, and your cause. What's stopping you from running from them?"

Blake's speech was lazy, listing, "They're… my friends…"

"We're your comrades back when not? Were they lesser than these new girls in your life? How long before they find out? How long before they toss you aside? Guard yourself and your secrets… They must never know…"

Jaune's words rang in her ears as her colors seemed to mute. She was shaking. Could she tell them? Would they leave? Would she run again? Never… They must never found out! They can't find out! No matter what!

"Blake?"

Blake jumped around and adopted a fighting stance, only to see Ruby.

"Are you okay?"

"I… I'm fine."

Ruby blinked in surprise, "Why didn't she tell me about Jaune being there?"

Weiss thought for a moment, "I'm… almost afraid we're going to find out."

"O-kay. Have you seen anyone else yet?"

"No… No, I haven't."

Ruby sighed. "Alright. Let's get moving. Let's see if we can find the others and solve this dumb maze…"

Blake followed close behind, always looking behind her shoulder. Always on guard.

Watts smirked, "On guard, huh? More like paranoid. I have to admit this Discord fellow is quite the villain."

Hazel groaned in his seat.

Watts sighed, "Hazel… You'll have to put your grudge aside. Otherwise you'll just end up a vegetable for our time here."

Hazel sunk in his chair again, much to the disappointment of his pears. Okay, just Watts. Cinder and Salem didn't care, Emerald and Mercury were too scared to speak up, and Tyrian found it funny.

The next person to be shown by the screen was Weiss, walking along with an exasperated sigh. "If it's not one thing, it's another… Now, I just need to find…" Her eyes went wide as she passed a turn in the maze. Set soon after the turn was a massive black monolith of stone with a brilliant, shining pattern of diamond set within in the shape of the Schnee family symbol. The diamond within had to be the size of a person!

Mercury let out a whistle, "That's a hell of a gem. But why is it in a shrub maze?"

Weiss blinked at the hidden gem within. The sheer size would make a jeweler drool. Geologists would have a field day! The sheer value could set up a company and then some! More than enough to get out from under the thumb of her father…

Weiss felt a chill and shook her head. "Calm down, Weiss. Eyes on the prize. Find Discord."

"Then why would you look away?" Jaune was hidden away in the refection of the diamond sticking out from the stone.

"You!" Weiss tried to use a spell, forgetting her powers were taken away.

"Careful~ Try that again and your little friends will game the game because of you."

Weiss glared into the diamond. "What's your game?!"

"I think I explained the rules quite well. But we have a more pressing question. What will you do with this diamond?"

Weiss was caught off guard. "W-what?"

Ruby's eyes narrowed, "What's he talking about?"

Weiss shrugged.

"Think about it… A gem this size. You could do so much with it. You could have anything you could ever want~"

Weiss's eyes set with indignation, "How dare! I don't care about things like that! All I want to help people!"

Ruby smiled, "Yeah!"

Weiss had a small grin, agreeing with her other self.

"A noble cause. But how long before the well runs dry?"

"What are you…?"

"Think about it. You want to help people? How can you do so without resources? Nothing is free, not even helping. A helping hand costs your time. A charitable donation costs your money. Even a shield has a cost, Weiss. How long before your father cuts you off and your resources run dry? How can you help them if you can't even pay for a shield?"

Weiss was shaking in place. Could that happen?! How long did she have? Wouldn't it be better to stockpile now and help those who can't keep up? Weiss's eyes tuned back toward the diamond. She looked to the side and found a pick, supplied by Jaune ahead of time. She took hold of the tool and turned back to the stone with a smile on her face. So many people needed her help, after all.

No one among team RWBY, NPR, Sun, or Neptune were really ready for that. This version of Jaune was playing on their natures to twist their thinking subtly. It was rather scary how powerful simple words could be.

Back within the maze, Nora ran along into a room of her own. Within was a garden of glass sculptures. Nora walked through, careful not to touch the statues. She needed to get to the other side to reach the others. She saw one of the statues was in the form of Jaune and she scowled. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and started to move again.

The glass Jaune started to laugh on his pedestal. "Something wrong, Nora?"

Nora spun around and glared toward the statue. "Back off!"

"Or what? You'll shatter me? Break my legs? What's stopping you?"

Nora took a step back, "I…"

"You're holding yourself back. Why not go ahead and break me?! Stop restricting yourself!"

Nora's anger boiled over hearing him talk and kicked the statue over, having it shatter on impact with the ground. She moved to leave, only to find he was in front of her as another statue.

"That couldn't satisfy you, surely… Come on! You can do better than that!"

Nora punched the glass, having it break under her force.

Jaune reappeared again in a new place, "Is that all you've got?!"

Nora yelled out as she started to mow down various glass versions of Jaune.

Nora's fists clenched. It was hard to watch this for her. She knew that breaking someone's legs was a go to for dealing with jerks, but it was always a joke! Kind of… Okay, she kind of meant it from time to time… But only for people who deserved it!

The next target of Jaune's manipulation was Pyrrha, as she made her way through the maze. She moved along the left walls of her section, intent on figuring this out. As she moved, Jaune was watching her nearby and out of sight. She smirked and decided to let the red head hear his whispers on the wind, "Don't you think it's time to stop letting them hold you back?"

Pyrrha fell a chill on the back of her neck. "W-what?! Who's there?!"

Jaune rolled his eyes. "Who do you think?"

Pyrrha took a breath, "Fair point…"

"Now, my question?"

"Hmm?"

"You know they're holding you back, right? Those friends of yours. You could be so much more than you are. You could be a champion again."

"I've no intention to return to the championships. So, I'm happy."

Pyrrha smiled and nodded. She wouldn't go back to that… Not anymore. The fame was overrated. She had real friends and she planned to stay.

Jaune blinked in surprise. Okay… A new angle then. He smiled to himself as his whispers flew off to her again, "Do you think those friends would care about you if you weren't a champion?"

"I know they would because they did. They didn't know who I was when we became friends."

Jaune's eye twitched as he groaned, his whispers picking up volume. "How kind… But surely you must be burning up inside knowing that they…"

Pyrrha, however, interrupted him, "Hardly. My friends are more than I could ever hope for~ I'm so happy to know them."

Jaune flailed in frustration and blinked into form in front of her, "I wanted to do this the fun way, but I'm only so patient!" He flicked her forehead, causing her colors to mute like the others, "Enough of your kindness! Time to be cruel!" He growled and disappeared again.

Watts blinked, "So… it wasn't a subtle working into their minds to twist them…"

Ironwood growled, "It was… But its just a game to him. He could have just snapped his fingers and change them, but he chose to manipulate them instead."

Cinder wanted to smirk. She could appreciate a good twist like those, but that was… To have the power only to not use it? Why have it, then?

When Pyrrha was able to move of her own volition again, she blinked and looked around. She watched as an exasperated Ruby, followed by the others already seen, ran up toward her, "Pyrrha! Thank goodness I found you! Everybody's acting crazy! Blake is acting like someone's going to attack us 24/7, Nora's breaking everything that can, and Weiss is acting like a total snob! I still haven't found Yang! Please! For the love of all things sweet, tell me you're not crazy!"

Pyrrha turned back toward Ruby, "Can't say I've gone crazy."

Ruby sighed in relief, "Oh thank goodness!"

"You clearly have."

"W-what?"

"Blake's always been paranoid, Nora's obsessed with breaking things like people's legs, and Weiss was always a snob. The only difference I've seen is your finally whining about it."

"Whining?"

It was a little surprising to hear Pyrrha talk like that. There was legitimate venom in her tone. She didn't say that because she believed it, it was only to tear Ruby down.

Pyrrha moved passed Ruby and toward the others. She saw Blake looking over her shoulder again and decided to kick out her legs. Blake went into a panic attack and fell into a huddled stance. Weiss laughed and offered Blake a hand, all the while her smile showed condescension rather than friendship.

Ruby got over her shock and turned back to the group, all bickering in some form. She had to find Yang. Now!

Off in the maze, Yang was rushing her way through the tall shrubbery. She hated mazes like this. She roared as she hit another dead end, "This is getting ridiculous!"

"Oh, but that's the point~" Jaune's voice followed over the wind.

Yang spun around and readied her fists. "Who's there?! If you think I'm weak because I don't have my wings anymore, you've got another thing coming!"

"Take the next right in the maze. Two lefts. I'm in the room on the right."

Yang growled and ran, following the directions.

"Why the hell would she listen to him?" Adam scoffed at the other Yang's decision, "It's obviously a trap. And if it isn't, what can she do alone?"

Yang wanted to knock Adam's head off, but a yawn reminded her she couldn't anymore. Instead, she just groaned. "Whatever pal. You don't know was I'm capable of."

"As if a human would be capable…"

"Why you little…!" She clenched her fists but couldn't move to fight him.

Jaune just laughed on screen. He was waiting for Yang on a hammock made of clouds. "Ah… the petty squabbles of mortals. Always hilarious to see in this or any world~"

Weiss took in a breath, about to say something, but stalled. "Can… can he see us?"

"Maybe~"

Weiss jumped in her chair. "What in the world?!"

Jaune just laughed again. "Adorable little creatures, aren't you?"

Adam's temper flared a bit, "Don't lump me with them! They are just…"

Jaune turned toward Adam from his place on the screen, a smile across his face. "Go ahead, bull boy! Tell me! What are they?! News flash little man, you're all mortal. You're all equally screwed in life and in death! Sucks to the be the both of you! You are all weak and beneath me! I AM A GOD! CHAOS INCARNATE! CAN YOU CALL YOURSELF MY EQUAL?! I AM NOT ALONE! IN YOUR WORLD, THOSE LIKE ME ALSO EXIST! IMMORTALS BEYOND COMPREHENSION! WALKING DEAD! MEN WITH TWO SOULS! AND CREATURES SO OLD, THEY'VE GROWN BEYOND WHAT THEY WERE! CAN YOU SAY YOU'RE THEY'RE EQUAL? YOU ARE A BEING TOO BOLD FOR YOUR STATURE. YOU BELIEVE YOU DESERVE IT ALL! YOU DON'T. You are scum beneath my foot…"

Ozpin and Salem recoiled hearing him say all that. Both recognized their places on that list, but not the first one. That scared them. Whether they realized it or not, they were afraid for the implications that held.

As Adam went into an existential crisis brought on by a being unreachable to his spite and desires, Jaune burst out into laughter, "That'll keep him up for years in a cold sweat~! It's all true, though. Just not my style to say it like that. Funny to see his face, though."

Yang stormed into the room where Jaune was waiting, "There you are!"

Jaune spun around to face Yang, resting his hand on his hands as he lied in his hammock. "Here I be~! But what took you? Seriously… I gave you directions and everything."

"Shut up!"

"I'm thinking no." Jaune jumped down from his hammock and crossed his arms with a smirk. "Now, why don't we get to the part where you threaten me, only to have me run that back on you and make you see a part of yourself you don't like. Thus, sparking an inevitable spiral into what you hate about yourself. Sound like a plan?"

"What? No!"

"Shame. It was doing so well with your friends."

"What did you do to them?!"

"Exactly as I told you. Just cranked up their issues up to eleven. Made them act in ways they hate about themselves. The paranoid with the past, the snobby rich girl, the violent hell beast… I had to improvise with the red head, but I managed. Your sister should be close to cracking, herself."

Yang growled, her anger starting to boil over as her hair started to glow slightly.

"Careful, firebrand~ Get too mad and you might accidently blow a gasket. That happens, and you might regret it~ One of your friends already used your get out of jail free card. Mess this up, and you'll all lose."

Sun's eyes narrowed. "I see where this is going…"

"You do?" Blake sounded rather surprised by this.

Yang sighed, "He's going to turn me into a rage monster…"

Sun shook his head, "Not quite…"

Jaune smirked.

But this just made Yang angrier. "I swear, I'll…! I'll…!"

"You'll what?!"

Yang was eye level and rising up to force him to lean back, "I'll put you in the ground! I'll…!"

"Fly?"

Yang's face fell for a moment, trying to figure out what he meant. After a while, she remembered he was taller than her. Her eyes went wide as she turned her head to see her auric wings spread out behind her, lifting her off the ground. "Oh no…"

"Oh yes~"

The maze started to shake and fell away. Jaune went into a fit of maniacal laughter. "I win~! Yes!"

Ruby ran up to Yang, happy to see her, but started to slow down when she saw she was airborne, "Yang?"

Yang was still stunned, slowly descending back to the ground. "I…"

Jaune smiled and moved in behind the two sisters, scooping them up into a hug around the back of their necks, "Ruined your friends' chances to win our little game! You let me win, even after I warned you~ Oh, you are too kind!"

Sun pointed to the screen, "That… That's what he was up to. He made Yang boil while Ruby was cracking. He didn't need to make Yang break…"

Ruby wrestled her way out of Jaune's grasp, "You WHAT?!"

Yang followed soon after, "Ruby! I-I didn't…"

Jaune cut in again, "Oh! But you did~ You've given me everything I need to bring this world to its knees! I'll never have to be bored again!" He went into another fit of laughter. "I feel like celebrating! What to do~! What to do~!" He smiled and clapped his hands. "Oh! I know!" At the snap of his fingers, Remnant became a multicolored mad world. "Oh! Look at it! It's so beautiful! My testament to the weird and wacky!"

Ruby was shaking as her colors started to fade, "But… we… The Maiden Stones!"

Jaune cackled, "Were never here! I never said they were here! You tried to solve my riddle and guessed wrong! Anyway, I'll leave you all with that. Have fun~!" Jaune disappeared in a blink of light.

"But… If they weren't in the maze… where are they?" Ruby asked, to no one in particular. Someone had to have some idea, right?

Neptune thought for a moment before his eyes went wide, "They're back at home."

"What?"

"Think about this Jaune's riddle. The exact words."

Weiss recounted the wording, "Follow my riddle and your find your stones. Then these little ones can return to their homes. The twists and turns of my master plan, you'll find your Maidens back where you began."

Neptune nodded. "Where you began. Their journey would have started from home when they were called by Ozpin. He even specifically mentions sending RWBY, Nora, and Pyrrha back home."

He reappeared off in the distance, thinking out loud, "Now… what to do about them… My spell won't last forever, especially if they find the Stones. I need a backup plan. A way to escape sooner rather than later… What I need, is someone on the outside who can spring me out." Jaune smirked, "What I need is my own little screwball~! Can't be too random, though… One thing in the mortal body goes down the whole thing falls apart. Can't risk that. I'm thinking… a weird combo of colors. Something just out there!" His stomach growling made him sigh, "And its going to be a weird combo, indeed, since I'm hungry… I could go for some…" He hit a realization and smiled. "Now there's an idea…"

The screen faded to show Jaune sitting atop a throne in the middle of a pink and yellow checkered field. A pink, cotton candy cloud rained chocolate milk to the area next to him, so he held out a glass to collect the drink.

Nora gasped, "That's so cool! It'd be better if it rained pancakes~"

Jaune heard her through the screen and sighed. "Next time~"

Ruby and her friends ran up toward him, back to normal and with gemstones floating by each of them. "Discord!"

"Hello again~! I see you finally solved the riddle. And everyone's back to normal~! Good for you!"

Ruby glared toward the Chaos Lord, "I hope you're ready to go back to that stone prison!"

Jaune laughed. "Go ahead! I can't stop those stones, anyway!"

Ruby scowled. This could be a trick, but it was their only option to stop him. All six gems started to glow in a bright rainbow of colors. A spell charging to seal the embodiment of chaos away again.

Jaune just sat in his throne.

"Why is he just sitting there?" Nora tilted her head as she asked.

Jaune knew that no matter what he did, the Maiden Stones were the one thing he could never overrule. The Stones were the most powerful force in all of Remnant. Even trying to run would be fruitless.

"Oh…"

But Jaune didn't care. In a bright flash of white light, he was a stone statue, sitting atop his throne. The world was back to normal. All was right with the world again. As Ruby and her friends celebrated, he laughed to himself within his granite prison. They were all unaware. Unaware of the bright pink and brown eyes that stared down at them. An unfurled lace umbrella and she was gone. His little screwball was loose on the world.

Neo's head tilted. She was the screwball? She knew she looked a little odd to more people, but nothing too weird. Though, being an agent of chaos did appeal to her.