Halo, it's time for the newest chapter. Enjoy the reading.
Lance ran as fast as his legs could carry him through the dark mushroom forest, his helmet strapped to his belt, which contained Team RWBY and Little. It was a horrific sight as the floor opened up and crushed Herb after the Cat spoke to him. Once he got far enough away from Herb's mushroom house, he stopped and blew himself.
Both he and the girls were speechless with shock after seeing what happened to Herb.
- I'm so glad the five of yours is still five. - Suddenly, the Cat appeared, jumping on top of the glowing mushrooms. - That rarely happens in the Ever After.
- You left us first! - Weiss snapped and pointed angrily at the Cat. - And speaking of which, that's why we went into that mushroom house! - She couldn't help but explain what had happened after the Cat left them. - You know, where we met that giant, delirious, crazy caterpillar who tried to drug us and then dragged it down a damn hole in the floor!
- Oh, yes, yes! - The Cat remembered, licking his paw a few times. - Alyx had reacted similarly the first time she saw someone return in the Ever After. But not everything is what it seems. - He shook his head excitedly. - At least, that's what I think. But not the way you think. - He turned and as he thought of Alyx, there was a hint of anger in his voice. - If you think like Alyx… - He jumped onto one of the mushrooms. - Then you're probably right. - He took another plunge into the mushroom forest, hopping from one hat to the next. - Ah… - He finally landed on another path. - Here we are! - He started off straight ahead, Lance following him.
At the end of the path was a pond, in the middle of which stood a pier made of reeds, vines, and beams, from which all kinds of light filtered, to which a spiral staircase led and at the very top was a large, pink water lily.
- You better hurry. - The Cat jumped onto a giant water lily leaf and told Lance that he could stand on it. Lance carefully felt the plant with the sole of his boot, but when he was sure that it wouldn't sink under his weight, he stepped on it with a calm heart and then the plant started on its own through the water, straight towards the pier.
- So, Cat... - Yang saw the time had come to ask the question she was so curious about and looked out of Lance's helmet. - Can you explain why it isn't what it looks like, a giant caterpillar crushed in a hole?
- Hm... - The Cat just smiled, but answered. - when we break, wear out or just finish the task assigned to us, we are simply called back. But Herb... - He just rolled his eyes when he thought of the Herbalist. - his heart was too weak to hear. That's why I gave him a piece of mine.
- So he's now... - Blake reluctantly asked the question that everyone was worried about. - dead?
- Oh, - The Cat just laughed. - no, no! I mean... maybe a little, but not quite.
- Then which one?! - Yang was very impatient and wanted to know the answer.
- Now that Herb is finally back, he will be fine and become what he always wanted to be when he was still himself. - The Cat clarified. - Then he will come back and find his purpose. He will be the same as before... or not.
Lance sat down and looked at the other water lily leaves floating on the lake, which were carrying many familiar figures, the rainbow flamingos from the shore, the carved soldiers from the Crimson Castle and many other strange figures from the auction.
- When Herb comes back, - Ruby worried about something. - will he remember anything?
- What's the point of that?! - The Cat laughed again, lying on his back and stretching. - You really are like Alyx. I know, I know where you came from, where you think you'll die... But you and we aren't the same. We... we ascend. Herb will have a purpose again
- That's impossible! - Weiss shook her head skeptically. - Everyone dies someday! Right?
- What?! - The Cat raised his head in horror and balanced on his tail. - Gods... no! - He began to float in his thought, then something occurred to it. - Although... there is a creature that... - He suddenly became frightened when he thought about it and decided not to continue. - No, no. That creature isn't something that is spoken of in polite company.
As the lily pad approached the dock, the Cat simply jumped off, but Lance waited until it reached the shore and was safely off the dock before following the Cat.
- Come on, come on! - A strange, hatted bird-man offered him a tray of cookies. - Fresh, hot, fresh from the oven!
Lance ignored him and followed the Cat.
- So, - Blake wanted to clarify something. - what happened to Herb... happened to the King too?
- Come on, try the mud biscuits! - The bird-man gave up after seeing that Lance wasn't interested in his wares.
- It was all very tragic. - The Cat stopped and shook his head. - The Red King couldn't bear to be defeated by Alyx. - He started again toward a pair of smaller, glowing blue mushrooms. - He cried, roared and he was a real nervous wreck. - He jumped between the two mushrooms, one of which emerged from the trunk of a larger mushroom. - Luckily, he was called back and fixed. - He hid back in the trunk and appeared on top of another mushroom. - And now he's the Prince you met.
- Fixed? - Ruby didn't really agree. - The Prince is much worse!
- The Prince doesn't need to be good. - The Cat appeared this time on a vine tied to two mushrooms and walked balanced on it. - He must play and win... at all costs.
- So that's why, he cheats while the Red King doesn't. - Blake concluded, as Lance headed back towards the Cat and they reached the harbor, where there were all kinds of vendors selling all kinds of strange, sometimes even shiny things. - But that still doesn't explain why he's so evil.
- The Prince may not remember Alyx's deception after his ascension, - The Cat explained, who was balancing several meters high on the vine. - But the heart forgets hard. - He continued ominously. - And the wounds inflicted on him, can't be healed by common sense.
- But... - Blake didn't understand something. - The book doesn't mention ascension.
- Of course not! - The Cat suddenly appeared next to Lance, walking away on a giant plush lion. - The exposition is terribly boring! - Lance stopped in shock and the toy lion the Cat was riding on moved further and further away from him. - This conversation is already taking too long.
- I wonder what Alyx left behind here... - Blake began to understand that the hero of the tale, Alyx, might not be as great as she had come to know her as in the book.
- There's no time to think about Alyx's legacy right now, - Lance finally spoke up, turning to the girls in his helmet. - We need to grow you.
- That's right! - Yang agreed. - Then where do we get that... Growgurt thing?
- Well, - Cat wanted to focus on growing the girls. - to make a Growgurt Parfait, we'll need a bush of grumpy ivy, a large prickly potato and some fluff from a griffin's sweater... - He listed the ingredients, but neither the girls nor Lance knew what they were, or even understood them. - They're all in Ethel's Dragon and More. What's next...
- Slow down! - Lance shook his head in confusion. - I didn't even understand the half of it!
- Oh, don't worry, - The Cat reassured him. - I can handle those. There's only one ingredient I need help with. It can only be obtained on the third floor. A hair from a lepracon's nose. - The girls just gagged in disgust, afraid they'd have to drink something that had something like a nose hair in it. - How about you get it and I'll take care of the rest?
- Okay, that'll be fine. - Lance just shrugged.
- Great! - Cat had already set off to get the ingredients. - Go find the Teapot Lady. She'll have them. Now go.
The Cat, as purposefully as he set off to get the ingredients, was quickly distracted by a chirping, rodent-like creature that offered her a bouquet of flowers and he had to look at them. His upper body had already jumped onto the counter and his lower body had followed suit and started playing with the flower.
Lance and Team RWBY watched anxiously, seeing how easily Cat could be distracted.
- I think I'll go with Cat, - Yang volunteered, seeing that Cat's concentration was the equivalent of a hummingbird. - lest he get too distracted by a shiny doorknob and never come back.
- I'll go with you. - Blake happily kept up with her girlfriend.
- We'd better watch it together. - Ruby offered as well.
- Just get me as far away from that nose hair as possible! - Weiss' stomach was still churning and she took every opportunity to not have to think about it.
- I'm staying with you, Lance. - Little stayed with the Knight.
- Okay. - Lance took his helmet off his belt and held it towards the Cat for the RWBY team to climb over.
- Nice move, Cat. - Weiss was the first to jump on the Cat's head. - But we're coming with you. - Yang, Blake, and Ruby followed, which the Cat didn't like very much.
After they left, the chirping rodent excitedly offered the Cat and his passengers its flower, but after realizing they weren't interested, it offered it to Lance instead.
- Thanks, but no. - Lance just held up his hand, indicating that he didn't come to buy anything and the rodent lowered it's head in disappointment, but it chirped nervously when a group of mice stole the cheese plant supply.
- Forward! - Little enjoyed that with the departure of the RWBY team, he had a lot of free space on Lance, so he climbed onto his remaining left shoulder plate and like a captain, gave the order, but he was quickly overwhelmed by sleep.
- As you say. - Lance put on his helmet and started towards the upper floor, but he felt something strange. - Hey! - The Cat, or rather the RWBY team, shouted. - Which one of you f*rted my helmet?! - Unfortunately, he didn't get an answer, because the Cat had already disappeared with the girls.
Lance climbed higher and higher up the stairs made of wood and vines, his helmet now airing out and no longer smelling the unpleasant stench. The third floor wasn't much different from the ground floor, with the same strange creatures walking around and the bazaars selling even stranger things.
Fortunately, he had been given sufficient instructions to look for the Teapot Lady, but so far he hadn't seen anything that resembled a teapot.
"I hope he wasn't talking in some stupid metaphorical sense when he told me to look for the Teapot Lady." He hoped, but suddenly, from one of the tents, he heard the clang of steel.
It wasn't the sound of steel fighting steel, but more like a blacksmith striking steel with a hammer. The tent itself was red, but its cut-out windows and doors were covered with a dark blue cloth, embroidered with a large red leaf.
After each hammer blow, the lights in the market dimmed and Lance, as much as he found it interesting, found the phenomenon as eerie, especially after seeing that the street had become completely deserted and he was left completely alone.
A strong wind blew the door of the tent open and a strong orange light blinded Lance, but as soon as it died out, he saw a weapons rack. In the display case, he saw several melee weapons, swords, axes, maces and shields, but there was one among them that really caught his eye and he thought it was just his imagination playing with it.
Among the many ordinary weapons, Penny's clumsy, dark green glass sword, which he thought was lost forever, stood out. Lance didn't hesitate and immediately went over to pick up the weapon from the display case, then began to examine it incomprehensibly. There was nothing he could do, it really was Penny's lost sword.
- Did it pique your interest? - A strange, echoing female voice spoke.
Lance looked around the tent and found the source of the earlier blinding light, which was the inside of the tent, which was literally on fire, but it wasn't burning the material the tent was made of. In front of the fire wall was an anvil and next to it was a strange, rickety female figure made of metal, holding a hammer in her hand.
- I... - Lance looked back and forth between the Blacksmith and the sword, unsure of what to say. - I was worried this was lost forever. Where did you get it?
- Nothing... - The Blacksmith began. - never really lost forever. - Lance looked at the sword again, which was in much better condition than when the Red Prince kicked it away, reflecting everything perfectly. When Lance held it up to his face, he saw not his own helmeted head, but Penny's smiling face looking back at him, which scared the Knight. - And what about you? - The Blacksmith turned, but Lance couldn't see her face because of the shadow cast by the flames, only that in her other hand she was holding a large pair of pliers, which was holding a glowing, metal wing. - Are you lost?
- Not exactly... - Lance just scratched the back of his helmet. - I'm just... trying to help my friends.
- And where are they? - the Blacksmith asked after placing the wing on the anvil. - The ones you started with? - This question caught Lance's attention and he had no idea how she knew about his teammates.
- Lance... - Little, who had been sleeping on Lance's shoulder until now, now woke up and opened his eyes. - I don't think we should be here.
- Are you guide him, little one? - The Blacksmith looked at Little this time.
- Yes! - Little proudly straightened himself. - Lance is my friend and I want to help him and his friends get home! - He pulled himself together sadly. - Even if I don't know where or how we're going to get there.
- Hm... - The Blacksmith thought for a moment and started hitting the metal wing with the hammer, the sparks of which were shining brightly. - It seems like there's a serious wound in your heart.
- I've made it this far. - Lance wasn't sure of himself. - I'll figure out the rest somehow.
- If you change your mind, - The Blacksmith stopped hammering and pointed the tool towards the window. - you can choose any weapon. - She started hammering again. - To ease your pain.
Suddenly, Penny's sword disappeared from Lance's hand and a simple, double-edged dagger appeared, the blade of which this time didn't reflect his own, nor even Penny's face, but a dark-skinned and haired girl who stared at him with a stern gaze. It was clearly Alyx, from the fairy tale.
- I already have a weapon. - Lance clenched the shield in his left hand and stood a little to the side to show his sword.
- Then why are you here? - The Blacksmith asked. - You are looking for something you have no idea what it is.
When Lance put the dagger back in the window, he saw a candy machine on the shelf next to it and didn't understand what it's doing in a blacksmith's shop. He looked around more closely and saw a pair of metal wristbands with three long, sharp blades sticking out of them, as well as a pair of black-bladed daggers, a dark, light bow and a pile of arrows.
Lance understood that these were the weapons of the LLMM team members, Mike What the Heck, Lynda's claw blades, Mandy's daggers and bow. He looked down at his own worn shield, on which the pawn crest was barely visible and he remembered that two of his teammates he had started with from Beacon had died and the last one had betrayed them and was living on. He was the only one left who was still alive and fighting for the right cause from the LLMM team.
- Lance... - Little looked worriedly at the Knight, even through his helmet he could see that something was bothering him. - What's wrong?
- My friends, Little... - Lance shook his helmet. - They've gone.
- But... - Little looked at him in confusion. - They just went for the ingredients. They'll be back soon.
- I'm not talking about team RWBY. - Lance clarified. - I had a team, just like Ruby's.
- What happened to them? - Little tilted his head curiously to the side.
- They died. - Lance replied. - I'm stuck in this strange world, I have no idea how to get out, all my teammates are gone and we've lost so much... But I'm still alive.
- Everything will be fine. - Little reassured the Knight confidently. - Ruby and the others will grow up again, we'll find your other friends and I'll help you get back to your home.
- I... - Lance didn't share the mouse's confidence at all.
- Lance! - Suddenly, the fire, the tent and even the Blacksmith disappeared around Lance and he found himself on the street again and the Cat called out to him, with a full basket in his mouth, and the RWBY team riding on his head and back. - Who did you talk to? Did you get the lepracon's nose hair?
- Well... - Lance still didn't understand if he was just imagining when he spoke to the Blacksmith or if he was a part of some strange, incomprehensible thing even in this world. - No. Not yet, but...
- Lance, come on! - Weiss was a little disappointed that the Knight hadn't been able to obtain a single ingredient while they had obtained so much. - There's everything else!
- I... - The team didn't really notice that the Knight had fallen into a rather depressed state. - I'm sorry. Come on.
- Are you feeling okay? - Ruby was the only one who felt the negative waves coming from Lance and was worried.
- Is that the Teapot lady over there?! - Yang interrupted them when she saw the bazaar, behind which stood a giant teapot that moved back and forth, but as the top opened and a pair of large purple eyes looked out from it, it was impossible to tell whether it was really a teapot or just a creature that used the teapot as a home.
- Welcome to Things and Things! - The Teapot Lady greeted the customers kindly and excitedly. - How can I help you?!
- We are looking for nose hair. - The Cat jumped up on the counter and knocked a fork to the ground. - Not from an ogre. - He knocked over a salt shaker, then knocked a bottle over with his tail and his continuous pranks began to anger the Teapot Lady.
The trade was interrupted by a large bang, then several smaller ones. Lance and Team RWBY immediately looked in the direction of the sound and were relieved to see that it was just colorful fireworks in the sky.
- Wow, there's a party?! - Yang looked at the fireworks excitedly.
- The Jabberwalker! The Jabberwalker! - Unfortunately, the frightened screams of the creatures in the market and after the fireworks spelled out the words "Danger" and "Escape", it was clear that this wasn't a celebration.
- Or maybe not. - Yang also admitted that she was wrong.
The Teapot Lady also screamed in horror, then used her jug, like a vacuum cleaner, to remove her goods on her counter, including the jar from the Cat's hand, which also contained the nose hair, but the Cat tried to get it back.
- Wait! - Lance desperately tried to help the Cat, but the Teapot Lady's suction was very strong. - We really need it!
- There's no time! - The Teapot Lady just continued to suck the items in panic.
- Here, - Lance realized that he couldn't get it back by force and the Lien had no value either, only objects imbued with emotions were worth anything. That's why he sold something that meant a lot to him. An old letter. - my grandfather's last words, with which he tried to guide me on the path I chose!
- Okay! - The Teapot Lady immediately dropped the jar and immediately sucked Lance's letter.
- This... - The Cat could clearly see the panic. - is very bad!
- Wait, - Blake jumped out of the basket worriedly. - what's a Jabberwalker?!
- An incredibly horrible creature! - The Cat clutched the jar as if it were the only thing that could protect him. - If anybody gets eaten by the Jabberwalker... then we won't ascend!
- How do we make the Growgurt Parfait?! - Yang quickly got to the point.
- Just... - The Cat removed the cork from the jar. - Throw everything in! - Since Lance was the only one with normal-sized hands, he had to throw everything from the basket in. - But be careful, if any of you eat too much, we'll have to shrink you again! And that's a completely different kind of potion!
Lance nervously began to mix the ingredients, which first turned blue, then green, then purple and as soon as it was ready, a cloud of pink powder erupted from it. As the dust settled, the jar and the thrown ingredients were gone, but in their place was a flower-patterned glass cup filled with white cream, topped with a cherry.
Yang was the first to eat it and began to grow spectacularly.
- That wasn't enough! - Blake realized in despair that one bite wasn't enough to get them back to their old size.
To make matters worse, a bazaar had just collapsed on the other side of the market, behind which was the Jabberwalker, the same monster they had fought earlier.
- Looking... Searching... - It was clear that the Jabberwalker was looking for something as it ran towards the group.
- Eat it! - Lance, after Little jumped off his shoulder, took out his sword and raised his shield. - I'll hold it!
Lance hid behind another bazaar, transformed his sword into a spear and as the monster approached, he jumped out and stabbed it in the side, then hit it in the head with his shield and pushed it back.
- Bring it on, you bastard! - Lance held his shield in front of him and pointed his spear forward, waiting for the Jabberwalker to attack. The creature didn't back down, it stood up again, but as soon as it fixed its gaze on Lance, it simply stopped, sat down and a pink and white glow shimmered around its body and a familiar girl took its place. - Neo?!
- Neo?! - Ruby and her teammates, after returning to normal size, stared at the short girl incomprehensibly. - How did you get here?!
- Why did you take the form of a Jabberwalker?! - Blake continued.
- Where's Jaune?! - Weiss continued.
- And why did you attack the market?! - Yang finished. Neo just scratched her head and pointed to her mouth, indicating that she couldn't speak. - Oh, yeah! - Yang just cleared his throat. - NEO! HOW! DID YOU! GET HERE?! - She asked the question while shouting.
- Why are you shouting at her? - Blake just shook her head in confusion.
- So she can understand what I'm saying to her. - Yang replied, proudly. - If you're talking to someone who can't understand what you're saying to them, speak slowly and loudly.
- Those are hearing impaired people, Yang. - Weiss shook her head.
- She understands us, perfectly. - Ruby rolled her eyes. - We don't understand her.
- Then maybe we should listen to her more slowly. - Yang brought up her next idea.
- You really aren't the brains of the group, Blondie! - From behind one of the bazaars, someone emerged who they absolutely didn't expect to see here.
- Roman?! - It was unbelievable for the girls when the gangster appeared, twirling Melodic Cludgel on his finger.
- How did you get here?! - Ruby shook her head in confusion. - You...
- The Bounty Huntress caught me? - Roman finished. - That's what happened. - He spread his arms and walked towards the girls. - I sacrificed myself so that your friends could escape. I'm currently imprisoned in a crystal block in Mistral.
- What... - Blake had already realized that this wasn't the real Roman and demanded an answer from Neo. - What's going on here?
- Neo... - Roman answered for her. - she further developed her Semblance in this world, which is heavily based on emotions. Her anger towards Salem, Cinder and Genna gave her enough strength to become even stronger, which allowed her to create living clones. - He smiled and spread his arms. - Just like me.
- Then... - Yang began to understand. - you're not the real Roman now?
- Congratulations, Blonde! - Roman and Neo started clapping. - You solved the mystery!
- Did you meet Jaune? - Weiss hoped she had found her boyfriend.
- Or Adam? - Blake hoped the opposite.
- Neo has traveled quite a bit between the Acres, but unfortunately she hasn't found any of them. - Roman just shrugged. - Her only goal is to get out of here and find me.
- We're looking for the exit too! - Ruby was glad that at least one of them had been found. - Maybe it would be easier for us together.
- But that doesn't explain why you took on the form of the Jabberwalker? - Blake mused.
- After Neo killed that creature, she thought that it's abilities might still be useful and the locals would ask less questions. - Roman answered. - She didn't want these strange creatures to bother her with their questions, "Who or what are you?", "Where did you come from" and such.
- Yeah... - Ruby looked to the side awkwardly, as they had received these questions quite a few times. - these are familiar.
- Are you the ones? - A hoarse male voice addressed them from behind. A large, white rabbit-like horse was approaching the group, its body like a rabbit's, but on its head grew large, yellow horns, like an antelope's. The man riding the creature's back was wearing rickety, rusty armor from head to toe, and under it was a worn-out black and brown suit that had been torn and sewn back in several places. On his head was a rusty helmet with a V-shaped visor and he carried his rusty and worn shield on his back, into which he had put his equally rusty, broken sword back.
- I can't believe it! - Blake excitedly approached the man. - The Rusted Knight! In person!
- Yeah! - Yang also recognized one of the heroes of the tale. - That's him!
- He's Neo's favorite. - Roman just shrugged, while Neo also bounced excitedly.
- Maybe he could help. - Lance hoped.
- Thanks, Juniper. - The Rusted Knight just got off his jackalope and stroked it, then took off his rusty helmet, revealing his long, flowing, ponytail-style blonde hair, his bearded face and deep blue eyes. - Team RWBY. - Unbelievable, but under the helmet was Jaune, but he didn't look at all like they remembered him. He was at least 20 years older, his face showed fatigue and loss, but his eyes sparkled with hope as he saw the girls, as if a miracle had happened. - Finally, you've come.
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