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Chapter 45: The Pieces Together

Ruby didn't exactly give the cat time to explain what the heck just happened as she immediately snatched up her brothers and bolted out of the mushroom house. Once they were far enough that the mushroom was out of sight, she slowed down and caught her breath. The two (Y/N)s clung to either leg, completely freaked out and babbled nonsense.
"I'm so glad the four of you are still the four of you." The cat said, appear from nowhere atop one of the many glowing mushrooms and terrifying the boys further. "Not always the case in the Ever After. Such a shame these two are still separated though."
Weiss, very much annoyed, took a deep breath. "You're the one who ditched us in the first place! Which, by the way, is how we ended up in that mushroom house to begin with! You know, where that delirious caterpillar guy tried to drug us and then swallowed up by a freaking hole in the ground!"
The cat stopped mid lick to give them an amused look. "Ah yes, yes. Alyx had a similar reaction the first time she saw someone return to the Ever After, but it's not how it seems. Well, I suppose it is, but not the way you think, if you think like Alyx, which it seems like you do."
"My headache's worse now." Baby (Y/N) moaned, very much not liking this feline.
The cat bounded away as everyone looked at each other uneasily, letting out an aha.
"We're here!"
Without much option, the group followed its trail as it led them to a beautiful lake. Despite being shaken up by what they witnessed, the boys were immediately captivated by the sight: at the center of the lake was a great, glowing, pavilion made of lily pads, draped in rainbow colored vines. In the distance, they could faintly make out the shapes of individuals roaming it.
"It's beautiful." Timid (Y/N) whispered.
The cat smirked, hopping onto a large lilypad. "It's far more stupefying up close. Better run."
Boarding the plant, it began drifting to the pavilion, letting everyone take a minute to soak in the view. Baby (Y/N) stood at the edge of the pad trying to catch fish that were brave enough to approach, an activity the cat more than encouraged by joining him and made Ruby keep a very close eye in case he fell in.
"So, cat." Yang finally spoke. "Going to explain to us how a giant caterpillar disappearing into a hole isn't how it seems?"
The feline purred, pulling away from the fishing spot as Ruby motioned for Baby (Y/N) to join them.
"When we break, or wear out, or simply finish what we were made to do, we are called back. But Herb? His heart was too weak to listen, so I gave him a little bit of mine."
Blake bit her lip in concern. "Is he...dead?"
The cat laughed. "No, no, no...well, maybe a little bit. But not at all."
"Ugh!" Yang growled. "Which is it!?"
The cat frowned and cleared its throat. "Ahem. Now that Herb's returned, he'll be fixed up nice and made into the Herb he wanted to be when he was still Herb. Then he'll come back and find his purpose. This could be the same as before, or maybe not."
"When Herb comes back, will he remember anything?" Ruby asked as the boys were distracted by two birds on a nearby lilypad boat making faces at them.
Again, the feline laughed, laying on its back. "What would be the point of that?" It stretched out. "Just like Alyx, you lot. I know, I know, where you're from things, ugh, die, honestly, I'm surprised that one is still alive after that whole fiasco, but we're just not like you at all."
This caught Timid (Y/N)'s attention as when they had told their story, no one had mentioned specifically what had been done to the boy given his younger counterpart was there, in ear shot.
"Wait, how do you-,"
The cat quickly moved on. "We Ascend, and perhaps that one did as well. Herb will have a purpose again."
"That's impossible." Weiss insisted, not catching what Timid (Y/N) had picked up. "Things have to die someday. Right?"
"What!?" The cat said, now looking concerned. "Goodness no! Though, I suppose there is a creature that...no, no. That's not the sort of thing you talk about in polite company."
The boat made its stop as the group was greeted by a bird man trying to sell wares (this guy is a Rito. I might have TOTK on the brain, but tell me it's not). The cat hopped off and wandered in, leaving the group to trail it while discussing what they had learned.
"So, what happened to Herb, is that what happened to the king?"
"Come on, lads, try our mud cookies!" The birdman insisted, shoving the tray towards them.
Both boys gagged, knowing mud was literal in this case. They quickly ran back to their sisters as the cat shook its head at Blake's question, climbing up a branch.
"Oh, it was all very sad. The Red King couldn't cope when he lost to Alyx, a crying mess. Thankfully, he was called back and fixed up, and now he's the prince you met."
"Fixed up?" Ruby repeated. "The prince was worse!"
"Yeah, the king was nice." Baby (Y/N) agreed.
"The prince isn't supposed to be nice." The cat explained, reappearing behind them. "He's meant to play the game and win, no matter what."
"So, that's why he cheats when the Red King didn't." Blake realized. "But that still doesn't explain why the Red Prince was so much meaner."
Timid (Y/N) nodded, sorta getting what she was talking about. "The prince remembered humans. But you said you don't remember after...?"
"Ascending." The cat finished. "While the prince may not remember Alyx's deception after ascending, the heart rarely forgets."
"But...there was nothing about Ascension in the story." The cat Faunus noted.
"Of course not!" The cat exclaimed, riding on the head of a bipedal, doll-like lion. "Exposition is terribly boring! Even this conversation, on the whole, was rather tedious!"
Blake's ears flattened. "I wonder what else Alyx left out."
"Well, when making a Growing Parfait, one needs a bushel of grumpy ivy, one good sized spicy potato, the lint off a gryphon's sweater..." The cat went on listing ingredients as everyone spied the vendors surrounding them.
The pavilion was clearly some kind of market place, with the vendors selling items just as nonsensical as the rest of the Ever After.
Ruby sighed, losing track of the cat's list almost immediately. "I can't remember all that."
The cat chuckled. "I can procure those. There's another ingredient we must have that's only available on the third level: some nose hair from a leprechaun."
"Ew!" Everyone said in unison.
"What if you retrieve that, while I go get the rest?"
"Ugh, sure." Ruby agreed. "I-I guess so."
"Wonderful! Look for the Teapot Lady. She'll have it. Now, off you go!"
The cat bounced off, only to be immediately distracted by a vendor dangling a flower like a cat toy.
Yang groaned, rolling her eyes. "Guess I better go with the cat so they don't get distracted by a shiny doorknob and never come back."
Blake chuckled. "I'll go with you."
Weiss nodded. "Get me as far away from any nose hairs, please."
"I'll go with you, Ruby." Little offered.
"So will we!" Baby (Y/N) joined in, grabbing Timid's hand.
Ruby sighed, but decided it was for the best, holding her friends in her palms and approaching the cat.
"Nice try, kitty." Yang half teased as Weiss hopped on its head.
"But we're coming along."
They all jumped aboard and rode on the cat's back as it wandered off, leaving Ruby alone with Little and the boys. The vendor tried to offer her the same flower, but she quickly scurried along, leaving it to chirp sadly. Feeling kinda bad, especially seeing a group of mice stealing a bunch of cheese plants, the boys scooped the stolen goods back up and gave them back to the owner, who gratefully put the flower behind Timid's ear in gratitude. The two grinned happily before catching up to their sister.
"Onward!" Little declared, only to yawn.
Ruby chuckled, smiling as she saw the flower dangling from Baby (Y/N)'s ears. This wouldn't be so bad. They quickly made their way to the third level and began to search for the stand the cat had mentioned.
"Teapot Lady...Teapot Lady...Teapot Lady...I kinda miss having you as a scout, (Y/N). (Y/N)?"
Ruby glanced and noticed she was suddenly alone. Not only were the boys missing, but the market was suddenly empty. Before she could start panicking, a cold breeze caught her attention as she felt drawn to a nearby red hut. The faint sound of a hammer striking metal echoed from within. Ruby tried to pull away, only to notice an unnatural darkness blocking her way, the sounds becoming louder and louder. A fire seemed to ignite beside her as a bright light drew her to a rack of weapons hanging beside the hut, one of which was Penny's sword. Ruby immediately grabbed it in disbelief.
"Does that one interest you?" A voice asked.
Ruby looked up and saw a female form working over a forge. She seemed robotic in form and unearthly. Hesitantly, Ruby approached the mysterious blacksmith.
"I-I thought this was lost forever. How do you have it?"
"Nothing, no one, is ever truly lost."
Ruby looked down at the blade, gasping as she saw Penny's reflection staring back at her.
"And what about you?" The stranger asked, turning to face the Huntress. "Are you lost?"
"No, no!" Ruby insisted. ""I just...my friends went somewhere else."
The shadows casted by the forge's flames concealed the stranger's face, but it did not hide the concern in their voice.
"You're doing this by yourself?"
Just then, Little appeared from within the hood, waking up from a nap. "Ruby? I don't think we're supposed to be here."
"Are you her guide, little one?" The blacksmith asked.
Little puffed up her chest with a smile. "Yes! Ruby is my friend, and I want to help her get home, even though I don't know where that is or how to get there."
"Hmm..." The stranger hummed as she began to work on a piece of metal shaped like a butterfly's wing. "You seem to be carrying a very large burden with you."
"I'm fine." Ruby said. "I can handle it."
"If you change your mind, you may choose any one of these you like, and set your burden down."
As the blacksmith went back to work, Ruby picked up a nearby knife. In its reflection, she saw a young, familiar girl staring back. She blinked.
"I already have a weapon. I did..."
"And yet, here you are." The blacksmith pointed out. "Searching for something else that you do not even know."
Ruby placed the knife down and stared at an intricate ax. Its gleam mesmerized her and for a moment, she saw her mother staring back at her.
"Ruby?"
The forge disappeared and Ruby turned to see the boys, the cat, and her friends staring up at her.
"Who are you talking to?" The cat asked with a full mouth. "Did you retrieve the nose hairs?"
"Not yet." Baby (Y/N) answered. "We we're looking for the Teapot Lady, but Ruby suddenly froze. Are you sleepy, Ruby?"
She glanced around confused for a moment before shaking her head. "Er, no...no, I'm fine."
"All right, let's go find the stall then." Weiss said. "We've got everything else."
"Oh, I'm sorry." She said quietly.
Timid looked at her worriedly, but before he could say anything, Blake pointed at something.
"Is that the Teapot Lady?"
Everyone looked over and saw the character the cat had described. She was indeed a teapot lady who greeted them gleefully as they approached.
"Welcome to Ogres and Things! How can I help you?"
"Looking for nose hairs!" The cat said. "Though, not the ogre ones."
The tea pot growled as Timid shifted nervously on the balls of his feet.
"Sorry about-,"
He stopped as he and Baby (Y/N) went stiff. Ruby noticed right away.
"Boys?"
"I hear something." Baby (Y/N) said.
Timid began to shake. "It's here."
A loud crash was heard as fireworks began lighting the skies. Yang sighed in relief.
"It's okay guys, it's just fireworks. Must be a festival."
"No!" Timid said in a panic. "It's not that!"
Screams of terror filled the air as customers began stampeding past them.
"Jabberwalker! It's a Jabberwalker!"
The Teapot Lady shrieked and sucked up all her wares into her pot, the cat fighting to keep the jar of nose hairs.
"Wait, please!" Ruby cut in. "We need those leprechaun nose hairs!"
"No time!" She insisted.
Ruby thought for a second before pulling her mother's emblem from her belt. "Here, I'll give you this! It...it carries a mother's promise!"
The Teapot Lady gasped as the boys looked at her shock. Despite the gaps in their memories, they understood instinctively how important that emblem was to Ruby.
"But Ruby, isn't that your mama's-,"
"Take it!" The Teapot cut off Timid as she sucked up the emblem and ran off.
The cat shook, looking rather fearful. "This is exceedingly bad!"
"The shrunken members of the team hopped out of the basket.
"What's a Jabberwalker?" Blake asked.
"It's a truly terrible creature. If the Jabberwalker eats one of us, we do not ascend."
The boys gulped, realizing this was the true death the cat had talked about before. Still, something told them there was more than just the Jabberwalker to worry about.
"How do we make the parfait thing!?"
Thinking fast, the cat ripped the cork off the bottle of nose hairs. "Toss everything in here! But be careful, too much and we'll have to shriek you back again, and that's a completely different potion."
Trying to be fast, but careful, Ruby shoved the ingredients in, causing it to morph into a dessert. Not wasting time, the girls eat, only growing a few inches.
"It wasn't enough!" Blake yelled.
A roar tore through the air as a creature came crashing through the market. It was the same creature Yang had been fighting when they arrived in the Ever After. As it yelled and ran at them, Ruby used her Semblance to try to pull them to safety, only for its tail to send them flying. The parfait, unfortunately, was sent crashing onto the creature, who grew to a towering size. As it charged them again, Ruby and the two boys began running, Ruby holding Blake and Yang, and Timid holding Weiss. Suddenly, one of the bird men flew past them, crashing into the creature to their shock.
"Run!" The cat yelled, its back arched fearfully.
"What's he doing here!?" Ruby demanded.
"I gave him something new to do for the moment. Now go! Your friends need to get big again or we're Jabberwalker dinner!"
Ruby and boys ran towards the parfait, nearly getting hit by the bird man as he was tossed into a stand by the beast. The Jabberwalker turned on them, only for the boys to hear soft footsteps approaching. Just then, a white jackalope big enough to be carrying a rusted armored passenger rammed into the monster. The boys immediately recognized this character.
"The Rusted Knight!" They both yelled, excited.
"Guys! The parfait!" Yang yelled.
With the knight distracting the creature, the girls were able to take the rest of the potion, turning back to normal size.
"Finally!" Yang yelled as the three dove into battle.
Ruby, unable to join them, was rejoined by the cat.
"Ruby, boys, follow me!"
The trio ran for cover as Yang, Blake, and Weiss assisted the Rusted Knight. Weiss pinned the Jabberwalker with her glyph as Blake used Gambol Shroud to keep its tail occupied. Yang then jumped on its back and began beating it.
"I said I wasn't done with you yet!"
As she leapt off, Weiss sent the beast flying up, only for Blake to knock it back down for Yang to finish off with a punch to the gut. The creature dissolved in a familiar burst of pink particles.
Blake's ear pulled back. "Neo!?"
"There's more of them!" Timid screeched from the sidelines as a swarm of Jabberwalkers began climbing up from the lower floors and coming up the path.
"What!?" The knight exclaimed. "There's only supposed to be one!"
"RUBY! BEHIND YOU!" Yang screamed as one of the beasts suddenly ambushed the hiding group.
Ruby yelped as she tried to get them to safety. However, she was a second too late, only managing to pull Timid away as Baby (Y/N) was knocked to the other side and crashed into a pillar.
"(Y/N)!" The girls all screamed as they charged the beast that stalked towards him.
Baby (Y/N) whimpered and curled up as the Jabberwalker pounced. A furious snarl ripped through the air as something pounced from the roof of the stall, crashing into the beast and sending them both rolling. The other Jabberwalkers seemed to back away in fear as whatever had attacked their pack mate began tearing it to shreds, the sound of flesh being carved by claws echoing in the air. Eventually, the beast dissipated in another pink flurry as a familiar form stood up, huffing for breath.
Baby (Y/N) opened his eyes to see another version of himself, this one being older than Timid. This (Y/N) had claws and was clearly very strong. He stood up and smiled, believing this was current (Y/N).
"Wow, you saved me!"
As he approached, the other (Y/N) opened his eyes and immediately, the girls realized this wasn't their brother. The hollow, crazed look and seething expression was a dead give away that this was in fact the feral half (Y/N) fought to keep under control. Evidently, Timid recognized him too as what he had run from when he woke up.
"STAY BACK!" He screamed, trying to warn his younger self.
As the small boy froze in fear, the feral version of himself spun around and with a snarl slashed at him with his claws.
"GAAAAHHHH!" The little boy screeched as he fell back, clutching his right eye as he felt something hot and sticky fall into it.
The feral version and Timid also yelled and clutched their own eyes. Ruby grabbed Timid, trying to see what was wrong, only to see three scratches over his eye, pooling blood as if he were the one struck. Feral also had the scratch marks as Baby (Y/N) looked up at him in pure terror. With another snarl, Feral grabbed him by the collar, dragging him as he turned to stare down Timid who hid in Ruby's arms.
"Put him down!" Yang yelled, taking aim.
Blake grabbed her arm. "Stop! Look! They're all connected! If we attack him, we'll just be hurting them all!"
"Then how do we-,"
"GET BACK HERE!" A familiar voice yelled.
Feral turned as an identical body crashed into him, wrestling him to the ground and knocking Baby (Y/N) loose from his grip. Dazed, the little boy tumbled to get away, straight into Yang's arms as she held him tight. Feral (Y/N) was knocked away and skidded on all four, arching his back and hissing. His assailant hissed back ferociously, wings outstretched to make him look as big as possible. Wings that girls knew all too well.
"(Y/N)!"
Just one look and they knew this was the true version of their brother, even as he glared down at the wild half he hated so.
"GET OUT OF HERE!" He roared at his doppelgänger.
The feral version answered back with a blast of fire the boy easily deflected with his wing. Feral (Y/N) jumped away from the scattered embers, lacking the protective scales his other half had. (Y/N) roared again, this time in a challenging manner. His feral half bellowed smoke from his nostrils, but for the first ever, the girls watched as their brother's dark half retreated. (Y/N) huffed, keeping his eyes locked on his feral side's retreating form until it vanished into the market. He then turned to look at his sisters, also sporting the scratches over his right eye and thankfully having his weapons on him.
"You guys okay?"
"We're good." Yang said, cradling the crying toddler version of her brother.
He nodded, relieved, only to hiss at the Jabberwalker. With the Feral One gone, they began to approach again.
"RUN!" The Rusted Knight yelled. "This way!"
Yang and Blake booked it, determined to get Baby (Y/N) to safety. Weiss ran to Ruby and Timid. This version was shaken up, but he didn't seem as dazed by the pain as his younger version. Still, Ruby was frozen in horror as she saw the wound.
"We have to go!" Weiss insisted, grabbing Ruby's hand.
"Go!" The cat yelled as the bird man got back up. "We'll hold them off!"
The two of them ran to face the monsters as everyone else ran, trying to block out the horrible screams from behind.
"What about the other (Y/N)!?" Blake yelled as they ran. "If those things attack him-,"
"They won't." Her brother assured, oddly enough, not flying as he usually did. "The Jabberwalkers are afraid of him. They're not getting near him."
Reassured, they followed (Y/N) and the Rusted Knight to the top of the pavilion, keeping an eye out as the other race passed. The terrified screams of the Ever Afterians filled the air as they escaped across the lake. Weiss backed away with wide eyes, her hand still clutching Timid's. The boy, still in shock, turned as he heard weeping. He saw the Teapot Lady on the ground, whimpering in fear. Weiss held a hand over her mouth as Ruby ran next to her to pull her away. Timid slipped from her grasp, approaching the woman with an empathetic expression, recognizing the sounds she was making, the sounds he had made so many times. He knelt in front of her. She jerked back, nearly falling over only to be caught by him.
"You need to run." He told her. "It's not safe here."
"Y-you..." She stuttered.
He looked and saw a crack in her spout. Without a second though, he tore a piece of his shirt off and wrapped it up.
"Sorry, it's dirty, but it's better than nothing."
"T-thank you..."
He then took the flower from behind his ear and placed it in the spout, smiling sadly. "You're going to be okay, but you need to go."
A hand was placed on his shoulder and Timid looked up to see his older version.
The older dragon looked at the lady confidently. "I'll get you to one of the boats. When you make it to land, run as fast as you can to the next acre. You'll be okay. I promise."
Shakily, the Teapot Lady stood up to follow the dragon, stopping in front of Timid.
"Here." The emblem Ruby had given up jumped from the spout, landing in his hands. "A Mother's Promise for a Brother's Understanding. You'll need it."
He nodded back. "Thank you."
(Y/N) gave his younger self a smile. "You did good, kid."
Timid ran to catch up with the others as (Y/N) got the woman to safety. The boy found them all inside the flower at the top of the pavilion.
"Where's (Y/N)?" Weiss asked.
"He'll be right back. He's helping someone."
They sighed in relief as Blake ran up to him. "Let me see your eye."
"You too, little guy." Yang said softly to the still sobbing toddler."
Once he was calm enough, the girls checked over the scratches. They had stopped bleeding and seemed to be sealing up. Despite neither of them being old enough to have Aura, they had a suspicion that (Y/N)'s Aura was healing them.
"You're gonna be okay." Yang said reassuringly as she wiped the toddler's tears.
"H-he's supposed to be like us!" He cried. "Why did he attack me?"
"That was the bad us." The group turned to see current (Y/N) walk inside. "His only thought is attacking everything that moves. We're lucky he was smart enough to realize we're connected to each other or he would've torn you apart."
Weiss ran up and hugged him. "That's the first thing you say to us after finding you?"
Ruby, Blake, and Yang joined in as the boy hugged them back.
"Sorry, it's just been one crazy thing after another. I would've looked for you sooner, but...I'm not exactly a great flier without my tail. Good to know where it is though."
They parted as Baby (Y/N) and Timid approached, still fearful, but looking up in wonder at their older version.
"You're-you're the real one, aren't you?" Timid asked.
He nodded. "Current one. Probably should've guessed there was more than just me and Feral out there. Glad to see you two found your way to our sisters. I guess it's just the (Y/N) thing to do."
"Are we really gonna be that strong?" Toddler (Y/N) asked.
The oldest chuckled. "Eventually. Though, I'm not at my best right now."
"(Y/N), what happened?" Ruby asked. "Where were you, and do you know how...this happened?"
He looked down gloomily. "After I woke up, I ran through the woods and eventually...Penny's gone."
Ruby felt a pang in her chest, but nodded. "We know."
"I found her body."
They all looked at him in horror.
Weiss covered her mouth, holding out a hand to him. "Oh, sweetie."
He brushed it off. "It's...well, it's not fine. I...I was in so much pain and I blacked out. When I woke up, I saw my wild half and fought him for a bit before realizing I couldn't hurt him without hurting myself, and he took off. I chased after him so he wouldn't hurt anyone and then...I ran into a friend."
He turned to smile at the knight.
"I still can't believe it." Blake said as they all looked at him. "The Rusted Knight, in person!"
The knight nodded, turning to pet the jackalope. "You did good, Juniper. You too, (Y/N)."
"Would've been better if I could maneuver." He half joked. "I miss having a tail. Also, stop teasing them."
The knight chuckled before taking off his helmet.
"Team RWBY." The girls' jaws dropped in shock as they recognized Jaune, a much much older version of Jaune. "You finally made it."