As they stand on the hill overlooking the Ever After, X-49 and Team RWBY take a moment to process the whimsical land they now found themselves in.
Yang: So are we gonna just stand around thinking about this in silence? Or...?
Ruby: I knew this place is weird, but a fairy tale? I mean that's impossible.
X-49: We're not in Remnant, that's for sure.
Weiss: What we've seen is improbable, but that doesn't mean we're in an actual fairy tale. Are we seriously entertaining this?
X-49: How else do you explain all...this? Talking mice, a forest of giant mushrooms and that's just what we've seen today. Whatever this place is, it is clearly not the Remnant we know. I doubt there's any explanation that can explain what this place is.
As Weiss tries to find a logical explanation to their surroundings, X-49 was trying to make sense of it all. It was clear to the Combat Droid that the Ever After was unlike any place he has ever been. Like Team RWBY, Echo was a stranger in a strange land. It wasn't long before Ruby spoke up.
Ruby: As crazy as it sounds, something about this is familiar.
Blake: The Girl Who Fell Through the World. I... I think we're in the Ever After.
Weiss: Blake, that world is make-believe. It was just part of the story we all read as kids.
X-49: This place looks make-believe, Weiss.
Weiss: X-49, do you seriously think we're in some kind of fairy tale world?
X-49: I don't know exactly where we are. I'm simply going off by what I'm seeing. And what I'm seeing is....something out of a fairy tale. Like something out of something I used to read for Ruby and Yang when they were kids. If that story can give us any sort of clue as to where we are and how to get out, then it might be a good idea to take advantage of it.
Little: It's not make-believe, it's where I live!
X-49: Blake, what can you tell us about the Tale?
Blake: In the story, Alyx fell from the sky and met with the Hunter Mice, got trapped in vines, fought a Jabberwalker, and got her knife stolen by... A talking raccoon.
Weiss groans and crosses her arms.
Yang: Yeah. And then she beat the Red King at a board game, met the Curious Cat, the Rusted Knight, and finally got out through....
Yang and Blake look at the giant tree.
X-49: Then let's not waste anytime. If we're going to find a way back, then that tree is our answer.
Weiss: So what now? Do we go to the tree? Look for Alyx? Yang's arm? Ruby, you're still missing Crescent Rose. And what about Penny and anyone else who might've ended up here?
Little: I'll bet the Jinxy Peddler has it.
Weiss: Who?!
Little yelped and ducked behind Ruby.
Little: The Jinxy Peddler? That's the only talking raccoon I know.
Weiss angrily grumbles to herself.
Blake: Do you know where he might be?
Little: Of course! I'll lead the way right to–
X-49: Then let's get going.
Yang: Plus it would be really good to get my arm back....
With that, Little guides Echo and Team RWBY through the forest and into the town where the Jinxy Peddler was located.
Blake: I've been thinking. If we're going to this town, we need to be careful. Alyx didn't know their customs and ended up starting a war among the townsfolk. Trouble followed her everywhere she went.
Yang: Well, yeah. But she was kind of a mean person, right? She lied and cheated her way through most of the book.
Weiss: She was just trying to survive. The morals of those old stories are so simplistic.
X-49: Weiss has a point. Like us, Alyx was trapped in an unknown world. She didn't have a fairy tale to guide her like we do. I'm not saying that puts her completely in the clear, but surviving that kind of situation is not easy.
Blake: Either way, we need to tread lightly.
Little almost falls as they quickly scurry back on top of Ruby's head. Little stretches.
Little: The town is just up ahead. The Jinxy Peddler always stops by our village before he goes to town.
Yang: Do they steal stuff from you guys too?
Little: Steal? Never. They just take the things we're not looking at. Fair is fair.
X-49: That's stealing. If they're taking things that don't belong to them, then it's stealing.
Little goes back to sleep. Lulu then began barking.
X-49: Lulu....sweet thing.
Weiss: Sounds like a legitimate business person. How did they manage to steal your arm anyway?
Yang: I was knocked out from the fall. When I came to, that sneaky raccoon already grabbed my arm and ran off before I could stop them.
Blake: So would you say they caught you unarmed? How disarming. I guess we'll have to catch...
X-49 groaned at Blake's pun while Blake's and Yang's hands brush against each other, merely inches away. X-49 smiles at this. At the same time, Weiss softly smiles at them.
Weiss: About time.
Ruby: For what?
Weiss: Nothing.
Ruby: Don't worry. We'll find a way outta here and we'll go back home.
Weiss stops walking, Ruby also stops walking and looks at her while Blake and Yang continue walking ahead of the other two.
Ruby: Weiss?
Weiss: It's... It's all gone... There's nothing left for me to go back to... Just like Beacon...
X-49: Weiss, there was nothing that you could have done. We did everything the best we could.
Weiss: But it wasn't enough! We hatched a crazy plan that put a whole kingdom at risk, and we don't even know if we saved the Relics from...
X-49: Trust me when I say I know how you feel. What's done is done. There's no point in dwelling on it. We...we just have to keep moving forward. That's all any of us can do.
Ruby remains silent, she simply turns around and walks away. Thunder sounds above, and Weiss proceeds to follow her teammates. X-49 took a deep breath as he and Team RWBY followed Little. For now, all he could do was continue on with the journey.
YOU ARE READING
The Tale Of X-49: A RWBY Story
AksiWhen a mysterious robot is discovered, Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long take him in as both a brother and protector. In the years that followed, the robot known as X-49 would forge a powerful bond with them that will give the robot a purpose beyond his...
