*Y/N POV*

We make our way toward the red castle, following those toy soldiers as one of them keeps playing the drum.

Mako: "So," he looks around, "Anyone else thinks this 'Red King' will help us get to the tree?"

Blake: "I think so. In the book, the Red King helped Alyx after she beat him in a game."

Weiss: "In case you all forgot, we're not her" Meanwhile, I look at Ruby, as she stays silent all the way

'I know you are hurt after Penny. I'm too. Petals, remember your dream, and reach for it.'

(Y/N): "We as well may play her role, now" I look back at the soldiers and later turn to my team "If the whole 'Red King' becomes hostile, don't hold back" Ryze, Mako, and Sam nod

Ryze: "His 'soldiers' are made of wood (L/N)" He chuckles. "I'm sure 'little matchstick' like you can wipe them alone," he jokes, making the rest of Team CRMS chuckle while I roll my eyes.

(Y/N): "I regret you meeting Ace Ops," I sigh. "I hope they got out of Atlas with Qrow, Robyn, and my mom" I look down, "She thinks I'm dead, probably."

Mako: "When you say it... my parents and Alice probably think so too about me," he sighs. "We need to get out of here" Ryze and Sam nod.

Sam: "Mom probably saw our message, Ryze."

Ryze: "So what?! I don't care about her... unless she informs dad too..." he looks down. "I swear if she does anything to him-" Sam cuts him off.

Sam: "Mom was who she was but cared about us. Sure, she was overprotective of-"

Ryze: "Overprotective?! She locked you down in your room, for Oum's sake!" I end their argument.

(Y/N): "You two can have a twin argument later. When we leave this place and hopefully in Vacuo, we will see what's going on and act accordingly." I look up, spotting the Crimson Castle's gate. "We're here."

We reach the royal palace, spotting a mixture of guards in slightly different armor than the first group waiting for us. The rest play trumpets and step back in sync as the drums play. We look ahead, spotting a small figure walking within the soldier. Like the guards, the figure is a living toy with more details on his face, a more vivid red outfit, and a golden crown on his head. It strikes a pose in front of us.

'Great... another spoiled brat... like dealing with Weiss back at Beacon wasn't enough' I roll my eyes and look at the presumably 'Red King.'

(Y/N): "Are you perhaps... the Red King?" the figure snaps at us

The figure: "How dare you?! I'm not the Red King. There is no King!" he continues his tantrum. "Observe, as I am the Red Prince," he 'corrects' me while fixing his oversized crown constantly. I facepalm, not having any energy to deal with him.

(Y/N): "My fucking Oum..." I murmur.

Red Prince: "The nerve of some people," he huffs. "Coming to someone's castle without even knowing who they are. To make it worse, it's on my birthday!" he stomps his foot as soldiers stay at attend.

Soldiers: "Happy Birthday, Your Majesty!"

Red Prince: "Yes, yes, a most joyous occasion for all," he smiles

Mako: "Hey, I've never paid attention to literature class, but was Red King always such a jerk?" he nabs Ryze

Ryze: "I'm sure he was a lot taller... and didn't have 'Ice Queen' syndrome of a spoiled brat.

Weiss: "Hey! I wasn't that bad," she gestures to the royalty.

Team CRMS: "You were," we all say in one voice, making Weiss groan while one guard addresses us

Guard: "Well, if it weren't for one of your kind, the King would still be here!" every guard around him quiets him down, making me think

(Y/N): "Our kind? King would still be here? What the heck happened in this place?"

Sam: "Something is not right, (Y/N)" I nod

(Y/N): "I feel it too" Ruby meanwhile sighs and steps forward

Ruby: "Happy birthday, Your Majesty" she does a curtsy

Everyone: "Happy birthday," we join in, with most of us with less enthusiasm. The Prince gasps.

Red Prince: "Ah! How do you know such privileged information?! Wait, I know! You're infiltrators, here to mess up my royal birthday and run away with my precious crown!" he holds his crown like his life depends on it, while I and my team facepalm.

(Y/N): "Oh for Pete's sake... One, you already told us this information. Two, we saw posters and flyers scattered all around the city" the Prince shots right up to me

Red Prince: "Silence! You are in the presence of royalty! I have the crown to prove it. I am the heir to the Crimson Castle!" he stands on one of his soldiers, acting like a chair. I turn to Ruby.

(Y/N): "Is this the moment I can burn these stupid toys down?" Ruby sighs.

Ruby: "Play along, for now, Cookie. He may be able to help us, after all," I sigh.

(Y/N): "Fine, but if they try hurting you or any of us, I will not hold back" Ruby nods while Weiss turns to our group

Weiss: "Was I this overly arrogant when we first met?"

Blake: "At least you had some self-control... for the most part" they get pushed aside by the soldiers that brought us here

Soldier: "Your Majesty. We have brought you a wonderous gift, befitting the Royal Birthday," they kneel before him.

Soldier #2: "It is a weapon of a great warrior. The greatest warrior ever to live."

Soldier: "We searched far and wide for such a gift for you, Your Majesty. With no help at all whatsoever," Weiss snaps.

Weiss: "But, we're the ones who gave it to yo-OW!" she gets pushed aside by another guard. The Prince approaches them, removing the red cloth and revealing the blade. His excitement falls to the ground spotting... it's green.

Red Prince: "Green? Why. Is. It. GREEN?!" he kicks the sword to the side. Ruby gasps and tries to retrieve it, only for a guard to block her way.

Ruby: "How could you?" I meanwhile try to keep calm and not set everyone here to ash.

(Y/N): "He's so dead" I feel my arm slowly igniting itself. Prince sighs.

Red Prince: "I grow tired of this. Dispose of them" The royal guards drag the two soldiers away, all while they beg for forgiveness and make excuses. They carry them through the bushes to the side and then behead them. The girls gasp from the display while the boys cringe a bit.

Mako: "Well... maybe we can find help somewhere else?"

(Y/N): "No, I had to deal with this little shit for too long, and we will not leave without anything," I walk up to the Prince. "If their gift is not to your liking, maybe we can" Two guards block my way. "Maybe there is something else to bring you joy on your royal birthday?"

Red Prince: "Hmmm, beheading people tends to bring me joy, but go on. What do you have in mind?" Ruby gets to my side.

Ruby: "We heard you like to play games" she smiles mischievously. Prince turns to us and shows up a confident smirk of his own.

We walk inside Crimson Castle, getting inside one large room with several spinning stairways set around it. In the center, the Red Prince sits upon one seat overlooking a large table. On the table are squares like those on a chess board, with several red and white pieces scattered.

Red Prince: "So, I know that you're not just playing my game for laughs. What is it you desire in return? There is always something people want in exchange."

Ruby: "Your Majesty, you are as wise as you are..." she trails off until Little whispers in her ear, "Small!" she cheers, much to our dismay

Red Prince: "Why thank you" he accepts, while Little cheers up

Little: "Yes!"

(Y/N): "What we desire is this, Your Majesty: if we win, you will aid us in reaching the Tree."

Red Prince: "The Tree? It's so... far away,"

(Y/N): "We're aware of that. Surely, someone of your brilliance can achieve such a task."

'Curse this ass licking to this brat... but 'play along,' she says' I roll my eyes while Prince hums.

Red Prince: "I see... Very well. If you win, I will help you with what you ask."

Ruby: "Thank you, your Majesty" she wants to sit down but looks at me. "Cookie, will you please?" I smile and sit down, with Ruby getting on my lap a little later.

(Y/N): "You're one spoiled Rose" Ruby smiles

Ruby: "Not my fault, you're comfy," she turns back to the table. "So, how do we play?"

The Prince freezes at her question, and then... he starts laughing. His guards join him in his laughter, much to our annoyance. The Prince stops and holds up three fingers.

Red Prince: "Rule 1! Each player may move every pawn one space each turn" Pawns suddenly grow arms and legs. "Rule 2! Whoever gets the most pawns to the other side of the board wins. Rule 3! To take over a space, you must dispose of whoever occupies it" he snaps his fingers while the red pawns draw their blades and get ready to fight. At the same time, white pieces look damaged and defeated, sighing in resignation as they take their positions. Ruby notices she has fewer pieces than the Red Prince.

Ruby: "Um, I think I'm missing some pieces," Prince smirks

Red Prince: "How wonderful that you brought some friends to play then," Ruby gasps. The Red Prince snaps his fingers, and red dust flies by and encircles the others. They all disappear in the dust one by one, only to reappear on the board much smaller than before. The dust gets to me, but my fire starts around my eyes, startling the guards and the royalty.

(Y/N): "No more bullshit magic, thank you" I look at the mini CRMS standing on the board. "Guys, we're Guardians; we have protection against it!" the guys look at me

*RMS: "You could've told us before!" they shot back

(Y/N): "Whatever, do your best, guys" I smirk

Little: "Now we're all Littles!"

Red Prince: "Hey, that's not right! Oh, whatever, we still have plenty more pieces to play with."

(Y/N): "We have more than enough, Your Majesty" I smirk

Ruby: "No one's going to get hurt... right?" she asks, worried about our friends

Red Prince: "As I am a gracious ruler, the white team may make the first move. BEGIN!" The light goes off, and we look at the board. Checking it, I nod to Ruby to make a first move. She chooses one white piece.

Ruby: "Um, can you move up one space please?"

The white piece looks at spots a red piece standing in the way, preparing to kill someone. The white piece sighs before charging with a yell and his blade up. The red piece quickly knocks him back, and he looks up to see the Prince give a subtle nod. The white piece screams and then falls onto the floor in dramatic defeat.

Red Prince: "Yes! One victory for me."

'This game is rigged,' I smirk. 'Good thing we have aces in our sleeves.'

Much to our friends' annoyance, the defeated white piece is removed from the field. Ruby tries another move.

Ruby: "Um, how about you three? Can you move up a space?" she asks the three white pieces in front... only for them to be taken down two seconds after their charge. I sigh.

(Y/N): "This is pointless... Let's try another approach. Weiss, move one space forward" Weiss smiles, readying her weapon.

Weiss: "With pleasure," she smiles

Weiss draws her rapier and charges forth. Unlike the last two fights, Weiss quickly decimates her opponent and takes the space. She makes an elegant bow while the Prince looks on in shock.

Little: "Go Weiss!" it waves two leaves like cheerleader pompons, getting from one of Ruby's shoulders to another.

Red Prince: "Uh, um, that was just... beginner's luck," he waves it off or tries to. "So, tell me, why do you all wish to get to the tree?"

Ruby: "We want to go home. And we believe the tree can get us there. Yang, you're up!"

Yang: "Let's have some fun," she readies her gauntlets. She charges in and jumps into the air, firing behind her to smash her gauntlets down on one foe. She pummels him to the ground before kicking him off the field. The white pieces cheer for her win as she basks in the glory. "Are you not entertained?!" our opponent meanwhile twitches in annoyance.

Red Prince: "S-So... what makes you think the tree will help you?"

(Y/N): "A few suspicions, plus we heard of someone else who got home by the tree. Mako, you're up."

Mako: "Finally," he smirks, readying his metal fists.

A red piece charges and swings its sword down on Mako, but he catches it in his right hand. Encasing his left hand in steel, he swings up, knocking the piece into the air, jumps up, makes a series of strikes, and then kicks the piece back down on the board. Mako makes a bow to the team at his win.

Red Prince: "Someone you heard of, huh..."

White piece: "Hey, hey, what about us?" I smirk.

(Y/N): "Go for it, little soldier" the piece charges forward, and yet another red piece falls off the board, angering the Prince

Red Prince: "Enough! It's my turn. ATTACK! Full steam ahead!" the red pieces attack together, but the white pieces and our friends push them back, taking some of them from the game. Our opponent strikes his armrest. "No, this is not how it's supposed to go!" he kicks his chair and gets back. "This isn't right. This isn't fair!"

Ryze: "Someone can't face defeat," he chuckles. The Prince, meanwhile, looks back at Ruby and me.

Red Prince: "Wait a minute. What kind of creatures did you say you were again?"

Ruby: "Well, uh... Blake is a Faunus, Little's a mouse, at least I think..."

Little: "Sure!"

(Y/N):" And the rest of us... are humans, more or less."

The pieces either gasp in shock or ready their blades at this revelation. The Prince stares at us until his head cracks open.

Red Prince: "H-Human? A human? A HUMAN?!" he freaks out and jumps onto the table. "I see it now. You all must've cheated. That's it; get them. All of you. GET THEM!" he commands both red and white pieces. They surround the group and Ryze slumps.

Ryze: "So much of a fun game."

Ryze jumps up, and Mako catches his feet, throwing him into pieces. He spins his blades, blasting through all of them. Blake throws her chain scythe at Yang, who grabs it and swings her around to knock aside several red pieces. White mist gets around Ryze's eyes as he activates his Semblance, making the pieces surrounding him float, and then he sends them crashing into the ground. He finishes it up by spinning around and shooting his rifle away. Off to the side, Weiss skates across the board, slicing through piece after piece with her rapier. Mako grabs two red pieces by their heads and knocks them together, throwing them at Sam, who catches them by their legs with his vines and swings them at another pack of pawns, throwing them off the board. After beating down one white piece, Yang dodges the sword strikes of a second. She then counters by hitting it with several explosive shells before kicking it into a few red pieces before exploding. Ryze swings his blades, cutting two pieces in half. He looks to his left, seeing Blake getting surrounded.

Ryze: "Mako!"

Mako runs toward him. He jumps in front of Ryze and the Winter Guardian uses a massive wind push, shooting him in Blake's direction. Mako activates his Semblance, changing his fists into metal ones with spikes in his knuckles, and punches one aside. Blake sees the opening and swings her chain-scythe around, sending two more flying, while Mako kicks away the fourth. Meanwhile, Weiss skates around several red pieces as she goes to help Sam, only to get blindsided by another white piece and sent into the wall.

Ruby: "Hey, you're going to hurt them!"

Red Prince: "It's MY royal birthday, and I can do whatever I want!" he argues as a few pieces on flying stretchers come out of a side drawer to attack.

Sam sees them flying in and fires his pistols to shoot them down. However, he nearly gets blindsided by a sneak attack from two red pieces from behind. He rolls under the attack and jumps back. Looking around, he sees the other slowly getting surrounded and pushed back by the two armies of pieces. Mako throws one white piece into two more before joining him and Ryze side-by-side. Weiss and Blake are forced to two corners of the table while a group of white pieces dogpiles Yang.

Red Prince: "It's over! Give up already. I've won!" I smirk.

(Y/N): "Get out of here... Team CRMS, kick their ass," my teammates smirk.

Ryze jumps on Mako's shoulder before flying up in the air. He sends many wind waves at the flying pieces, causing them to crash into some pieces around Blake. Weiss jumps into the air while summoning a pair of Nevermore wings to shoot feathers at pieces heading toward Yang. At the same time, Sam activates his summons as a few vine golems grab the pieces before swinging them all around. Meanwhile, Mako gets his Semblance on and smashes the floor, sending metal spikes and taking the surrounding pieces.

Ryze: "Let's see if it works," he smirks, creating a 'wind cone' around himself. "Like a charm," he drills through several pieces on top of Yang, freeing her from the onslaught as she activates her Semblance. Weiss creates a pair of black glyphs for her and Blake, who throws her chain-scythe back at her. Yang and Ryze throw Mako into the ribbon encased in steel. The girls slingshot Mako to the ground, slamming the floor in a massive shockwave that knocks away all the pieces. With the game over, they all stand as winners.

Red Prince: "AARRRGH!" he yells as he flips the table aside, sending the group flying. Luckily, Ruby catches them all just before they go over the edge of the floor. "If you don't submit, then I will have you all beheaded!" I join them.

(Y/N): "Listen, you can be a spoiled brat and a sore looser, fine. The fact is, we won your stupid game. Now, fulfill your end of the deal and take us to the tree. Now!" I get Mortem out and spin it around as wooden guards get us encircled. "Be careful," I smirk as fire surrounds my eyes. "You may just 'burn' yourself" the guards get a little distance from us.

Red Prince: "We don't have any deal! Guards, bring. Me. Their. HEADS!" I roll my eyes, getting ready to burn some 'firewood.'

???: "Your Majesty," everyone stops, hearing a mysterious voice. The Prince looks back as a light purple, and emerald green cat materializes before them. "You must be so distraught. Unable to do the one thing you were put on this acre to do. I understand," the cat says before walking up to him. "Surely, you don't want to actually behead them. They are such fragile creatures, you know. If they lose their heads, they may never play again," the cat's head disappears for emphasis but comes back just as quickly.

Red Prince: "B-B-But, it's my birthday, and they wouldn't let me-" the cat cuts him off

Cat: "I know, Your Majesty. It is such a difficult situation, isn't it. You must play and win your game at any cost. Your heart must be in such pain. Here, let me help you," the cat brushes against the Prince's legs, a trail of similarly colored symbols flying around and landing on the Prince's heart... The young monarch's mood changes.

Red Prince: "F-Fine, I won't behead them," he cries, tears that freeze into little gems as he falls on his backside. "But I never want to see them again! Wah!"

'Another temper tantrum' I roll my eyes. Meanwhile, guards get off our case and tend to the Prince.

Ruby: "But, what about my friends? They're still so small, and he said that if we won, he would-" the cat cuts her off this time.

Cat: "Promises are like birds; they taste great, but always escape" he appears on Ruby's arm and whispers to us, "You all should leave before he changes his mind. Fast" he takes his leave, heading off in one direction out of there. "This way, hurry!"

(Y/N): "Rubes, let's go."

Red Prince: "You are all banished!" Ruby grabs my hand and gets all of us in her Semblance, flying after the cat. We enter one hall and start running away from the guards while moving through strange pathways that seem to go sideways, backward, and upside down.

(Y/N): "Sorry guys, the birthday party is over" I send some fireballs at the soldiers, and they burn with screams

Cat: "Ooh, nice. Come this way" he opens up some secret passage, and we get in before the guards can find us. Ruby sighs in relief.

(Y/N): "Well, that was a mess" I look at the cat. "We could've gotten in a fight and caused even more problems. Thanks for helping us."

Cat: "Well, sounds like I showed up at just the right time. I usually don't attend parties. Not my thing," we move through the passageway. "How did you end up in the prince's game anyway?"

Blake: "We wanted to speak with the Red King, but he wasn't there. And now we're right back where we started," she sighs.

Cat: "The king?!" he approaches Ruby's face before approaching our guys in her hood. "How do you know him?" a moment later, he's back in front of us. "Ah, well, time's changed, you know. And so do we when it's our time to change... Don't you?" a bright light appears and blinds us all. When we get our sight back, we see that we're in the forest outside the castle.

Mako: "Well, at least we're outside the castle now."

Sam: "Yeah, but we're still shrunk."

Yang: "Wait, remember what those guards said. There was a Red King"

Ryze: "Yeah, that guard said something about 'our kind' doing something and the red king no
longer being around because of it."

Blake: "Right. But something's changed since then..."

Weiss: "Great, so we're not in a stupid book. We're in its stupid sequel," Little sleep on her shoulder.

Cat: "Now then, what are you, people? What did you want to speak to the king about? And what... is your favorite dessert?" he lies in front of us. I roll my eyes.

(Y/N): "I'm getting tired of explaining. We're humans and-" the cat cuts me off again.

Cat: "Ugh, you're not nearly as interesting as some of the others I met. What if I asked you-Oh, hold that, though," he stops, spotting a butterfly and chasing it.

Weiss: "What is with this crazy cat? Can't anyone be normal around here?"

Ryze: "If you didn't notice, Weiss, we're in a fucking children's book! There is nothing normal here!"

Blake: "Wait, I know that cat. That's the Curious Cat. Alyx met him in the book, and he always loved to ask questions."

Yang: "And the Curious Cat helped Alyx reach the tree."

Mako: "So, we get another furball as a tour guide?"

Yang: "Ruby, (Y/N), don't lose that cat!" I get up.

(Y/N): "Let's go!" we take off after the Curious Cat, following it down the dirt path in the acre.

*Meanwhile, 3rd POV, the first area of the Ever After*

As our heroes advance toward the tree, the Jabberwalker gets thrown through a tree in the forest.

???: "I'm so sick and tired of this nonsense!" says a person, holding two golden cutlass swords

Jabberwalker: "Hurt... Pain... Damage..."

???: "Oh shut up, will ya?" the Jabberwalker quickly makes itself scarce and races out of there. "When you think you have seen it all, it surprises you again" the person flexed their hands. "How the heck am I alive? This bastard burned my- Mistress Salem," the person now smirks with their metal jaw. "So be it, I will finally get you... Grimm Reaper," the person disappears into the jungle. "I just need to get out of here."

A/N: "*Dun dun duuun!* Well, guess what? We will make the story more complicated by throwing another opponent besides Neo ;) As you can see, I somehow rescued my laptop, meaning I can write again. It's different from the same writing on the phone, tbh :p. So... our heroes beat the Red Prince in his game and met the Curious Cat. Will he lead the teams to their home? Who is the mysterious enemy? What awaits the eight teenagers? See for yourself in the next chapter of Continuing the Legacy!

I know; it's Alyx, not Alex... I just read the transcript...

Feel free to vote and comment!

Punkie and Vera out and over!

RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum

ED: Watched EP 5, one reaction:

OCs belong to me

(Y/N) belong to you (and to Ruby)