A Cat Most Curious

Outside the premises of the Crimson Castle...

"Kitty! Kitty! Kitty! Wait! No, no! Uh... Here kitty, kitty, kitty! Here kitty, kitty, kitty! Oh... c'mon, kitty." Ruby said.

"Eek!" Little said, yelping before cowering in Ruby's hood, whispering."The cat's hindquarters!"

The Curious Cat's tail can be seen sticking out of the tall grass on the side of the path.

"Um... Excuse me?" Ruby asked.

"You're excused!" The Curious Cat said, popping out.

Ruby gets startled and notices the Curious Cat is behind her. Little gets scared and hides inside Ruby's hood.

"Um..." I said, looking at the Curious Cat. "I am not used to Wonderland."

Team RWBY and I watched the Curious Cat walking without their hindquarters.

"Uh... Hello, uh, cat." Ruby said, while the Curious Cat then joins both of their body parts together.

"This isn't purr-fect after all." I said, rolling my eyes. "I really don't like this."

"Curious Cat? Which one do you go by?" Ruby asked, shaking her head.

"Oh! I don't go by. That belongs to the days and the years. But if you are asking what I am, I am indeed a cat, most curious." The Curious Cat.

"Of course." Ruby said, slightly laughing. "Look, my friends and I really need to get to that giant tree, and so far, nothing we tried has gotten us any further."

"It looks to me like we're even farther!" Weiss said, angrily.

"Yeah, I think that's because we're six inches tall." Yang said.

"It could be both."

"It is definitely both, Snow White." I said, letting out a sigh. "We are a little above Pomu Rainpuff's height as a fairy."

"Is now the time to compare us to a forest fairy?" Blake asked.

"Yeah. Even so, we still need to get to the tree."

"The tree... Tree, tree, tree, tree..." The Curious Cat said, gasping. "Of course. That is most definitely impossible. You do not go to the tree, the tree goes to you. Unless, of course, you're me, you see."

"Not even a little bit." Yang said, unimpressed.

"Well, that's your problem. It's a matter of perspective, I'm afraid."

"But, uh, couldn't you take us then? You'd been there before." Ruby said.

"So why would I ever want to go back? Yes, I'm glad we understand one another. No sense it seems a sight seen." The Curious Cat said, noticing a yellow butterfly and pounces at it.

"Please. You helped Alyx when she was..." Blake said, looking at the Curious Cat.

"Alyx? 'Alyx' Alyx? How do you know her? Are you friends of hers? Lifelong nemeses? Wait. Don't tell me." The Curious Cat said, doing a short pause to think. "Okay. No, tell me."

"Oh, well, we don't know her personally. Just uh..." Ruby said.

"She wrote a book about her entire adventure in the Ever After." Weiss said.

"A book? Is it well-liked?" The Curious Cat asked, surprised.

"It's kind of a childhood favorite of everyone's, where we're from." Blake said.

"Yes. Oh, please. I simply must know more. What did she write about? How was I portrayed? And..." The Curious Cat said, sniffing. "Do I smell a mouse?"

Little quickly cowers behind Yang.

Blake quickly shields Little from the Curious Cat, "Umm... From one cat to another, could you give us a minute, please?"

"Oh... so they're spoken for. Well please, please hurry, I have so many, many questions." The Curious Cat said, proceeding to chase after the butterfly into the grass again.

"Are we sure they're not called the 'Constantly Annoying Cat'?" Weiss asked.

"Got 'em, totally roasted." Yang said, pointing finger guns.

"Thank you." Weiss said, smugly smiling.

"Guys, the Curious Cat was described as an ally, with an appetite for information. Just because they don't want to go back to the tree, doesn't mean we can't lure them there." Blake said.

Yang nods in agreement.

"Okay, yeah! We just need to keep their attention along the way. That shouldn't be too hard. We know all sorts of..." Ruby said.

"The cat's gone." Yang said.

"Cat got your tongue?" I asked, looking between Blake and Yang.

"Seriously?" Blake asked.

"Are you not feline that the Curious Cat is gone?"

Hearing this, Ruby panics.

"WHAT?! No! No! No!" Ruby said, frantically looking around, but manages to find the Cat when they pounce on the butterfly. "Whoa, wait up! Didn't you have questions for us? We'll be happy to answer them."

The Cat pops out from the red grass. Ruby gives a big sigh of relief.

"I sense a 'but' approaching." The Curious Cat said, while his hind legs then rejoin their front half.

"No, no! Uh, I mean... we do still need to go to the tree, but that'll take ages, right? Plenty of time to tell you all the stuff from our world." Ruby said, chuckling nervously.

"Ruby, what are kids into at a young age?" I asked, looking over at Ruby. "An iPhone or iPad. Or in Remnant..."

"Oh. A Scroll. Look!" Ruby said, pulling out her Scroll. "Ever seen a Scroll before? Oooooh!"

"Luminous rectangle!" The Curious Cat said, taking the Scroll from Ruby. "Ooh! What does this button do?" The light from Ruby's Scroll flashes, and they take a few more selfies. "Why is it painting tiny flat versions of me? Is that what I look like when smiling? I've so many more questions, how exciting!"

"Hook, line, and sinker." Weiss said.

"Yeah." I said, and Ruby smiles. "Good thing I didn't suggest a Nintendo Switch."

"What's wrong with a Nintendo Switch?" Weiss asked. "Oh. The battery life."

Later...

"So the old man and the boy share a body now? Ooh, that's got some uncomfortable implications. Who thought that was a helpful way to reincarnate? The same people who put a city in the sky? Ooh, speaking of Atlas, did that Ciel girl from the Vytal Festival ever come back in a notable way? Hoo hoo! There's just so many characters to keep track of! Wait, what was my original question?" The Curious Cat asked.

Team RWBY and I all have tired looks on our faces.

"Blake... It's your turn." Yang said, exhausted.

"You asked about the origins of Remnant." Blake said, exhausted.

"That's right! Ooh, those Two Brothers! Talk about a god complex, am I right?" The Curious Cat asked, letting out a sigh. "All in all, a rather entertaining summary, though I felt some of the character voices were a bit uninspired." He looks at Weiss. "Looking at you, wise huntress."

"Again, it's Weiss. Just Weiss." Weiss said.

"Apologies. To your credit, you lot certainly know more about the beginnings of Remnant than Alyx did, and that girl could barely see past her own nose." The Curious Cat said, chuckling.

"Oh, what do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"Don't you know? Just hilariously concerned with trivial things."

"Yeah, but she learned her lesson in the end, right?" Blake asked.

"I'd certainly say so. Oh, would you look at that. The edge of the Garden's Acre." The Curious Cat said.

Multiple leaves fall from the night sky. Ruby becomes amazed as she continues walking.

"This is why I traveled with the Doctor and stuck with Team RWBY to see Remnant." I said, smiling. "I love seeing new places."

The Cat plays with one of the leaves.

"This entire world is put together like a bunch of mixed-up puzzle pieces. How does everyone make sense of this?" Yang asked.

"Each acre is made specifically for its inhabitants and their roles. Is it not like that on Remnant?" The Curious Cat asked.

"N...no?" Yang asked.

"How strange. It never even occurred to me to ask that before." The Curious Cat said.

"I have a question I'd like to ask. How much longer before we're back to regular size?" Weiss asked, looking at the Curious Cat.

"Not long at all. The garden is just down this path, and is sure to have all the ingredients we need for a lovely Grow-gurt Parfait. Just don't go talking to anyone without me. If you're not careful..." The Curious Cat said.

"We might get our heads cut off." Blake said.

"I mean, Mami Tomoe got a-head of herself." I said, sadly. "That did happen in one of the many timelines."

"That is how we met, isn't it?" The Curious Cat asked, chuckling. "Ooh, you Remnant folk are such troublemakers."

"Well, I'm sure we'll cause a lot less trouble once we're back to normal." Weiss said, putting her fingers on the bridge of her nose.

"Bah. I don't see what all the fuss is about. Some of my best friends are six-inches tall. If I were you, I'd be more worried about... Oh, who was that scary sorceress you mentioned? Uh... Salim? Salem? How many more Relics does she need to end the world again?" The Curious Cat asked, chuckling. "How are you even supposed to stop her now that Atlas is gone?"

"Ruby?" I asked, when Ruby stops walking. "Little Red?" Ruby looks at the Gardens path and shuts her eyes. "Ruby?"

"Uh, hey, Rubes?" Yang asked.

"I...uh..." Ruby said.

"Maybe we shouldn't worry about home right now. We got enough problems to..." Blake said.

"The Cat!" Yang said, worried.

"What?!" Ruby exclaimed, yelping. "Oh no, I wasn't paying attention!" She sighs."Where did they go now?"

"Oh! They saw a bug." Little said.

"And you didn't say anything?" Yang asked.

"It was a very interesting bug?"

"Of all the characters from the book, why did it have to be the Cat? Why couldn't we have gotten help from the Lively Carpenter or the Rusted Knight? One was sweet, one was handsome, and neither of them had the attention span of a goldfish!" Weiss said, letting out a sigh.

"You know, I bet you could find a goldfish in one of these ponds." Little said.

"Who do you think is the Rusted Knight?" I asked, when Weiss sighs and facepalms at the comment Little made. "I know we fell. But who else?"

"Don't you know?" Weiss asked, as suddenly, a deep humming can be heard. "You were with us before you got teleported to the TARDIS."

"Hey... Do you hear that?" Yang asked.

Ruby turns to the direction of where the humming is coming from.

Forest...

We walk further into the forest, approaching a large, blue glowing mushroom. There's a garden in front of it.

"Is this... the Garden?" Ruby asked.

"It certainly looks like a garden, but...where's that humming coming from?" Blake asked.

A pile of leaves rustles in front of Ruby, and she stops cautiously. Three eyes can then be seen opening inside the pile.

"What are you?" The three-eyed creature asked.

"I'm getting really tired of that question." Ruby said, letting out a sigh.

The creature then emerges from the pile of leaves, revealing themselves to be a caterpillar-like being. They are holding a sack and a rake in each hand.

"What question?" The three-eyed caterpillar-like creature asked.

"She means your previous question." I said, when Ruby yelps. "Yang. If you would."

"Okay. What are you?!" Yang exclaimed.

"Oh... That question. Isn't it obvious? I am an Herbalist, the Herbalist. At least... Hmm... Until I'm not anymore..." The Herbalist said, raking the multi-colored leaves.

"Oh good. Well, all questions answered then..." Yang said, sarcastically.

"Um, sorry to bother, but uh, my friends and I could use some help. See, we're trying to get to that giant tree, but..." Ruby said, sadly.

"Help getting... to the tree? Ah yes, everyone needs help these days." The Herbalist said, ominously. "Everyone..."

A door leading inside the giant mushroom then opens up, and the Herbalist enters, wiping his hands in the process and putting the sack down. Ruby looks up at the giant mushroom.

"Well? Are you coming in? Or aren't you?" The Herbalist asked.

"You can make us a Grow-gurt Parfait, right?" Ruby asked, while the Herbalist sighs.

Giant mushroom...

Ruby then enters the mushroom, and the door closes behind her.

"Mm, I must say, you all seem a bit, uh... hesitant. What did you say you were again?" The Herbalist asked, grinding some herbs in a bowl.

"We're... Huntresses. And he's a Huntsman." Ruby said, looking at the rest of Team RWBY and then at me.

"And what exactly does a Huntsman and Huntress do?"

"Fight... monsters, I guess? I'm sorry, I don't understand why this matters." Ruby said.

"I don't understand how you don't understand!" The Herbalist said, taking out a scale, placing it on the counter. "I am an herbalist. I make medicines and remedies to help others on their journeys." He takes out some leaves from a jar. "It is what I am. So..." He places a weight on one scale, and the leaves on the other. "Do you know what a Huntsman and Huntress is, or do you guess?"

"Huntsmen and Huntresses are heroes. We protect those who can't protect themselves." Blake said.

"We protect the little guy. Being a Huntsman is similar to being a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man." I said, happily.

"Thank you. Now..." The Herbalist said, taking the leaves and wrapping them in a paper. "Would you say you're a good Huntsman and Huntresses?"

Ruby tries to answer, but hesitates.

"Look, can you help us, or not?" Yang asked.

"I am trying..." The Herbalist said, putting their hand on their head.

"Ruby..." I said, when Ruby gasps. "I know, I know it's tough."

"...But you are making this far more complicated than it needs to be. We all have our titles, our roles to play, but in order to help you become whatever it is you need to become, you should really have a better understanding of what you are now." The Herbalist said.

"Okaaay. How do we open mushroom... door." Weiss said.

"This is how a king winds up a prince... Follow me. My work is never done..." The Herbalist said, groaning.

The Herbalist goes through a beaded curtain into the next room. Ruby follows.

"Wow..." I said, in awe. "I never knew a version of Wonderland could be beautiful."

There are shelves of bongs all around the room.

"Yeah." Blake said, looking at me. "You said you loved your version of the Ever After."

The Herbalist is seen smoking from a large hookah.

"It is one of my favorite stories. It ended up in Kingdom Hearts too." I said, happily.

Ruby carries Weiss, Blake, Yang, and I in her hands.

"Please... take a seat." The Herbalist said.

"Actually, I think... Maybe we should be going!" Blake said, while she nervously smiled. "Right, Ruby?"

"This won't take long."

"Umm..." Ruby said, turning around.

"Crap." I said, when the door behind us closed, and Team RWBY and I gasped in shock. "This is bad."

"Just... answer the questions." The Herbalist said.

Ruby turns around. The Herbalist inhales another puff of smoke from the hookah.

"What... are... you?" The Herbalist asked, with his voice echoing around the room.

The Herbalist drops the leaves in their hands into the fire pit in front of them, causing a large amount of black smoke to surround Team RWBY and I. Ruby starts to cough violently, falling to her knees. Her shrunken teammates and I fell out of her hands.

"No!" Ruby said, coughing again.

"Are you sure you know? You have to be sure what you are, and of what you're going to be..." The Herbalist said, his voice echoing around the room.

"Ruby! Weiss!" I said, coughing. "Blake! Yang!"

Weiss, Blake, Yang, and I get up, but the smoke is too thick for us to see, and we are separated.

"Blake! Ruby!" Yang said, coughing.

Black smoke comes out from Yang's mouth and it takes the form of her own past self.

"What?" Yang asked, confused.

"You don't have to go forward, y'know? You can go back, back to before." Past Yang said, smiling.

Yang stares down at her prosthetic arm and holds it, "What? What are you talking about?"

In another space...

"It's simple, really. You could just be human, or just a cat, if you wanted. Really, it's up to you." Past Blake said, smiling.

"Why would I do that?" Blake asked.

"Like I said, it's simple, much simpler than trying to be a bridge between Humans and Faunus. Why struggle with that responsibility?"

The current Blake frowns.

Meanwhile, in another space...

"The Schnee name. Why bother, anymore? What even stands for now? Instead, you could be a nobody. Could you imagine? Not even a single bit of baggage on your shoulders. Isn't that what you want? To be free?" Past Weiss asked, smiling.

In another space...

"Team RWBY and the Doctor? Why bother with them? Why become a part of your fantasies to escape your reality? You spend a lot of time traveling with the Doctor to find Team RWBY again. Could you imagine not being a part of that danger again? Isn't that what you wanted? Spending time with Team RWBY away from danger at Beacon. To have fun?" Past me asked.

"To be something simpler?" Past Blake asked.

"To be whole again?" Past Yang asked.

Yang gives a serious, yet determined look on her face, "No. My losses, my failures. Those more than anything are what have shaped me into who I am, showed me how I need to grow. If there's something I'm missing, it's not because I lost it. It's cuz I haven't found it yet. And the only way to do that is to keep going."

"A simple life wouldn't be my life!" Blake said, drawing Gambol Shroud's katana. "My family, my friends, my culture. I belong to them, just as much as they belong to me. To give that all away wouldn't be simplicity, it would be betrayal."

"I don't know who you think you are, but let me tell you who I am: I am the granddaughter of a hero and a child of a villain." Weiss said, pointing Myrtenaster at her past self."I am a citizen of a fallen Kingdom and an heir to nothing. I will not be defined by my name because I will be the one to define it. I am Weiss Schnee, and I am a Huntress!"

"I don't know who you are doing what Oriru did to me. Melody Pond, the daughter of Amelia Pond and Rory Williams, helped me find Team RWBY again. I can have fun whenever I want with my family. I just choose not to because the Doctor's world and Remnant needs saving. I may have lost the Ponds and River Song, but I can carry on to honor them. Now that I have Team RWBY back in my life and Clara Oswald started traveling with the Doctor and me, I am myself and happy again. I can save the day and travel with the Doctor, Clara, and Team RWBY however long I want to. Because we are all heroes in the end." I said, looking at my past self.

"I am a Huntress!" Blake said.

"I am a Huntress!" Yang said.

"I am a Huntsman!" I said.

Elsewhere, Ruby is seen despondent and is on her knees while her past self stands over her.

"So, are you a Huntress? Like the ones you read about in books?" Past Ruby asked, smiling.

"I... I don't know..." Ruby said, quietly.

"They always saved the day, didn't they? Always knew what to do. Always won in the end." Past Ruby said.

"But...life isn't like a fairy tale..." Ruby said, lowering her head.

"That's right! It's up to you to make things better, isn't it? Everything all depends on you! Your sister needs you, your friends need you, the whole world needs you to keep fighting, forever and ever, against an invincible monster that took your mother!" Past Ruby said, while Ruby's eyes widened upon hearing this. "Mom was the best..." She frowns. "...but even she failed. That doesn't seem fair. None of this seems fair."

"But...what am I supposed to do...?" Ruby asked.

"You can do whatever you want. Be whoever you want! You don't even have to be Ruby Rose..." Past Ruby said, while Ruby looks down, seemingly on the verge of despair. "So, what are you gonna be?"

Giant mushroom...

The Cat appears and jumps through Ruby's past self as it vanishes in smoke.

"Get away from her!" The Curious Cat said, waving their tail, dissipating the smoke.

"Oh my! That's a bit much." The Herbalist said, coughing heavily.

"Oh, Herb. Look at yourself. You're done. You're supposed to be helping others find their way. But you've lost your own. Please, let me help. And take a bit of my heart. You'll feel much better." The Curious Cat said, placing a  paw on the Herbalist, and parts of themself go to the Herbalist's heart.

"Oh, I do apologize. I... always was a bit of a workaholic. A Huntsman and Huntresses, was it? Hmm. Peculiar things." The Herbalist said.

A hole appears below the Herbalist and they fall through it. The ground suddenly closes the hole. Team RWBY and I looked on in shock. Little comes out from Ruby's hood.

"Oh! I found the Cat!" Little said, yawning.