RWBY V9 C2

## Plot

Weiss says they're not in a fairy tale, but when she tries to apply logic to their situation, it obviously doesn't work, and she concedes the point. Blake realizes that this is just like *The Girl Who Fell Through the World*, which means they're in the Ever After. Little confirms that this is where they live, but they've never heard of Alyx. In the book, Alyx met the hunter mice, got caught by vines, had her dagger stolen by a talking raccoon, fought the Jabberwalker, beat the Red King at a board game, met the Curious Cat, the Rusted Knight, etc. She finally got out by going to the tree. Side note, but I love that Blake, the bookworm, is taking a bit more of a leadership role here, since she's likely the most familiar with the story. Weiss wonders if they should look for Alyx, go to the tree, or get Yang's arm back. Ruby is still missing Crescent Rose. Little says that the jinxy peddler probably has it. He's the only talking raccoon that they know. While on the way, Blake expresses her worry over doing the same things Alyx did. She didn't know their customs and ending up starting a war between the townspeople. Trouble followed her everywhere she went. Yang points out that she was kind of mean, since she lied and cheated her way through most of the book. Weiss says she was just trying to survive. The morals of these stories were always so simplistic. Little wakes up from another nap and says that the town is just up ahead. The jinxy peddler always stops by their village on his way there. Yang asks them if he steals stuff from the mice too. He just takes things when they're not looking, which they consider to be fair. Weiss asks Yang how Jinxy the raccoon even got a hold of her arm in the first place. She was knocked out from the fall, and by the time she woke up, he had already stolen her arm and taken off in his purple wagon. Blake starts making arm related puns, and the two almost hold hands, which Weiss notices. She echoes every Bumblebee fan by saying it's about time. Ruby isn't paying attention though. She tells Weiss that they'll get out of here and go back home, but Weiss stops and says she doesn't have a home to go back to. It's all gone, just like Beacon. Ruby tries to tell her partner that she did the best she could for Atlas, but she doesn't even seem to believe it herself. It sounds more like Ruby is trying to reassure herself that she did the best *she* could, which probably just makes Weiss's comment that it wasn't enough sting even more, although it's directed at herself, not her leader. The two don't even make eye contact with each other at any point during the conversation. They hatched a crazy plan that put everyone in danger, and they don't even know if they kept the relics safe from Salem. Weiss hopes that Winter and Jaune managed to keep them away from Cinder, despite everything, including them. She switches topics and tells Ruby that she knows Penny meant a lot to her, and hearing about her death wasn't easy. Ruby doesn't say anything and keeps walking, but the sound of thunder reveals how she truly feels. They reach the bridge to the other region, or "acre", as Little calls it. They reveal that they don't know how to get home and have never been this far away from their village, which reminded me of Ruby in volume 4. They consider just living by the bridge and finding their purpose, but they don't know how to build a house, so they accept Weiss's invitation to stay with them for now. The next acre is a town with toy soldiers and board game people and places. The Red King rules over this acre, and his birthday party is coming up. Blake sees Jinxy and says he seems older than what she remembers from the book. He has three items up for auction: A golden scepter, a diamond studded rabbit statue, and a jade marionette. Blake explains that Jinxy's items are always in disguise so they seem more valuable than they're worth, and he just names whatever price he wants, so they won't need money. Alyx knew which item her dagger was because she could feel it in her heart, but Yang just guesses the scepter since it seems arm-like. Ruby is drawn to the marionette. When they see that the price of the rabbit statue is a hug, Yang thinks it won't be so bad. However, the price Alyx had to pay was her happiest and saddest memories. Both Yang and a soldier bid on the scepter, and its price is knowing what it is to feel loved. There have been two interpretations to this scene: That Yang isn't willing to give up that feeling, or that she believes that she doesn't know what it's like to feel loved, due to Raven and possibly even Blake abandoning her in the past. Heck, after volume 3, Weiss was forced to go back to Atlas, Ruby left with Jaune, Ren, and Nora to go to Mistral, with Qrow following them, Penny and Pyrrha died, etc. Yang literally only had her dad and Zwei in her life for months after that, because so many people, intentionally or not, left her behind, although her depressed and apathetic state didn't make things easy for them. Either way, the soldier gets the scepter as a gift for the king. Ruby bids on the marionette, but she can't pay the price, which is enough hope to fill a jar. Little tries to take the marionette when Jinxy isn't looking. Because they touched it before the deal was made though, the glamour wears off on all of the items, revealing their true appearance and causing an uproar. The rabbit statue was actually a mouse from Little's village eating cheese. A soldier throws away Yang's arm, and she gets it back. The marionette was actually one of Penny's swords. Ruby takes it and runs away with the others. Blake is freaking out and thinks they're ruining everything just like Alyx did. She's read so many stories, but she never thought she'd be the moral of one. Ruby can't explain why, but she was drawn to the sword. The sky finally darkens as it starts raining, but only on them. Weiss just wants to skip to the end and go to the tree, but she gets stuck in a loop, just like Ruby did in the previous episode. Yang wonders what they should do next, since they still don't have Crescent Rose, or the slightest idea of how to get out. The rain stops when Ruby asks Blake what Alyx did next. She went to the Crimson Castle and beat the Red King at his own game. Once again, Ruby is trying to ignore her own feelings by focusing on a goal. The soldiers find them and want to imprison them for ruining the Red King's birthday, but Ruby offers them a better gift in exchange for taking them to the party: The weapon of a powerful warrior. She was touched by magic. She gave her life to save thousands. She delivered a message of hope to the stars. She saw the world through better eyes. The soldiers agree, and as the episode ends, Ruby harshly tells the others that they should follow the path that the story is putting them on, but they should stop pretending that they know what they're doing. I feel like that's a sort of condemnation of herself as a leader, since it was partly her decisions and plans in volumes 7 and 8 that led to Atlas falling, people dying, Cinder and Salem getting two relics (which they don't even know about yet), and them getting stuck here. This feeling is only further validated in later episodes by Ruby herself and other characters, which slowly but surely breaks her heart. Her eulogy for Penny was really sweet though.