Legends. Stories scattered through time.

Once, in ages past, there was a medium-sized island, to the east of and not far from the coast of a continent. Humans shared it with fantastical creatures, and civilization rose with magic users and ordinary folk alike. Their towns and villages sat next to moors, mountains, and woodlands that were home to fairies, dragons, sprites, phantoms, and other mystical beings and beasts.

They called this island RWBY. The name came from the first letters of each of its quadrants, partitioned by mountain ranges and forming a majestic diamond shape.

Eventually, this island became part of a great and mighty empire, ruled from a distant throne in the lands of Red and Blue on the continent. It flourished for hundreds of years, bringing great art, innovation, culture, wealth, and prosperity. This was the time of the Rooster Teeth Empire. For generation after generation, its wealth and power grew, and the threat of invasion and attack grew ever more remote, until nearly everyone thought it impossible.

But this came to an end, as all good times do. The Empire of Rooster Teeth grew too big to sustain itself, and fractured. Seeing weakness and wide lands that it could no longer defend, hordes and armies from all around invaded to carve up the pieces of the Empire for themselves. The capital provinces of Red and Blue split and fought each other, both taking lands around them and forming new but smaller empires. They became locked in an endless war, and the age of prosperity fell into an age of darkness.

The island of RWBY and the nearby JNPR Coast were too remote for either rival successor empire to control, and the few remaining imperial troops retreated. They were left abandoned to the depredations of the barbarians, cut off from all external aid or defense.

The Isle of RWBY, the JNPR Coast, and the nearby Villainous Inlands to the west and Heroic Archipelago to the east became known as the RWBY Subreddit. But soon after the Empire fell, the whole region lost unity. The various sub-regions turned on each other, forming dozens of small nation-states, and became locked in an endless series of wars.

But all who lived in this dark age, human, elf, dwarf, demihuman, or other race, wizard or ordinary person, waited in the hope of one who would lead their armies to victory to unite the RWBY Isle once more, and take their place as the one true king or queen.

RWBYland coast, Isle of RWBY. April 4, 449 years after the Founding of the Subreddit

A fleet of masted longships landed on the beach, scattering a flock of seagulls that were picking for clams in the sunny spring breeze.

Some of the ships had burn marks, or holes in their sails. Many had arrows embedded in the shields that plated their wooden sides. Some floated lower in the water than others. But despite their varying conditions, all the occupants were filled with relief, even triumph. They had finally escaped the Villainous barbarians that had sacked and burned their old kingdoms on the JNPR Coast. They would found new kingdoms, to replace the lost Arkos and Renora, and carry on their legacy.

Thousands of exiled men and women, and some children, disembarked from the ships. They stretched out and took in the scenery, before unloading their supplies and striking camp on the grassy plains above the beach.

Over the next few days, many scouts observed the newcomers from afar, and went to inform their superiors. Some used concealment magic, one transformed into a quail, and others used good old fashioned stealth.

Inflorescence Castle, Lake Fervidus, Nation of Pollination. April 14, 449 AFS

The castle stood on high cliffs that formed a peninsula jutting into the lake. High mountains ringed it on all sides, but this rare low point near the center of the island formed an oasis for flowering fields and forests among the ice, snow, and craggy rocks. This was the Nation of Pollination. Since there were enough passes through the mountains to access all four major regions of the island, its central location made it the perfect place for all nations to meet for diplomatic reasons, and in times of crisis.

Such as now, with the unexpected arrival of a huge host of foreigners on their shores.

Inside the castle walls, dozens of representatives gathered in the main hall, waiting for the meeting to start. Dark-cloaked warrior mages from the Black Order stood around the edges of the room to ensure that there was no foul play.

After everyone had arrived, King Inferno of Pollination raised his hands, and made a small but loud explosion in the air to get everyone's attention.

"Welcome, everyone," he said. He wore brilliant flame-colored robes, which matched his flowing red hair and beard. "Now I must ask you all to move to the edges of the room."

Everyone complied, while two of Inferno's guards worked a large crank. A huge circular section of the floor rose from the ground, becoming a vast round table. Several others fetched chairs.

"All right," Inferno said, once everyone was seated. "As I'm sure you all know, we are here to discuss the new arrivals on our shores."

"More like invaders," said Councilor Tragic Solitude of Ladybug. Some representatives nodded, while others shot her dirty looks.

Inferno raised his hand again. "Before we start saying things like that, we must establish what we actually know. It's time to hear the scout reports."

Big Bad Bob of Lancaster spoke first. "The ships appear to be of JNPRon design. We counted fifteen ships, and estimated three to four thousand people in total. Mostly men and women, but some children. The ships showed signs of attack."

A quail perched in an alcove flew to the table and transformed into a man. He had greasy blonde hair and poorly kept stubble, and a smug smirk on his face.

"Is that really the best you can do?" he asked. "Pitiful. I had low expectations of Lancaster, but this is just pathetic. You omitted many key details."

"Oh, it's you, Quixotic," said Queen Lewdnep Vasilias of Iceberg, putting her hands in her face. "And I thought this would be a productive meeting."

"Out of all of you, I'm the least useless," said Quixotic of Fallen Petals.

"Then I suppose you have better information?" asked Emperor Generic Usernaym of Lancaster.

"Or are you just running your mouth as usual?" asked Admiral Spiderplant, also of Lancaster.

"Enough of this," said Inferno. "No more bickering, let's get on with the actual meeting."

"Of course," said Quixotic. "As a matter of fact, I do have more relevant information. These arrivals come mostly from Arkos, but a significant number from Renora and White Knight as well. King BlueWhale and Generals Only T. Results and Vaniellis of Arkos, and Admiral Clem Prime of White Knight are among them."

This started more murmurs.

"Good, I welcome them," said Admiral JMHS Rowing of the former nation of White Rose. "We can rebuild together."

"Agreed," said Queen Lewdnep. "Iceberg welcomes these new arrivals. Arkos, Renora, and White Knight are some of our best trade partners."

"I say no way," said General Horsea of Fallen Petals. "They are ambitious and greedy. If left unchecked, they will work to conquer the whole island for themselves."

Councilor Solitude nodded. "This is the RWBY Isle, not JNPR. This is our land, they must return to their own or die."

"Now hold on," said Emperor Generic. "We must at least give them the benefit of the doubt. Two years ago, you allowed the Empire of Lancaster to establish a colony here and move our seat of power."

"That was a mistake," said Chancellor Peters Nachbar of PSYCHO, a coalition of Yuri states. "Only Yuri nations should be allowed here."

"We have yet to make any aggressive actions," said Generic. "We only want peace and love for all."

Peters, Quixotic, and Horsea burst out laughing.

"The operative word being yet," said Peters.

"I don't know what your problem is," said Lewdnep. "Lancaster has done nothing but help since they got here. I trust that Arkos, Renora, White Knight, and whatever other JNPRon nations have arrived will do the same."

"Lancaster came here legally, though," said Puzzarian Ideal of Strawberry Shortcake. "They sent envoys, purchased unwanted lands, and cleared it with their neighbors. They didn't just show up with an armada unannounced."

"Another excellent point," said Horsea.

"Bob said that the ships showed signs of attack," said Generic. "Perhaps they fled from an invasion and didn't have time to do this the 'proper way.' It would explain why there were few children, only the fastest would have escaped."

"In that case," said Rowing, "We should welcome them with open arms. You allowed us to build new states when that devastating volcanic eruption wiped out the nations of White Rose and Bumblebee. How is this any different?"

"You're jumping to conclusions," said Solitude. "And this is once again different, even assuming your hypothesis is correct."

"I'm inclined to agree," said Puzzarian. "I know it seems harsh, but we must find the truth of the whole situation before we make any decisions."

"If their nations were lost, they should find new land on the continent," said Peters. "The refugees of White Rose and Bumblebee didn't try to take over the JNPR Coast. Why should we allow the reverse?"

"Whose territory did they land on?" Inferno asked. "That might help resolve this."

"Lancaster," said Bob.

"But very near the Fallen Petals border," said Quixotic.

"I probably should have brought this up earlier," Generic muttered.

"Then it's settled," said Rowing. "We can just let Lancaster host them until they want to acquire other land. We can have another conference then."

"But even Lancaster should not be here," said Peters. "If we allow-"

Just then, the main doors opened, and several newcomers walked into the hall.

"You know," said a Blue Whale demihuman, "it's rude to talk about people behind their backs, and even worse to decide their fates without giving them a say."

Everyone turned and looked at the new arrivals. They were all dressed in JNPRon uniforms. Some of them recognized who they were.

The Black Order security guards raided their spears or prepared magical attacks. Their leader, Hoesack, conjured a ball of black flames.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" he demanded.

"Relax, we're unarmed," said an Arkosian general with long black hair. "I am General Vaniellis of Arkos."

"King BlueWhale of Arkos," said the whale.

"General Only T. Results of Arkos," said another Arkosian.

"Admiral Clem Prime of White Knight," said the man in the White Knight uniform.

"Welcome," said Lewdnep and Generic.

"Oh gods," said Peters and Solitude. Quixotic let out an exaggerated groan.

"They have a point," said Yargama Frag, one of the Black Order security guards. "It would make sense to include them in this meeting, since it is about them."

"Only if they're unarmed," said Black Sphinx, another Black Order member.

"Very well," said Hoesack. He cast a detection spell on them. "No weapons. Very well, come on in."

"As if that would stop magic users," said Quixotic.

"The field over this castle would prevent any use of magic to harm," said Hoesack, "except by us or our host."

"Hey," said King Inferno. "This is my castle!"

"Do you have an objection then?" Hoesack asked.

"No," said Inferno. He turned to the JNPRons. "Please, come in."

"We don't even have enough seats at the table," said Peters. "How can we expect to have enough lands for them to settle?"

"We have plenty of room," said Generic, and sent Spiderplant and Bob to fetch more chairs. "Both at the table and on the island."

"We're just surprised no one invited us to the meeting," said BlueWhale. "Fortunately, we were able to overhear the camps of those spying on us, and were able to make it."

"Sorry we're late," said Vaniellis.

"I thought I sent someone to invite you," said Generic. "They must not have made it."

Quixotic kept his face neutral. He'd made sure the messenger didn't survive.

"We're here now," said Clem Prime. "Perhaps we can clarify some things, after you fill us in on what we missed."

"Very well," said Inferno. "Hoesack, please read the transcript."

Hoesack read from the scroll that the Black Order scribe was writing on.

"Generic, your suspicion is correct," said BlueWhale. "Villainous barbarians from Arc Furnace, Romancin, Emberald, Cinder & Ashes, and other groups razed our nations. We took as many as we could, but most of our children, and many of our men and women, perished in the attacks. The JNPR Coast is a wasteland now."

"They also destroyed Lancaster's holdings on the continent," said Clem Prime. "If you hadn't already made a colony here and moved your capital, Lancaster would be gone as well."

"No," said Spiderplant. Generic and Bob bowed their heads in grief.

"Oh boo hoo," said Quixotic. "You lost a war, and now you want handouts from us. Not happening. Go back home."

"Hey, be nice," said General MacGregor of Guns N' Roses.

"We don't have a home to go to, you asshole," said General Results. "What do you expect us to do, eat the corpses in the ruins?"

"That would be preferable to bothering us," said Quixotic.

"Why you-" Results tried to charge at Quixotic, but BlueWhale held him back.

"There will be none of that," said Hoesack, as the Black Order guards pointed their spears at Results.

"Surely you don't agree with this… person of low empathy," said Vaniellis, gesturing to Quixotic.

"I'm sure not everyone here is so callous," said BlueWhale. "Right?"

"Of course not," said Lewdnep.

"I should hope," said Generic.

"I know this seems harsh," said Peters, "but we cannot allow any more foreigners. What happens to them is not our problem. I founded PSYCHO to protect all Yuri ships against threats like you."

"Agreed," said Horsea. "They are a threat, just as warlike as the 'barbarians' they just lost a war against. I am suspicious of their story, I suspect there is much they haven't told us."

The JNPRons were about to shout back, but Generic spoke first. "Enough, there is no need for fighting. They can stay in Lancaster until we work out a more permanent solution."

"Iceberg supports this," said Lewdnep.

"As long as no one attacks Guns N' Roses, fine by me," said MacGregor.

"It seems we have nothing more to discuss," said Peters.

"Then that settles it," said Inferno. "Any objections?"

The table was silent. Melanie Antiqua had a scheming face, but hadn't said a word the whole time. She did not break her silence.

"Very well. This meeting is adjourned. There are guest rooms for anyone who cannot leave yet."

No one took him up on that offer. Soon, everyone was leaving.

As they left, Generic waved Lewdnep and Rowing over. "Follow me back to Lancaster," he muttered to them, making sure no one would overhear. "Bring what forces you can. The JNPRons may need extra support."

Lewdnep and Rowing nodded.

City of Flaming Rose, Kingdom of Fallen Petals. April 16, 449 AFS

Those who opposed the arrival of the JNPRons were having a meeting of their own, with some who weren't present at the original.

"We can't let them get away with this," said Horsea. "Arkos, Renora, White Knight, and Lancaster are cut from the same cloth. If they are left unchecked, they will invade our nations and overrun the island."

"Are you sure?" asked Puzzarian. "I mean, Lancaster hasn't done anything bad yet."

"Absolutely," said Quail. "It's them or us."

"It's unfortunate I couldn't attend," said Queen Laughing Fish of Fallen Petals. "Perhaps I could have swayed the opinion the other way." She had pasty white skin, green hair, and scars running from the corners of her mouth. Despite her aquatic sounding name, she was a fire mage.

"I wouldn't count on it," said a gruff voice. It was Yukon, a wolf demihuman and notorious mercenary. "Those self-righteous fools would never commit to anything until it had them in a corner. It will be their downfall. Until then, if we want anything done, we must do it ourselves. For my usual fee, of course."

"Of course," said Laughing Fish.

"And I assume you want PSYCHO's backing," said Peters Nachbar. "Otherwise you wouldn't have brought us here."

"Correct," said Quixotic. "I'm not normally one for alliances. But it's a necessary evil in this case."

"And what exactly are you planning?" Peters asked.

Laughing Fish, Horsea, Yukon, and Quixotic smirked.

"Why, to attack and wipe them all out," said Laughing Fish. "We have formed a group called the Shitpost Society, to oppose this threat."

"I say we do it," said Jenny Doombringer, one Peters's soldiers. "They must die. Especially White Knight."

"Very well," said Puzzarian of Strawberry Shortcake, who was also a member of PSYCHO. "I will support this."

"As will I," said Yargama Frag, who was part of PSYCHO and the Black Order.

"We cannot let this stand," said a suit of armor full of various rodents. "The JNPRons cannot be allowed to live, including Lancaster."

"If that's what everyone's decided, I'm in too," said Metas M. Petivero.

"Then that's all of my council," said Peters. "PSYCHO is in."

"Excellent," said Laughing Fish. "Then let us plan our attack."

JNPRon camp, Lancaster's shore. April 18, 449 AFS

The campsite was now well established, and repairs were mostly finished on the damaged ships. They had enough supplies for a few weeks, but they would need to start planting crops soon.

Even though it was only a couple weeks since they landed, the leaders were already having a heated midnight argument about what to do about those who wanted them gone.

"The Yuri nations want us all dead," said General Only T. Results. "Peters Nachbar of PSYCHO all but stated it. If we want to survive, we have to wipe them out first!"

"And I'm telling you," said King BlueWhale, "we have nowhere near the manpower or resources we would need to do that. Not to mention, surely not everyone in those nations hates us. We need to focus on finding allies, not making more enemies."

"Enough of them hate us. It's us or them!"

"No! We can resolve this peacefully. Your plan is going to get us all killed, and cause untold death and suffering on this island. We've already seen enough of that, we cannot go causing more. Your idea is in clear violation of the Oath of Arkos!"

"The nation of Arkos is gone," said Results. "Your title of 'King' means nothing now. We're here to found new kingdoms, and we cannot have the weakness that got our old one destroyed. I'm going to do this, with or without you."

"Please stop fighting," said Colonel Umbrione. "It's late, we can resolve this tomorrow."

BlueWhale and Results ignored him. "I still cannot allow this," said BlueWhale. "You'll get yourself and all your forces killed. After that, the people who really do want us all dead will have justification to wipe the rest of us out. You are going to get us ALL killed!"

Just then, General Vaniellis burst into the tent. "We are under attack!"

"What?!" BlueWhale, Results, and Umbrione shouted simultaneously.

They ran out of the tent, and saw an army shooting flaming arrows into the campsite. Several tents and a couple of the ships were already on fire.

"EVERYONE!" BlueWhale shouted. "Form a defense!"

He, Vaniellis, Umbrione, and Only T. Results did their best to rally a defense. Within a few minutes, they had hundreds of men and women in a defensive line, while Clem Prime led the children and their parents and guardians fled to the ships to escape.

"Mages, form a shield," Umbrione ordered the magic users he'd assembled. Soon, they'd formed a one-way barrier that finally stopped the hail of burning arrows. A couple of them broke off to extinguish the burning tents and ships.

"Finally," said Results. "Now we can turn the tide."

"Of course," said Yukon. "Nothing's ever as easy as one thinks it will be at first."

"Not to worry, it will be," said Laughing Fish. "We still have superior firepower. Mages, explosion spells!"

"You don't have to tell me twice," said Puzzarian, lifting his wizard staff. All the other magic users followed suit, and soon the shockwaves of the explosion spells shattered the protective shield.

Horsea, Yukon, Peters, and the most of the others looked on in grim satisfaction, while Quixotic pointed and laughed his head off. Though he couldn't even hear himself over the explosions.

"Oh no," said BlueWhale. "This is bad."

"All forces, RETREAT!" Vaniellis ordered. "Get to the ships!"

"Are you sure?" Results asked. "Can't we mount a counterattack and kill their mages? Or use ours to a similar effect on them?"

"It's too risky," said BlueWhale. "Much as I hate to admit it. Mounting an attack powerful as that on them will magically exhaust us. Retreat is our only option if we want to survive."

With that, they took off running.

"And now," said Laughing Fish, "for a finale!"

She raised both her hands, and gathered all her magical energy for one attack. She hurled the white-hot ball of doom at the JNPRan camp, and when it hit, for a split second, the whole world went white. The heat incinerated the tents and soldiers in the middle, while the shockwave blew away all the others. It continued and destroyed several of the retreating ships, and blew the burning remains of those left behind to cinders. The unlucky people who hadn't quite made it to the ships in time were blown into the sea.

Four ships raced away with the wind of the dissipating shockwave propelling their sails, while a fifth whose sail had burned limped away on oar power.

People on both sides watched in awe as a mushroom-shaped cloud of fire rose hundreds of feet into the air.

Horsea caught Laughing Fish as she collapsed from magical exhaustion.

"That was foolish," said Puzzarian. "You'll be drained for days. You could have destroyed their camp and the soldiers who hadn't retreated with far less force."

Laughing Fish did not answer, she was too exhausted to speak. Within seconds, she was asleep.

"I'm sure it's fine," said Peters. "What can they do in a few days?"

Meanwhile, Quixotic pulled back a bow, and launched an arrow at one of the retreating ships.

City of Rosarc, Empire of Lancaster. April 19, 449 AFS

The sun rose over the stone city, where the leaders of the surviving JNPRon refugees were meeting with Emperor Generic Usernaym, Queen Lewdnep Vasilias, and Admiral JMHS Rowing.

"I assure you, this will not stand," said Generic. "By attacking those on my territory, Fallen Petals, Strawberry Shortcake, and PSYCHO have declared war. I only regret I did not have any forces stationed to protect you. I did not think they would attack so soon."

"Likewise," said Rowing. "I should have sent my forces to protect you."

"We're all guilty," said Lewdnep. "We must work to make things right now."

"I also have this, which I pulled out of the side of my ship," said BlueWhale. "It only missed me by a foot."

He handed Generic an arrow. Attached was a small flag, which read, "Courtesy of the Shitpost Society. SpS."

"Ugh," said Generic. "They really are organized about this."

"Of course they are!" Results snapped. "Nobody unorganized could pull off something like that!"

"All of the Arkosian ships were destroyed," said Umbrione. "Only White Knight, Milk & Cereal, Greek Fire, and Dragonslayer survived, as well as a badly damaged ship from coastal Lancaster."

"What an awful waste," said BlueWhale. "Each one of those ships was going to found a new village. Now the entire new kingdoms of Arkos and Renora have been aborted. Rose Gold, Pink Rose Gold, Pollinated JNPR, Greek Fire Knight, and so many others…" A tear rolled down his face. Vaniellis put a hand on his shoulder.

"We will avenge them," said Clem Prime. "And you will always be welcome in White Knight. Once we rebuild it here."

"And Iceberg," said Lewdnep.

"As I said, we will not let this stand," said Generic. "If they made the Shitpost Society, we will be the Anti Shitpost Society Society, or ASSS. We will overthrow Fallen Petals tomorrow."

"Wait, tomorrow?" asked Vaniellis. "Don't we need more time to prepare?"

"No," said Rowing. "Lewdnep and I brought forces with us when we came after the meeting."

"And the Lancaster Military has been on alert," said Generic. "I will inform Generals Spiderplant and Venom Ahab of this immediately. We will march on Fallen Petals tonight, and seize their capital tomorrow."

"I can't wait," said Only T. Results. "Those monsters will pay for what they did!"

Strategy room, same city and day

"Then our plan is finalized," said Generic, after a strategy meeting. They were all standing around a table, which was covered with a large map of the RWBY Isle.

"Let's go over it one more time. The ships, led by JMHS Rowing and Clem Prime, will go along the river to bring the main attack force to the city of Flaming Rose, and attack from the west. This main attack force will be led by Venom Ahab, BlueWhale, and Only T. Results. Meanwhile, Spiderplant and myself will march to the south of the city, while Vaniellis and Umbrione take the east, and Lewdnep flanks them to the north. We should have our armies surround the city and deal with their armies, while the main attack force takes down the leadership."

Everyone nodded.

"Then let's get some rest," said Generic. "We'll be marching at night and fighting tomorrow, so we should sleep for the next few hours, until we need to set out."

Cinder River, tributary of the Ruby River, Kingdom of Fallen Petals. April 20, 449 AFS

A dozen warships made their way up the river in the pre-dawn fog. They moved slowly and silently, so as not to rouse their prey.

Soon, they came within range of their target. Fallen Petals' six warships, docked at the riverbank.

JMHS Rowing and Clem Prime raised their hands. Every mage in the fleet cast fire spells at the enemy ships, with some using explosion spells, while the non magic users shot flaming arrows. BlueWhale shot a bolt of lightning from his magic trident.

Within seconds, the Fallen Petals navy was a roaring conflagration, the heat searing away the fog. The Lancaster forces could not hope to avoid being spotted now. But there was no more need for stealth, it had already accomplished its purpose.

City of Flaming Rose, Kingdom of Fallen Petals. April 20, 449 AFS

The sun was starting to rise. Wheeling in the early morning sky in his quail form, Quixotic looked at the nearby river and the plains surrounding the walled city. There were craggy hills on the east side of the city, and in the distance, he could see the icy mountains in Strawberry Shortcake to the northeast, and the lands of Lancaster to the south.

But that was not what caught his attention. Twelve JNPRon ships were approaching on the river to the west of the city, past the burning wreckage of Fallen Petals' own navy, while armies marched in from the south, east, and north.

Quixotic squawked, or made a sound as close to a squawk as a quail could make, and went into a steep dive toward the city.

Moments later, he landed, transformed, and burst into the throne room. Laughing Fish was still asleep, but Horsea, Peters, Yukon, Puzzarian, and Peters's council were there.

"We're under attack!" Quixotic shouted, panting from exertion. "Lancaster's navy in the river! Armies on all sides! Thousands of troops!"

"What?!" Horsea exclaimed. "Sound the alarm! Get everyone to battle stations!"

Quixotic went back outside to blow the warning horn.

The suit of armor full of various rodents turned to Peters. "'What can they do in a few days?' you said. 'I'm sure it's fine,' you said."

Peters hung his head in shame.

"Oh well," said Yarg. "We'll just have to make up for it now."

"But is the queen up to it?" Metas asked.

"Doubtful," said Puzzarian. "That was easily a week's worth of magical energy. Hell, even I'm not back to full strength yet. None of the mages are."

"That sounds bad," said Yukon. "I'm going to take a look outside."

He came back moments later.

"This is very bad," he said. "So bad, in fact, that I doubt we can win this."

Just then, an overpowering noise filled the city, the warning horn. Several seconds later, Queen Laughing Fish came out of her bedroom.

"Is that the warning horn?" she asked. "Are we under attack?"

"Yes," said Horsea, "and it's bad. Very bad."

"Surrounded on all sides," said Yukon. "We've already lost our navy. I would recommend fighting our way through the weakest point and fleeing to Strawberry Shortcake."

"Not an option," said Laughing Fish. "I will stay here to the end."

"There's no point getting yourself killed in a fight you can't win," said Puzzarian. "You should use the secret tunnel and get out of here."

"No," said Laughing Fish. "I would rather die than be an exiled monarch of a fallen kingdom. You can, if you want, but I'm staying here."

"I'm not," said Jenny Doombringer. "I need to live to kill White Knight."

Soon, the armies completely enclosed the city. Vaniellis and Umbrione looked down from the top of the hill to the east, while Lewdnep Vasilias had circled around to the north, Generic and Spiderplant were laying siege to the south, and BlueWhale, Only T. Results, and Venom Ahab were attacking the main gate in the west.

The main gate had taken a huge beating from battering rams and spells, but since it was magically reinforced, it still stood.

Meanwhile, Generic's forces had already breached the southern wall.

"Just a little more," said Venom. "Mages, cast explosion!"

The enemy soldiers on the wall threw their last buckets of hot oil and scrambled away from the area above the gate, trying to escape what was about to happen. The Lancastrian forces stepped back as the mages cast their explosion spells. The blast shattered the metal and stone doors, and the archway above collapsed into the opening. Everyone raised their shields to block flying debris.

"We're in," said Results. "CHAAARGE!" BlueWhale, Venom, and their forces followed him into the city, striking down enemy soldiers as they slowly made their way up the slope to the castle.

Meanwhile, Generic and Spiderplant's forces were already overrunning the southern portion of the city.

"Ignore the route to the castle," Generic called to some soldiers who were attempting to break through the defensive line along the roads leading to the castle. "Our target is the garrison. We need to reach and destroy it before they can deploy all their troops."

"But we still need to prevent them from outflanking us," said Spiderplant. "If we ignore that line, we'll be surrounded."

"True," said Generic. "Then you take your forces to hold them back, while I take the rest to clear out the garrison."

Although taking the hill was more difficult, once they had it, Vaniellis and Umbrione's job was probably the easiest.

"Continue the bombardment," Vaniellis ordered the archers and the mages. "Once the wall is down, the forward company will enter the city, while the rear stays back and maintains our control of the hill."

"The wall will be down in moments," said Umbrione.

And sure enough, it was. Umbrione maintained the hill, while Vaniellis charged into the city.

The northern section of the wall was the last to fall. The mages of the Iceberg forces weren't as experienced with explosion magic, so breaching the enemy's defences was much more difficult for them.

Lewdnep thought for a minute, trying to devise a new strategy. She looked at the wall, which was chipped and full of cracks, but still standing. Some of the mages were attempting to melt through with fire magic, as they had plenty of experience using it to combat the bitter cold of the frozen north of the RWBY Isle, but it was taking way too long.

However, seeing the liquid rock running down the cracks in the wall gave Lewdnep an idea.

"Mages, stop the fire and use water. Then we'll freeze it."

"Good thinking," one of them said. As they spouted water onto the wall, the molten areas bellowed with steam, and the hot rock cracked even further. Once the cracks were full of water, the mages, including Lewdnep herself, cast freezing spell. The water expanded as it froze, shattering the wall.

All four divisions of the besieging army were through. While the Fallen Petals soldiers on the north side struggled to fight in the cold after that spell, the Iceberg soldiers slaughtered them with ease.

The cold never bothered them anyway.

General Horsea of Fallen Petals was in a bad spot. He was on the roof of the garrison, trying to deploy the last few platoons, but Generic's forces had seized their hot oil supplies and used them to set the building ablaze. He only had a few seconds to find an escape route before he was burned alive.

"Are you stuck?" Generic called from the street below. "Worried about the flames? It would be a fitting end for you, after what your forces did to my allies a couple nights ago."

"You are a true hero," Horsea replied. "Taunting those about to be burned alive."

"We can't all be as perfect as you."

Horsea continued looking around, until he saw a hole in the street. Below, was the sewer. It would be extremely unpleasant. But not quite as bad as burning alive. And the sewer would surely be connected to the secret tunnels leading out of the city.

Horsea turned back to Generic and saluted, then jumped off the roof into the opening.

Puzzarian Ideal hurled numerous fireballs at the invaders with his staff, but it was like trying to wipe out an entire ant colony with a magnifying glass. No matter how many he killed, several more would take each fallen soldier's place.

He sighed and left the balcony he was casting from, returning to the inside of the castle.

"The north wall has been breached," he reported. "They are swarming through the city on all sides."

"The garrison is lost and Horsea is missing," said Quixotic, returning from his observations. "There's not much time. They will be at the castle in minutes, and it won't hold out any longer than the main gate did."

"So we have half an hour, tops, before they're in this room," said Puzzarian.

"Where did Peters, Yukon, and the others go?" Quixotic asked.

"They took the secret escape tunnels," said Laughing Fish. "I would recommend that Puzzarian do the same, while you fly away."

"No need to tell me twice," said Quixotic. He transformed and flew away.

"Without even saying goodbye," said Puzzarian. "Does he have a heart or a soul at all?"

"Doubtful," said Laughing Fish. "But if he did, he wouldn't be nearly as effective at his work. I didn't appoint him with any expectation of pleasantries, let alone affection."

"Fair enough," said Puzzarian.

"You really should get going. There's not much time."

"I can help defend for a few more minutes."

"No. You're magical energy is still down. If you fight any more, you'll become as exhausted I am, or worse, as I was the other day. You'll be too slow to escape in time. They'll hear you in the tunnels, and then all our fleeing comrades will be doomed. If you don't want to die here, with me, then you'll have to leave now."

Puzzarian thought for a moment. "Very well," he said. "Goodbye, Laughing Fish. May you give them one hell of a fight."

"Oh, I intend to," said Laughing Fish. "Goodbye, Puzzarian Ideal. May you find fame and fortune."

And with that, Puzzarian went down to the castle basement, and entered the secret tunnel below the wine cellar. Laughing Fish was the last Shitpost Society member left in the city.

"Come on, we've almost won," said BlueWhale. "We can do this!" He and the other mages threw another round of magical attacks at the castle doors. They cracked more, and the bar over them finally broke, but they remained shut.

"Don't exhaust yourself," said Venom Ahab. "Let's try again, the nonmagical way."

"Battering ram, SMASH!" shouted Only T. Results.

This time, the doors finally broke.

Laughing Fish drew her sword as she heard the doors break, and the enemy forces fighting their way through the castle. A couple minutes later, they'd reached the top floor.

"Surrender, tyrant!" BlueWhale shouted, as Results kicked open the doors to the throne room. "Your guards are dead, and all of your servants surrendered. You have no chance."

"Actually, don't surrender," said Only T. Results. "It's more fun that way." He pointed his sword at Laughing Fish.

"You have lost," said Venom Ahab, pointing his spear. "Surrender, and you'll get a fair trial."

"Or don't," said Results.

Laughing Fish smirked, and used her fire mage powers to set her sword ablaze.

"I don't intend to surrender," she said. "I'm going to take you all with me. And draw comfort in knowing that while Fallen Petals falls, Arkos did first. Never to rise again."

All three of them charged her, BlueWhale and Results yelling as they did. She parried their attacks with a slash from her flaming sword, the heat pushing her assailants back.

"You're going to PAY for what you did!" Results shouted.

"And what you did was exhaust your magical energy," said Venom. "It won't have recovered by now. Continue fighting, and you'll exhaust yourself to death. You're burning up your own life force."

"But we'll kill you before then!" BlueWhale shouted.

"You'll die first. Just like your pitiful weak nation. Fallen Petals is the true superior land!" She charged at BlueWhale, pointing her burning sword like a lance. He parried it with his trident, and tried to use the prongs to pry the sword out of Laughing Fish's hands. She only increased the temperature of the blade, melting through one of the trident prongs.

"Hey!" BlueWhale shouted. "This thing is expensive!"

Meanwhile, Laughing Fish was trading blows with Results and Venom. BlueWhale charged again with his now two-pronged "tri"dent, but Laughing Fish conjured a wave of flames, burning all three of them.

"Pathetic," she said. "I was expecting a better fight from all of you. But you're as weak as Arkos was."

Her enemies got back up, brushing hot cinders off of their scorched clothes and skin. They staggered from the pain, but Laughing Fish was starting to sway, growing weaker from lack of magical energy.

The three charged again. They traded several more blows, but nobody was able to get the upper hand.

"Even three on one is.." Laughing Fish gasped for breath as she blocked another attack, "is not enough, even in my current state. If I was at… at full power, I would have incern… incinra… incinerated you all by now."

"You're dying already," said Results. "And the others will be here soon. You do not stand a chance."

"Then they'll find us ALL dead!"

With one last effort, she put what she had left into turning the flames on her sword into a raging inferno. She screamed as she swung, slicing through BlueWhale's trident, Venom's spear, and Results's sword. Their clothes caught fire once again from the heat, and they all dropped to the floor and rolled.

Laughing Fish raised her sword one last time, ready to finish them off. She laughed as she staggered toward them, the flames on her sword starting to shrink and flicker away as she raised it over her head.

"Sic transit gloria JNP-"

She never finished her sentence. Venom Ahab stabbed the molten end of his half-spear up beneath her ribs, piercing her heart and poking out her back.

She gasped, her eyes went wide, and the flames on her sword went out. Laughing Fish collapsed, dead before she hit the ground.

Underground tunnels. April 20, 449 AFS

After many hours and miles of walking in the dark, illuminated by faint glowing pictures on the walls, Horsea, Peters, Rodents, Yargama Frag, Metas M. Petivero, Yukon, Jenny Doombringer, and Puzzarian had finally caught up to each other.

"Horsea, why are you all wet?" Puzzarian asked.

"I had to bathe in an underground stream for a bit," he replied, trying to stop his teeth from chattering. "My point of entry was.. somewhat less clean than this." He shuddered at the awful memory.

"At least we're all here," said Peters.

"We're still missing Quixotic," said Yukon.

"I'm sure we'll find him at the endpoint," said Rodents.

"And Laughing Fish is almost certainly dead by now," said Puzzarian. "We can only hope she took at least one of them with her."

They all had a moment of silence, then resumed walking.

"I think we're near the end," said Horsea.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, they came to a trapdoor. Opening it and climbing up, they found themselves in a vast hall filled with bookshelves.

"Welcome," said a strange man. "I am Exspiro Vintictum Cremantam." He spread his arms. "And this, is my library!"

"Do you know which way it is to Strawberry Shortcake?" Horsea asked.

City of Flaming Rose, Anti Shitpost Society Society territory, formerly Fallen Petals. April 20, 449 AFS

Generic Usernaym, Clem Prime, JMHS Rowing, Lewdnep Vasilias, Spiderplant, Vaniellis, and Umbrione stood at the west facing window, looking out at the setting sun. Only T. Results, BlueWhale, and Venom Ahab lay in beds in the same room while the healers tended to their injuries.

"Will you be okay?" Vanellis asked.

"We'll be fine," said BlueWhale.

"It's lucky none of us died," said Venom.

"Very true," said Generic.

"Though most of the enemy leaders escaped," said Results. "This is far from over."

"Also true," said Generic.

After a few more minutes, Venom Ahab, BlueWhale, and Only T. Results were able to stand again. They walked to the window, joining their friends in watching the sun dip below the horizon.

"Next, we must take down Strawberry Shortcake," said Generic. "That is where the enemy leaders will have fled to."

The others nodded. The war was only just beginning.

That's the end of this sub-story! But as of this publication, the larger story is still continuing. It's the Ruby Survivor event on r/RWBY. This just covered the preliminaries and Day 1.

This Meta Fic is a new experiment. This took a lot out of me, there's no way I can write something like this for every day of the competition. Hence the experiment: this is hopefully the start of a shared universe for multiple stories by multiple authors.

I hope that I have laid a good enough foundation to build off of. I encourage you to write your own in this world. The Ruby Survivor event should provide plenty of plot points. I only ask that you respect what has come before, and not pull a Rian Johnson and derail characters, worldbuilding, or plot points. Please don't make it difficult for future writers. Participate in good faith, and we'll be fine.

I have a Meta Fic Writing Contest running until May 8. At the end, I will make a poll for people to vote on their favorites. The winner will receive Reddit Platinum, second place will receive Reddit Gold, third place will receive Reddit Silver. Unless there are fewer than three entries, in which case the silver and possibly the gold (if there is only one entry) will not be awarded. Only one award per fic, and they must have been published after I announced the contest.

If you liked this story, or if you didn't, please leave comments! And I encourage you to write your own!

-BlueWhaleKing