Quest:Ruby Quest

Out of all the articles of this wiki, this one stands alone, comrade. For the month of February 2009 it was chosen by a popular vote to be a shining example of all that is right about /tg/. Ergo, this article is awesome.

The Ruby Quest logo.

Ruby Quest is a Quest game recently completed by a tripfag named Weaver. What initially began as a confusing puzzle romp has swiftly become a descent into madness not unlike the best Call of Cthulhu game you have ever been in, but twice as fucked up.

One of RQ's main side effects, aside from a few new memes, is the generation of fanart. Unbelievably vast quantities of it. I mean seriously, we've got pictures of fan-pairings of the hypothetical children of a couple who, in canon, may have barely even met each other.

The Ruby Quest summary

How most people find out about Ruby Quest

The archives of the game can be found here.

If you want to discuss the game with others, there is an IRC discussion available on the channel irc.rizon.net, room #RubyQuest (you can go here and just type "/join #RubyQuest" in the message line to connect if you don't want to set up an IRC client).

Also see Ruby Quest Characters and Ruby Quest Theories. And the TVTropes article.

Characters

See Ruby Quest Characters for descriptions and fanart of each character. Ruby is the player-controlled protagonist of the adventure, and her companion Tom is controllable much of the time as well. The cast has grown to over a dozen characters throughout the course of the story. Expand the gallery for individual pictures.

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Weaver's listing of RQ cast. The characters of Ruby Quest (Even more outdated). RQ The Movie! RQ cast In concert...

[Collapse Gallery] [Expand Gallery] 0

Ruby Tom Daisy Red Stitches Bella Ace Jay Filbert Nook The Dummy The Water Cooler

The Metal Glen

The Metal Glen

The Metal Glen is the name of the facility that serves as the setting for Ruby's adventure, as seen in a schematic designed by one "W. Murdoch." The exact nature of The Metal Glen is still unknown, but it appears to be a large medical research facility mostly submerged beneath the sea. The facility's unique location, unusual architecture, strange physics, changing rooms, and occurrences of odd biological growths, along with a reference to at least one room having been "excavated," all imply that The Metal Glen may be more than a mere research facility.

Before the name of the facility was revealed in-game, a poem titled "The Metal Glen" was anonymously posted to an RQ discussion thread, attributed to 18th-century engineer William Murdoch (inventor of the pneumatic tube, also the name of an obscure 19th-century poet). The poem appeared to closely parallel the characters and events taking place in the story, and served to fuel widespread speculation, though no-one could find the supposed original source. After the name of the facility was given in-game, Weaver revealed over IRC that he was the poem's true author.

The Metal Glen

My mother told me once of when A young hare ventured from her den And as she danced in field and glen The world sang joy about her. But wicked hateful things abound And that young hare these evils found Then whisked her up from off the ground And glen was left without her. The wicked power tore asunder And with this cruel and fateful blunder Cast her to a world of wonder Would she e'er see home again? And so hare flew that mournful day Over the sky and far away And down and down, beneath the sea To a place unlike the glen. A world of men and man's design A place where God's light would not shine A Hell of steel beneath the brine Where misery's echoes boomed. And all around her there were others Beasts like her, all sisters, brothers, Locked up, all, with one another, In deep sea-dark, entombed. And in this crypt far from the shore The hare lay down upon the floor Imprisoned there forever more And left to all her sorrow. Her tender world was lost and gone So joy and happiness foregone She slept and cried and prayed for dawn To wait the coming morrow.

The hound was still, the birds said naught, The fox denied he had been caught, The bear cried "This is just our lot", And surrendered to his pain. But the cat stood up and shook his head And rising from his metal bed He said "For now, I am not dead, And I will not die in vain!" He cried aloud with much disdain And tore about his stark domain And said "These walls cannot contain A force as strong as I!" And the fox just laughed, and the birds all cried And the bear knotted up himself and died But the hare looked on as the poor cat tried To break him free and fly. He shook his chain with all his rage And flew in anger 'round his cage Decrying this dark mournful stage And the hare stood up as well. With passion did she then respond, She chewed her ropes and broke her bonds, And freed the cat, they ran beyond, They ran to flee that hell. And what became of cat and hare? Did they break free to purer air? To guess their fate we shouldn't dare Perhaps their tale closed well. But for all the beasts trapped in the Nether All life from out the loch and heather The flock that could not work together Are sure still trapped in Hell.

Plot Summary

This article contains spoilers! You have been warned.

IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THAT YOU READ THE ACTUAL THREADS INSTEAD OF THE SUMMARIES. THEY CAN BE FOUND HERE: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Ruby

Part 1

The known map as of part 1-3.

Consists of threads 1-4.

Ruby awoke to find herself inside of a metal locker. After escaping, she finds herself in a barren room; performing some electrical repairs opens a section of the wall to reveal that the room is underwater. She then heads down a ladder and meets Tom, who is trapped behind a wall grate.

Tom has a sculpture of random tools we need, but is unwilling to show it to Ruby, as she accidentally insults him. As an apology, she feeds him fish (found to later be a Bad Idea). After solving some puzzles, she open the way to the Z-Hatch room. She also opens a floor hatch to trade items with Tom. With teamwork, they open up the closet in the Z-Hatch room. The Bear Zombie inside attacks Ruby, who manages to escape far enough for Tom to sever its head.

After a little more puzzle-solving, Ruby finally frees Tom from his cell. Ruby and Tom's embrace marks the end of Part 1.

• 
• 

Part 2

Consists of threads 5-9.

Tom's MANLY PHYSIQUE allows him to move a barrel, opening the way into the monitor room. Tom managed to sneak a peek at Ruby's panties while they were at it. They obtain the EYE DIAL, and then explore the Z-Hatch room once more. Tom moves the couch, revealing a secret passage that is only large enough for Ruby to fit through. Ruby finds a severed hand in the hidden room, and sends it through a pneumatic chute for completely inexplicable reasons. The room also contains a dispenser full of an unknown purple liquid.

Ruby asks Tom for his condom, and he is disappointed to find she only needs it for puzzle-solving. After some experimentation with the purple acid, blood samples, and an analyzer in the room, it is unclear as to what the analyzer does. Testing blood from the head of the zombie is impossible, as the head seems to have disappeared. However, once this is discovered, Tom reveals that he is not feeling so hot. He begins vomiting blood. Ruby quickly scrambles around, using the analyzer to discover that Tom had arsenic poisoning from the fish, and that she could acquire an antidote if she turned the power back on. While running around to find a way to get the power going, Ruby finds a hook and does a pirate impression to cheer up Tom. He smiles weakly. All of /tg/ d'aaaws.

Eventually, Ruby gets the electricity and Tom's antidote. However, this locks her in the back room, and a strange gas filling the room from the ventilation. Panicking, Ruby break the glass of the pneumatic chute. This helps only slightly. She then breaks the glass of the mirrored window along the back of the room, and finds the Hound monster on the other side. After brief scuffle, Ruby uses her mean left hook to defeat the abomination by flinging it through the glass acid dispenser and into the circuit board, but suffers a scratch to her head in the process. The impact of the monster on the circuit board powers down the room, and Ruby flees with the antidote, running to where she left Tom. Along the way, she begins to feel faint, but manage to make it to the Brig. Unfortunately, she find Tom is gone, and in his place is a great deal of blood. Ruby finally loses consciousness, and everything goes black.

• 
• 

Part 3

Consists of threads 10-13.

Ruby wakes up in a dark room wearing footie pajamas. After adjusting her eyes to the dark, she realizes she is in her room, and Tom is there--but he seems a little off. She opens a drawer to find a key, then tries to turn Tom around. She finds that he has been stitched up, that he is very dummy-like. She snaps back to reality, finding herself holding a dummy in a new room. She explores her surroundings, eventually recovering several items that had been mysteriously removed from her inventory, including the arsenic antidote. She finds an unreachable lever has descended from the ceiling in the Brig.

She finds a fox with a cane sitting on the couch in the Z-room. He introduces himself as 'Red' and answers a few questions. He also insists that he isn't trapped. Ruby notices the cane and asks Red to help pull the lever. He smiles, disturbingly, and agrees to help. After pulling the lever she asks a few more questions. Red says he is very tired of her questions and that if she doesn't stop he might have to bite her throat out. After an awkward pause, he says that he was "just kidding." Ruby, slightly scared, thanks Red and parts company with him. She finds a monitor displaying hidden camera feeds, one of which reveals the sick Tom locked in a room containing a section of pneumatic tubing.

After patching the pneumatic tube from her earlier fight, Ruby sends Tom the antidote, and heads to the Monitor Room to see if he gets it. He does, and drinks it. But Ruby doesn't have enough time to celebrate, as Red enters the room. He smiles wider this time, and reminds Ruby that he doesn't want to hear anymore questions. Ruby understands and asks to excuse herself, but Red stops smiling and says he doesn't think so. And then lets her know that he was once again just kidding.

Ruby heads downstairs, and Red follows. She believes the wooden disc will interact with a mechanism she found in the Dummy Room, so she heads there. Red stops her before she can enter and asks for some coins Ruby was carrying. She gives them to him, and he heads in with her. Using the cane, Red takes down the tarp, smiling even wider than before. Underneath is a horribly disfigured body (which would later be called "Stitches"). Red laughs at Ruby's astonishment. And then he keeps laughing. Behind Ruby's back, his mouth splits apart to reveal an impossibly large, tooth-filled maw and tongue. He is, in fact, an abomination. Red stops laughing before Ruby turns around to witness this.

As Ruby notices a cross peg in Stitches' hand, and Red says he is bored and departs. Ruby is about to take the cross peg, but the body suddenly seizes her arm. He says "Ruby" and everything turns to white. Ruby has a very strange dream, involving both Tom and Red. In the dream, Red makes a smile clearly not possible, and Tom complains that his eye hurts. Red uses the wooden disc to cut the background, and the dream ends.

Ruby wakes up. The disc is missing. She leaves the room to find Tom sitting on a barrel in the brig.

Part 4

The known map as of the end of part 4.

Consists of threads 14-17.

Tom and Ruby catch up with each other, and both express gratitude that the other is okay. Tom explains that Red let him out of the room where he was being held. Tom's stomach is feeling better, but now his eye hurts. Ruby, worried, offers to examine him. His eye opens freakishly wide, and Ruby has a vision of Tom sprouting additional arms and flailing wildly.

The hallucination ends when Tom asks Ruby if she is okay. Ruby suddenly sees that the Brig is now completely free of blood and has an deep rift torn through the middle. She asks Tom to go to the other side of the room (suspecting that the gap is also imaginary), but he sees it too and declines to do so. He notes that it's been three days since he took the antidote, and that there were some intermittent odd noises coming from the walls.

The two begin re-exploring the cleaned and altered rooms, finding that gravity appears to be reversed on the other side of the chasm in the Brig. During the course of the exploration, Ruby realizes that Tom's eye is actually gone. He tells Ruby that he lost it while he was being dragged into the room by something which, because of his sickness, he couldn't see clearly. It's mostly stopped hurting, though. They hug.

After more exploration, the Z-hatch door slams shut, separating Ruby and Tom. Someone with a wide, Cheshire Cat-like smile tosses Ruby a puzzle component from a darkened doorway, allowing her to complete a puzzle revealing a CROWBAR. She enters the dummy room to find a panel inscribed with archaic, unintelligible writing and a button diagram with a different layout. After more puzzle solving, Ruby recovers a VERY SHARP SCALPEL and passes Tom the CROWBAR through the drop slot. Tom, in a sudden burst of MANLY PHYSIQUE, returns to the Bear room and smashes the hell out of the shelves and light in the closet. He then stands around awkwardly as /tg/ enters a thirteen-minute brain fart. Ruby goes back to the lever room and tries pushing a few buttons. Button 1 causes distant water noises, and button 4 makes something far-off rumble. She decides to return to check on Tom.

While Ruby was gone, Tom says that the pipe in the ceiling had been clanking about every thirty seconds. Tom bashes open the pipe, and a glass orb falls out onto the sofa. He unlocks the safe with it to retrieve the WOODEN DISC. He returns it to Ruby, who recognizes it and affixes it to the eye dial in the Dummy Room. She points the dial to the top symbol, which opens the Z-hatch for Tom. They reunite, and Tom unexpectedly kisses Ruby.

A short but thoroughly awkward moment passes, after which Ruby turns the dial towards the lower symbol and walks over to the pneumatic tube room. On the way there, however, Ruby is interrupted by pain as a giant eye rips open the top of her head. She wipes the blood away and closes the eye, hiding the event from Tom. She then takes another PAPER SCRAP from a new wall hatch, has Tom re-open the Z-hatch, and returns to him. He apologizes for being hasty with his earlier kiss, but Ruby dismisses it.

They plug in the extendable power cord, return to the keypad, and punch in the number from the completed PAPER. The hatch opens to reveal an aquarium, but Weaver uses a narrative shortcut to abridge the changing of the power cord and dial again, leaving Ruby and Tom in front of an open doorway. They enter together to find that the monitors have all been broken. Ruby uses the CROSS PEG as she'd intended quite a while ago, and a ladder comes out of the wall. They climb.

This room is short (more of an attic, really), and it's covered in insane scribblings with "RED" written in large lettering on the ceiling. There's also a circular diagram with a large bloodstain in the center, as though someone had recently slammed their head into it, and a box of cereal and teeth. They go back down and knock on the door, only to discover Red doing a Peach Wilkins impression: he won't let them through without the answer to his riddle.

Tom and Ruby decide to go open the DO NOT OPEN box. Tom crowbars it open to reveal a BOWL OF CLAWED FINGERS and Ruby's mummified body, which Tom doesn't perceive. While Ruby freaks the fuck out, Tom pockets the fingers, uses the nearby sink (which spouts blood, as they are almost unsurprised to find), and fills up the BOWL with blood. Both of them go mix the TEETH, EYE, BLOOD, and FINGERS they have collected into a GODAWFUL SMOOTHIE and return to the monitor room - only to discover the door already open. The room has "NEVER CATCH ME NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER" scrawled all over the back wall, and in the center of the floor is Red, propped up by the broken halves of a shovel shoved through his skull.

• 

  And thus, the Redroll was born

• 

  Just as planned.

• 

  Red is just kidding again. Oh Red.

• 

  A helpful diagram to see that the corpse is indeed Ruby.

• 
• 
• 
• 

Part 5

The known map as of the end of part 5.

Consists of threads 18-21.

Tom and Ruby enter the room and immediately find that Red's insane scrawlings are not the only ones in the room, implying that there have been more people trapped there. A face appears briefly on the room's monitor before disappearing again. A bit of exploring is interrupted by a large bird emerging from the sealed door to the north. Ruby gets the distinct impression that this figure is not friendly. While this is happening, Tom opens an unlocked box that Red left (he painted an arrow and the words "From Red"). He is too busy reading a note inside the box to notice the newcomer. The note in question was addressed to "♠".

Tom discards the note; under it there is a makeshift bomb (built with the two coins Ruby gave Red). At this moment, Ruby remembers that the large figure was the one that shoved her into the locker before her journey began. Tom notices the bomb, grabs Ruby and bails out of the room immediately. We last see the large figure kneeling down beside Red's corpse.

One heroic escape from a creeping explosion later, Tom and Ruby end up back in the locker room. The access to the Systems Room has been blocked off by rubble. The power then goes off. There is a small, lighted crack behind the wall to the west that implies there is another room, but Ruby and Tom opt to explore the rest of the facility. They head to the Dummy Room and are disturbed by the dummy's glowing red eyes. Tom jabs the dummy in the eyes, and hears a squishy sound.

They leave to explore the secret room, which resembles a cafeteria. Tom pockets a bottle of champagne, and Ruby reads a note (see below) and hides it from Tom. Tom offers champagne, Ruby declines, saying that they can drink when they get out, and they head west through another door after pocketing some walkie talkies. Tom bypasses the lock on the next door with his famous physique and the crowbar.

They split up, Tom goes to pry off some debris in the brig, and Ruby heads through the door up some stairs. She finds a room with a fetus-like statue and a severed finger in a glass display. Meanwhile Tom breaks through the debris at the bottom of the lower Brig room and ends up... in the adjacent room two floors up (next to Ruby). Tom finds a coin and a note (see below). Ruby obtains a key and passes it through the wall to Tom, but it falls down to the Brig. As Tom leaves to retrieve the key, Ruby hears footsteps outside her own room.

The door opens to reveal Stitches, who Ruby realizes was also the Bear Zombie. He seems half crazed, and tries to hold his splitting head together. Meanwhile, Tom finds that the Brig is suffering an additional rift. Stitches suddenly realizes that he is a monster, and leaves saying that he would "only hurt" Ruby. When Tom returns, Ruby tells him about Stitches, Tom tells Ruby about the note he found, and they decide not to hide anything from each other. Ruby tells him everything she has been hiding from him, including about her third eye. Tom then lifts his shirt, and reveals he has two extra arms growing from his midsection.

After some more exploration, Ruby combines Red's cane and the shovel head into a BLUDGEONY CANESHOVEL. Tom finds one of Red's hands behind the water cooler. They return to the Dummy Room to use the hand on the handscanner, discovering the process that dummy is now covered in blood. The video feed shows Red sneaking up on Ruby, bludgeoning her with his cane, and stuffing her into the "Do Not Open" box. It then shows Ace entering the room to discover Ruby in the box, weakly raising her hand. He looks around and the feed ends.

At this point, Ruby may or may not have felt like crying on Tom's shoulder. But there would be no time for tears, as Ace appears in the doorway of the room.

• 

  Ruby found this note

• 

  Tom found this one

• 

  /tg/ - An Annoying, Repetitive Voice.

• 

  READ THE NOTE, TOM, READ THE NOTE, READ THE NOTE

• 
• 
• 
• 

Part 6

The known map as of the end of part 6.

Consists of threads 22-24.

This episode begins with the large, unfriendly figure [Ace] entering the Dummy Room where Ruby and Tom are. After attempting diplomacy, Ruby and Tom are quickly cornered by him when he remains silent. After a struggle causing Tom to lose the crowbar, the two of them flee from the room, and through the Z-Hatch. They think themselves momentarily safe, until Ace begins tearing open a hole in the wall. They climb the couch, and flee through the piping that Tom bashed open before.

They climb into a new room, where they discover a thick pair of gloves, a severed foot, a tattered labcoat, and a the same mysterious, shrouded face staring at them from a monitor. When Ruby tries to talk to it, it flickers out into static. They also find an Odd Staff and an Empty Syringe. A moment's exploration later, and Tom also finds four notes (below), which are apparently Red's Diary. They find they are one level above the room with the display case containing the fetus-statue.

Descending, they open the Fetus Case with their access card, then use the finger they found to open the First Aid Kit. They attach the Green Disk they find to the Odd Staff. Ruby uses a discovered roll of gauze and a piece of tattered labcoat to make Tom an eyepatch. Then they head down to the cafeteria and use the wire cutters to open the sealed hatch in the back. Inside, they find the High Clearance Access Card... and the skull of a goat. They take the access card, and Ace arrives, now armed with a makeshift harpoon.

Ruby and Tom quickly flee upstairs, Ace hot on their heels. Tom uses the security card on the high tech door--as it opens, Ace charges in. Ruby tosses the empty First Aid Kit box at the fetus display case, shattering it and triggering a lethal trap, which springs from the the case to impale Ace. Ruby and Tom flee into the high security door, locking it shut behind them.

Inside they find a room full of lockers. Locker 5 is jammed shut, and lockers 3 and 6 needing some sort of key to unlock. Locker 7 appears to have fallen through a hole in the floor. Looking through the hole, Ruby and Tom find themselves staring down into room Ruby initially woke up in. Tom finds two more notes (below). Tom then unjams his own locker, and finds it empty save for a warning written in his own handwriting on the door: "Don't Trust 7." According to all the notes they've seen, Subject 7 is Ruby. Tom quickly shuts the door without mentioning this to Ruby, growing suspicious of her. After activating a button, a pneumatic tube lowers, and the severed hand from Part 1 makes its reappearance.

They return to the Dummy Room, noting that the dummy is now missing from the room entirely. The hand logs in as "F," revealing two video clips. The first video shows Ruby attacking Red, slicing his mouth open with a hook before she is restrained by Ace. The second video shows Ruby visiting Tom in the medical room. She sits on the bed next to him, and they have a pleasant chat before beginning to make out. In the next scene, Ruby grabs a scalpel from the medical tray next to Tom. The camera flickers out for a little while, and when it returns, Ruby is leaving the room, drenched in blood. Tom is on the bed, and looks heavily wounded.

This episode ends with a very confused and frightened Tom backing away from Ruby as he wields the Bludgeony Caneshovel.

• 

  Tom found this note...

• 

  ...and this one...

• 

  ...and also this one...

• 

  ...and finally this one.

• 

  Then he found a warning on the wall...

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  ...which continued to this part.

• 

  RUBY HOW COULD YOU

• 

  [23:59] <@TG_Weaver> Tom's left side just has BAD LINE THICKNESS DISORDER, probably caused by an incomplete erasure

Part 7

The known map as of the end of part 7. May cause aneurysms.

Consists of threads 25-27.

This episode begins with Ruby putting down her scalpel in an attempt to placate Tom. It works to a degree, though he orders her from the room. Ruby goes to the cafeteria to calm down. While there, she combines some of the barbed wire and a heavy glove to make a PRICKLY FIST. Shortly after, her third eye appears again, opening up an opportunity for her. Ruby looks at the room with the third eye and notices her name scrawled in blood on the plaque. She pulls the plaque off and finds a photo of six of the patients of The Metal Glen, herself and Tom included.

Ruby leaves to check out the locker room again with her third eye. Her investigation reveals a gigantic, archaic symbol that causes her a great deal of pain to look at. Upon inspecting locker 2, she finds it's unlocked and has fresh blood on it. She opens it to receive a SMALL KEY, and starts heading back to the room where she and Tom had earlier emerged from the pipe. As she walks back, she finds a strange, dark figure huddled in the corner, crying. After failing to get the figure's attention, she leaves the room and heads back to the pipe room.

She unlocks the cabinet with the key she found and reveals an unlocked door. On the other side is an exam room, much like the one Tom was murdered in. While exploring the room, "F" appears.

"F" introduces himself as Filbert, the chief doctor of the facility. He explains a number of things, including that whatever the treatment they had been receiving worked a bit too well. When Ruby died, she reanimated and brought "something" with her. Filbert reveals that his only real priority is escape, and slowly becomes enraged at Ruby, apparently losing his grip on sanity. He insists that he is not infected and threatens to "remove the bad" from Ruby. Ruby promptly punches him with the PRICKLY FIST and flees. As she enters the pipe room again, the screen comes to life with Filbert (now beginning to mutate). He rants that Ace will get her anyway and notes that while Ace might not no longer be under his control, Ace IS taking orders from someone. Ruby flips him off.

The screen changes shortly after to the mysterious face from before. The face unlocks the door in the pipe room and, after Ruby asks him to call off Ace, he or she says "I'm sorry. I can't." in a hoarse voice. The screen cuts out and Ruby proceeds to the next room, which seems to be the entrance room to Upper Lab B. We have a flashback where Ruby pushed Stitches off of the catwalk into a series of blending turbines. After this scene, Tom shows up, and appears to have forgiven Ruby. Ruby tells him about Filbert and the flashback and he doesn't seem too phased by it.

Ruby now decides to look into Lab B. It's padlocked with a lock with a giant ♠ on it: Ace's symbol. Any attempt to look normally into the room is thwarted by darkness, but peering in with the third eye shows only one thing: a menacing grin and two red eyes. While Ruby peers into Lab B, the sobbing black figure appears in the corner of the fan room. Tom confirms that it's real, and Ruby asks it what's wrong. It replies with "It's dark... IT'S SO DARK!" and turns as darkness envelops Ruby and Tom.

• 

  A photo of what appears to be the patients of the Metal Glen.

• 

  Another note with a date on it! Just what we always wanted.

• 

  Another note, this one badly torn.

• 

  Tom found this note

• 

  Appears in the corner, now easier to see

• 

  SO DARK

• 
• 
• 

  >Tom's radio crackers.

Part 8

The known map as of the end of part 8. New and improved, for HER pleasure.

Consists of threads 28-29.

This episode picks up with Ruby and Tom in a "familiar and horrible darkness" with the sound of water all around. After figuring out that there was no ACTUAL water, and that they could actually breathe, Ruby opens her third eye, which leads her through the darkness, as Tom finds the rail and starts to follow it, still looking for Ruby. Ruby feels a set of stairs, and takes them. Tom suddenly swings his fist, as Ruby feels something hit her foot. She gets the impression that she is on the rail, and stops in her tracks, as the "water" subsides. The lights come back on, with Ruby precariously perched on the rail above the fans, and Tom pulls her down quickly.

With the return of her regular vision, Ruby decides it's best to close her third eye, and the two face the door to Lab B. Ruby attempts to hug Tom, but he isn't feeling very huggy, still remembering the video of November 8th, and so Ruby checks a plant. Oddly enough, the plant turns out to be dull and pointless, so they return to the previous room, where Filbert was. They realize that something is different, most notably the fact that Filbert is no longer there, and Tom steps on the severed foot from earlier. Gross. Arming himself with the BLUDGEONY CANESHOVEL, Tom takes point, but the room is empty. The pair finds a LOCKER covered with FLESHY GROWTHS, that resists Toms attempts to open it. After unsuccessfully attempting to remove the eye exam chart, and examining a combination Keypad/Cardkey Slot (which also has Fleshy Growths), Tom bashes open a cabinet, to discover a jar of LIQUID TRANQUILIZER, which we fill our SYRINGE with. Ruby and Tom seem confused for a moment, as we barrage them with several conflicting ideas, but eventually decide to get the Cthulhu Baby/Jar Growth.

As Ruby and Tom return, Baby in hands, they're paid a visit from Stitches, who growls in response to our greeting. He moans out "ＵＨＡＡＡＨＨ ＫＩＬＬＬＬＬ ＭＥ" and lunges for Ruby, so Ruby and Tom book it to the next room, and wait in ambush, with an elaborate maneuver planned. Ruby trips Stitches, and Tom uses his MANLY PHYSIQUE to pin Stitches down and inject him with the TRANQUILIZER. Tom finds a TINY KEY for the cabinet we smashed, and leaves it with Stitches, stuffing him in Locker #5 and rejamming it. /tg/ has a stroke of genius, and slips the GROUP PORTRAIT in with Stitches, then returns to the room where we found Filbert.

After placing the Jar Baby in the space in the FLESHY LOCKER, it opens, center out, and Ruby grabs a FLESHY PROTOTUBE. She promptly licks it. As expected, it tastes horrible. Afterward, Tom plugs the FLESHY PROTOTUBE into the Keypad, then uses Rubys RUBBER GLOVES to insulate the exposed electrical wire, finishes connecting the Keypad. It lights up, and Ruby punches in 0645, and Tom swipes the HIGH-ACCESS CARD, opening the hatch on the ceiling.

Ruby and Tom make their way upwards, and after being thwarted by a SECURITY KEYCARD READER, decide to check out Aces room. His room turns out to be an optical illusion straight out of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Tom finds a SPADE KEY under the pillow of Ace's HUGE BED. They exit the room, testing the locked door to Filberts Room, and then Ruby opens the door to the Staff Wings.... which is apparently now connected to the Elemental Plane of Teeth. Ruby closes the door, deciding not to go that way, and decides to check on Toms missing Eye. Finding him to be okay, they head down, Tom refills the SYRINGE, and we suddenly decide to take Tom and Ruby all the way back to the Dummy Room. The Dummy is still MIA, and Ruby scans the room with her third eye. She feels a painful echo coming from the painting, then a sharper pain coming from the Eye Dial. Ruby has a "hurts so good moment" from the eye, causing fa/tg/uys to panic, and cleans the blood from her third eye, closing it. As she looks with NORMAL VISION again, the EYE DIAL is missing, so Tom takes the DO NOT OPEN sticker and wears it. The pair make their way back to Lab B, SPADE KEY in hand...

Using the KEY, the double doors open, and Subject 6 stirs, missing hands, legs, and eyes. It asks if someone is there, and Ruby answers, taking on the role of Spokesbunny. Subject 6 beckons us closer, but Ruby stands her ground, disappointing the figure. He introduces himself as "Tom, the love of your life". Naturally, this confuses the hell out of Tom, Ruby, and /tg/. 'Tom' calls us 'Lucy', adding to the confusion, and tells us he has something for us. Tom steps forward, playing Lucy, but soon steps back, as the room is filled with a foul stench. As the figure is limbless, and can't come to us, Ruby steps in, using the OXYGEN MASK to breathe. 'Tom' smiles, thanking us, and holds up a GOLD KEY, telling us it will get us into "his office" and that "he has tools in his desk." Tom fumbles for a light switch, as Ruby takes the key. Subject 6 asks us to bring him some scissors, and Tom finds the switch. The lights come on, revealing that Subject 6 is attached to many fleshy growths with eyes in them, filling the room. Ruby gets the fuck out of Dodge, as the mutant figure begins to rise.

Closing the door, barring and locking it, Ruby is comforted by Tom, who attempts to hug her... she bolts before he can, heading up to Filberts room, where Tom finds her unlocking the door. Inside, Ruby finds a FLATHEAD SCREWDRIVER, a framed copy of the Hippocratic Oath, a poster of someone who looks like Princess Leia, and a note on the wall saying "I am still clean, so only I can leave." Rummaging through Filberts stuff provides several scraps of paper, including a note left by Filbert to himself telling him of his amnesia, mention of having Ace treat Reds rations, and a note regarding Subject 2, "Maddie", being euthanized, dated November 8th. A quick search of the cabinet drawers turns up several bloody chunks of flesh. Tom goes on a rampage, and fucks shit up in Filberts room, revealing no further clues, but enjoying it all the same.

The duo head back down to the EYECHART, and unscrew the chart from the wall, finding a SHARD OF GREEN WOOD. Ruby also unscrews the vent, setting off an alarm. The figure on the Monitor shows up, turning off the alarm, then disappears. Tom yells at the figure, regardless of the fact that it's no longer there, as Ruby grabs an item out of the vent: a SECURITY ACCESS CARD. Filbert arrives, mutated as hell, and announces that he intends to "cut the bad out" until we are "as clean as he is."

• 

  Well this explains a lot.

• 

  And now we know why he had the elemental plane of teeth.

• 

  And that's what happened to hound!

• 

  Well, what did you THINK it would taste like, Ruby?

Part 9

Filbert is in no mood for pleasant discussion, insisting that Ruby and Tom are very clearly infected and must be operated upon immediately. In the ensuing battle he bites Tom's CROWBAR in half. (His teeth are enough to make Red (almost) jealous.) Despite his bonesaw and horrible tentacle arm, Tom's MANLY PHYSIQUE and two extra limbs are more than a match for him, and the fight ends when he pins Filbert's hands and stabs him with a scalpel. Filbert is down, and receives a nice dose of TRANQUILIZER to keep him that way for a while. After refilling the tranquilizer once more (it's all gone now), Ruby and Tom head upstairs and finally open the security station door with their SECURITY ACCESS CARD.

Inside the security room, there is a HUGE CONSOLE and an ELECTRICAL MAINTENANCE HATCH - but both are locked due to override. There is also a piece of strange GREEN WOOD, which Ruby picks up, and a big pile of NOTES, which Tom takes, reading through some of them before getting bored (we wish he had read through the rest). The INTERCOM by the door shouts incredibly foul (and unprovoked) profanities at Tom before going silent. With nothing else to do here, the two head through the door to the lobby, where they meet MONITORFACE, who introduces herself as Bella.

Bella apologises and says that she can't let them leave: she has instituted a high security lockdown on orders from her superiors, whoever they are. She proceeds to give them much information, however: she tells them that the lockdown was ordered following an outbreak of violence by both patients and staff in the wake of the events on November 1st, namely the suicide of Chief Diagnostician Red. She also says that if Ace isn't walking the halls looking for patients, he is likely in the COLD STORAGE, where he keeps the things he's been collecting - and that he is a very loyal orderly, though he seems to be ignoring her now.

She proceeds to tell them, upon asking, that she is kept on life support, and that her mind must be intact to continue operating - this is the reason nothing has attacked her so far, as they've all been afraid of what might happen. At this point, Subject Six makes some noise in the lower levels, yelling for Lucy, his love. After telling them that surface access cannot be opened with her holding the manual lockdown, Bella drops the bomb: Today is October 31st. Ruby and Tom have been down here for at least a year. Apparently, they have tried to escape dozens of times, only to fail and forget each time. They have reached Bella three times before, but never gotten past this point: as long as she is alive, she will maintain the lockdown.

As they question Bella whether killing her would end the lockdown, she opens a window behind them. Orange light filters through the shimmering waters, making it quite apparent that they are very close to the surface. Every day for over a year now, as she tells them, Bella has had to watch the sun rise and set, from just barely below the surface. Strapped to this wall, right next to the exit, able to watch the outside world, but never touch it. She says that she wishes to die, and if she did, the lockdown would end. She is the only one who the infection has passed over, because to taint her mind would be to compromise the integrity of the facility, and thus everyone and everything inside it. She also tells Ruby that she has left something for herself, hidden in the water cooler.

Hesitatingly, after angering Bella by trying to reason her and attempting some non-lethal methods, Ruby and Tom finally end her life. This causes a minor power outage, but also opens the maintenance hatch. Ruby crawls inside to try and fix the problem. She discovers a glowing green button and presses it, causing the lights to come back up and revealing Subject #6 glaring at her (it's creepy when he doesn't have eyes), grinning, and asking whether she has found the scissors yet. She retreats quickly, and Tom seals the hatch with his BLUDGEONY CANESHOVEL. They try to work with the console now, but it is suddenly pierced by a large fleshy growth with an eye in it. The console stops working and they now have to use the backup station located on level 3. They decide to head for the water cooler first, and find another shard of GREEN WOOD there. Ruby adds the last piece and assembles the second GREEN STAFF.

Checking the nearby backup console reveals that it has no power either. Therefore, they decide to use the staff in the locker room now. The locker opens, revealing a switch, to match the one in the other locker they'd opened with the first GREEN STAFF, and Ruby pulls it as well. It causes lockers 3 and 4 to shift apart and pull aside to reveal a hidden door on the wall behind the giant machine, a door that says COLD STORAGE. As Ruby and Tom pass through, they discover that it's more of RED than COLD: Evil runes and symbols everywhere, the DUMMY hanging from the ceiling with tentacles in it, and the FETUS STATUE on a small table. There is also a WATER FILTRATION UNIT (Do Not Touch), the LOCKERS from the room where Ruby woke up, and ACE'S MASK. After trying in vain to open the lockers, Ruby and Tom opt going for the water filtration unit next. They discover Emobird, impaled with large three hooks, pleading them to end his life. There is also the EYE DIAL, which Tom picks up, but they refuse to comply Emobird's request, instead carefully removing his hooks and taking him with them.

But then the locker opens. Without his mask, it can be seen that Ace's real face is just a mass of tentacles or something - creepy. He puts on the mask, while Ruby and Tom run away with Emobird. They seal the door behind themselves, but know that it will not hold him for long. Time is of the essence, so they will split up once again. Tom will carry Emobird with him to the exit, while Ruby could reach the dummy room and the downstairs console at the same time, if she took a shortcut and jumped through the hole in the floor, which she does. She gets to the dummy room - noting that the Brig is looking worse than ever - puts on the eye dial, dials it on the correct symbol, reaches back up, and begins to operate the console, which is now receiving power.

Meanwhile, Tom runs into Filbert, who is up again, even more determined than the last time. Tom has no time for this, and so he just tears Filbert apart with his MANLY PHYSIQUE, an act to which the entire 4chan screams FUCK YEAH! He has no idea where all that strength came from, but concludes that it was pretty cool.

Ruby gets good results from the console, and runs after Tom. On the way, she hears Ace making noise in the locker room, and also meets the now horribly mutated Subject Six - cowering in the corner, ignoring her, and muttering about being afraid of Ace. In the lobby she meets Tom, learns that the Emobird's name is really Jay, and that Tom is afraid of Ace as well: if even Six is afraid of him, what could Tom do to stop him? Unfortunately, Ace will be there in seconds, and one of them has to stay behind to hold him back and allow the others to escape. Tom volunteers.

Ruby kisses him goodbye, before climbing the ladder as quick as she can.

Tom prepares to make the stand, but is saved at the last moment by Stitches, who out of nowhere tackles Ace. Tom takes the opportunity to climb the ladder and escape as well. He and Ruby close the hatch, and escape on the tram #1 with Jay. As they ride the tram to sunset, Tom throws all the notes away, and they open the champagne to celebrate their freedom.

The end.

Then it turns out that Tom was #6 all along and the other Tom, who we thought to be Subject Six, turned out to be #5. The entire population of /tg/ simultaneously freaks out. And they freak out once more when Daisy wakes up in a coffin the same way Ruby did so long ago.

• 

  To think, at one point we thought Ruby was the better fighter.

• 

JOHN QUEST: Side Story

The story of Tom's Twin Brother John, as told by Weaver. Can be found here.

John was at his computer an office. Eh was carrying a Wepon, ID, and CANDYBAR. He Read the Note:

TOM I MEAN JOHN

UR A FAGET

- ♠

Then John killed the Water Cooler and got the Orb of Infinite Psych, but he could not leave the room because he did not have the right Axis Card. He tried to open the door with his Wepon so he could go to the Cafiteria, but he had no Wepon. He pushed the Butan and the AC turned off. Tom I mean John read the AC. IT WAS BORING, so he threw his chair out the Windoh, but the Windoh ate the chair!

John tried to throw Self through Windoh, but he was too big! He looked through the window, and saw Ruby! He used the ORB OF INFINITE PSYCH to try to contact her! But her forehead only glowed with power, and nothing happened. He shouted some obscenities into the intercom, ate the intercom, put his shoe on his head, looked at the motivational poster, and then ate the poster too. Then John's Co-orker OPAL came in.

He thought about inviting her to dinner, and then thought about eating her. He decided to multitask, and ate her for dinner. Then he punched Gamera, and PROJEKTEIL VOMMITS the rabbit at the window. His funny DIJESTIVE JUICES made her a little strange though. Almost exactly like the Hound Zombie. Then he used his AXIS CARD to go out the door and go to the BATHROM, but he was too short to reach the handle! He tries to climb his desk, but botches the climb roll. His DENSEITY is so grate he falls through the FLOOR!

He lands in a WIERD PLACE, and follows a LIGHT to the EDNING! We missed a point, god damn.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Timeline

WARNING: VERY MUCH SPOILER.

• ~Late May: (blank) testing procedures begin.
• October 2: Tom's hands damaged.
• October 3: Red recommends alternative treatments as traditional treatments fail (implied for multiple subjects, not just Tom).
• October 7: Red hears whispered voices 'a second time,' alternative treatments approved and put into action.
• Before October 20: Official death of Stitches.
• October 27: Ruby SERIOUSes Red and is detained, 'Everything Changes.'
• October 29: Red clubs Ruby, Ruby declared dead. May God forgive Red.
• November 1: Red takes actions leading to his detainment in cell 6 (probably a suicide attempt). Subject 6 already in brig. ♠ becomes '?' in at least one department's memoranda.
• November 8: Ruby attacks Tom in the medical room. This blood is never cleaned. Filbert orders ♠ to euthanize Subject #2 "Maddie".
• November 23: Subject #6 isolated in Upper Lab B. Only ? (Ace) authorized to allow contact.
• October 31, 11 months later: Current date at the end of Ruby Quest. (There may be years in between)

Gallery

This section contains PROMOTIONS! Don't say we didn't warn you.

This is a gallery for group shots and action scenes. See Ruby Quest Characters for fanart of individual characters.

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Best. Fanart. Ever. Mother of God BEST END [drawn by Weaver, but non-canon]

[Collapse Gallery] [Expand Gallery] 0

ALMOST BEST END what This is not an uncommon reaction from many of the players. And then Ruby was a zombie. All the better to hug you with, my dear Tom is more resourceful than you'd think. pchat is a wild and dangerous place Indeed, indeed it is A bit more Paintchat horror The ending most of us are hoping for. "Awww, isn't that cute..." "...BUT IT'S WROOOOOOOOONG!" Ruby escapes... but with whom? Beardbeard and company are... waaaaaait a minute. File:Red is still kidding.png OTP ALTERNATE BEST END. "L-look at me! *sob* Look at what they *sniff* d-did to me! I'M A *hic* M-MONSTER!" Siegfried and Roy have nothing on these two. There's a reason Filbert is the head doctor. Tom is a very frustrated man. "B-but Tom, the c-cameras..." Do the monkey with meh! SO GOOD! Huzzah! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I HUG!?! Ruby seems pretty legit, Tom, why not give her a hug? Ruby likes to watch. Filbert's methods may be unorthodox, but they certainly seem effective. Ad'awwwwable. Hopefully we can get this ending, eh? ILLEGAL IN MANY PLACES. We can only hope If Ruby's actions were determined purely by popular vote. "Psst. Hey, Tom. Look up my skirt." Filbert's treatment was so effective, Ruby recommended it to Tom! As long as she gets to watch. I don't think that's what Six meant by "scissors," girls. I think filbert is a pretty cool guy. eh manipulates patients into sex and doesn't afraid of anything. SEX END. The only accurate depiction of Weaver Awwwwww! You know it's bad when your fanbase starts to ship your characters' kids. Who aren't even canon. No one is safe from the all-seeing gaze of Ruby! RQ: The Next Generation: The Teen Dramedy RQ: The Next Generation: The Teen Action Movie Learn the difference. It could save your life Filbert has a rather loose interpretation of his orders to begin "secretly treating Red's rations." "Hey, D-doc... just how--ah!--how much l-longer does this--hah!--exam t-take?" After all they've been through, you can hardly blame them for a little rowdiness after they finally escape. The next installment of Robby Quest will be on Thursday. HOW IS BABBY FORMED As a doctor, Filbert knows better than to believe the old myth about not swimming right after you eat lunch. Filbert is like Dr. House, except with sex instead of bitterness. Sexual harassment is still a major problem in many smaller organizations. >Ruby fumbles with the condom, rather unfamiliar with these things. Assuming that the amount of "treatment" increases the degree of mutation, we now know how Subject 6 became so dangerous. Ruby and Tom have developed their own way of inducting people into their SPECIAL FAMILY. Big Damn Heroes deserve Big Damn Rewards. EVERYBODY DIES BOXDOG CROSSOVER END Say what you want, this is my favourite GOOD END I didn't know you were a cowboy, Jay. It's time for a little... BISEXUAL HEALING. Not everyone gets to live. File:GangstaQuest.png Their children will reclaim the Earth. >You have broken into a peculiar chamber through the base of the ocean. Ruby's personality appears to undergo sudden changes rather frequently. Ruby, you can't just take in every suffering abomination you find chained up in a water filtration system. The kids love Crazy Uncle John, but he tends to be something of a bad influence. "If it is nonhuman, there is art of it as a human." Also, Bella, you really need to stop spying on everyone over the security system during their intimate moments, Bella. Ruby sees what you did there. And there. And there and there and there and there... Goddamn shapeshifters That Chloe is such a playful scamp. Yes, Weaver drew this. Everyone has always known Tom was a mushroom head.