Heya guys! I'm back here, for Halloween! I'm not sure if it's Halloween already for YOU, but here in Ireland it is. So I'm just going to post this. Attention this contains spoilers for my story Trail of Blood.
Like, severe spoilers. Like, I'm gonna spoil you of the whole mystery. Like, after you read this, Trail of Blood will have no more secrets for you. I won't explain anything in this story so please do not review questions about the secret. The explanation will take place in Trail of Blood proper, not in this separate oneshot.
Betas: LordHellPhoenix, and lordrednight.
So… Spoiler Warning, and then on with the story. If you have ignored my warnings up until this line, beware. If you complain about the spoilers, that's your problem, not mine
Ruby dodged the umpteenth slash from the figure before her and allowed Yang to switch with her. Her heart was thumping in her chest, and her mind was in overdrive. They were doing it. They were about to defeat Death.
She would have Jaune back.
Ren bypassed her as he ran at the Wraith, his new weapon Death Lotus at the ready, pairing up with Yang to try and get past Death's defences. The others stayed out of the fight for the moment, not wanting to mess each other's movements up, but they weren't giving Death any respite.
"Surrender!" she yelled. "We don't want to fight! We just want Jaune back!"
"Jaune Arc will be returned to you only if you defeat me," Death's distorted voice replied, but she knew better. She knew the seven of them had already won. They had defeated the other Wraiths and they had found Death. Fighting her head-on had been a reckless decision of Yang's, but as long as Death survived Ruby agreed. Death's survival was crucial for Jaune's survival. "And I shall not yield."
"Then we're gonna kick your ass so badly you won't sit ever again!" shouted Yang, trying to punch the Wraith into oblivion. The figure was too fast to be hit like that, and even the few punches that really did connect barely pushed Death back. "You're so gonna pay for everything you put us through!"
Yang leapt back and allowed Weiss to come in. The heiress and the ninja, both very fast fighters, were managing to hit the Wraith far more often, but everything just seemed to be ignored or not to affect Death at all. No one but Ruby knew why. Death wasn't a ghost, but a person. And as a person the Wraith had Aura. A black Aura that couldn't be seen against the black clothing, a black Aura that had once been white.
Ruby was determined to turn it back to white again.
Death swept Weiss off her feet with Mortem -or rather, Eclipsim- in single-bladed sword mode, but before the Wraith could follow it up with a stronger slash Pyrrha had rushed in, her shield meeting Death's sword with ease and her sword slashing at the figure's side. Once again it did next to nothing, but it gave Weiss time to roll back up and exit the fight. Blake took Ren's place and the two girls pushed Death back.
It was then when Nora rushed in with her hammer and delivered a devastating hit to the Wraith's back, sending Death into a wall. The wall cracked from the force, and for a second the seven students were afraid that the dark cellar they had been fighting it was about to come down on their heads. Fortunately, it held, and they turned back to the black-clad figure that had slowly stood up again.
"We're so going to kill your for everything you've done," Weiss growled as everyone but Ruby opened fire on the Wraith. Ignoring the red reaper's shout of 'NO!', and soon there was a cloud of debris rising from the wall. "I know you're still alive just give up!"
"A good attempt, but a failed one nonetheless," Death's voice hissed from the cloud of dust. As it settled, they could see the Wraith still standing without a scratch, but Ruby knew that even Death's Aura had a limit to how much it could take before shattering, and she knew it was approaching that limit. "You will have to do more if you hope to defeat me."
"You are already defeated," stated Pyrrha as she, Weiss and Blake resumed their onslaught. Between the three of them, there were very few hits that missed the Wraith, but Mortem was not idle. Weiss had to step back just a few seconds later, her Aura still holding on but starting to get too low. Ren took her place instantly, keeping Death busy as Pyrrha attacked the Wraith.
To be honest, everyone except for Ruby had expected the Supreme Wraith to put up a better fight. It wasn't that Death was fighting lousy, quite the opposite, it was just that they weren't having much trouble winning. Sure, they were seven against one, but after the Trail of Blood they had expected something more from the most powerful Wraith.
Death was as smart as Mind, as strong as Doom, as subtle as Betrayal and much more, but eventually Death was not undefeatable, far from it. As Pyrrha had noted not much after the start of their fight, she could've probably defeated Death by herself, and she hadn't been arrogant.
But Ruby knew the reason.
Death was not a Wraith. Or rather, yes, Death was a Wraith but eventually all Wraiths were just one person. Ruby had been shocked and heartbroken when she had found out, but now she was only determined to get Jaune back.
Jaune Arc was the Wraiths. Ruby had talked with Torchwick after the revelation and had found out that he knew already. He had explained what he thought had happened, and Ruby had barely been able to stop herself from crying. The Wraiths weren't related to Jaune, they were Jaune.
After his sperm donor had revealed him the truth about his family's death, Jaune had gone insane. Torchwick had used words like multiple personality disorder, schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder. He had killed his sperm donor and only then he had realized what he had done. Living with Torchwick and his daughter had helped him, but deep down Ruby knew he had never recovered.
But now… now they actually had a chance to win. They just had to defeat Death and allow the Wraith to run away. Torchwick had told her how he had spoken with Love, one of the Wraiths, and how Love had told him that depleting the black Aura would bring the white Aura back. Taken out of context it didn't make sense, but the old thief hadn't survived in Vale's criminal underworld without his wits.
All they had to do was to deplete Death's black Aura, and Jaune would be hers again.
"Ruby, watch out!" She was torn from her thoughts by Yang's shout, and fortunately she managed to dodge to the side in time to avoid Mortem's vertical slash. Instantly, Yang punched the Wraith away from the crimsonette, and a black ripple went through Death's frame. A ripple that gradually got lighter until it turned white as it reached the top of the Wraith's head.
Ruby smiled. They had done it. "You lost," she stated confidently.
"It appears so," said Death, the distortion in the Wraith's voice getting less and less as the figure spoke. "You won this war, and there won't be another. You have earned Jaune Arc back. You will find him waiting for you tomorrow, in the main hall. Victory… is yours."
For the first time in days, Ruby was truly happy, and there weren't drawbacks. People had died and others had been traumatized, but it was all over now. She and Jaune were back together, and nothing could've gone wrong.
"After everything you put us through, I don't think we are going to let you go so quickly," said Blake, raising her revolver and aiming at Death's chest. "You will die for what you've done."
"BLAKE, NO, STO-"
Ruby's shout went unheeded. Blake shot.
Death, Jaune, didn't even scream as the bullet went straight through his chest. He just leaned against the wall, and allowed himself to slide down on his rear. Well, it hadn't gone as he had hoped. Eventually, Death had won. He felt the last whispers of the Supreme Wraith fading from his mind with that final hit. She was gone. Death was gone… only for another kind of death to be waiting for him within moments. Blake rarely missed her target.
"JAUNE!"
Ruby was immediately by his side, desperately trying to stop the bleeding. He couldn't die. He wouldn't die. They had won, they should've had their happy ending! It wasn't fair! After everything she had gone through, after everything he had gone through, he couldn't just die and leave her behind! She knew it was a dire wound but he couldn't die. He couldn't!
She ignored everyone else's cries of shock as she ripped the mask from his face. He looked exhausted. It wasn't fair, dammit! He should've had a happy ending like her, that wasn't what she had expected! Why couldn't the world just give him a break!? He had suffered so much in the past, why couldn't they give him a happy future?! Why did his future have to be a future of death?!
"R-Ruby…" She didn't even try to hide her tears. She didn't want to hear him. She didn't want to say goodbye. She smothered his next words as she kissed him. He tasted different. He had tasted like air and water on that night at the ruins, now he only tasted like blood, loss and despair.
His hand came up to stroke her hair one last time, but then he pushed her away. "I… I d-don't want you to s-see me die…"
"Please don't die, Jaune," she replied, stopping his feeble attempts. Following his last wishes, she stepped back nonetheless. "You can't die. Please, Jaune…"
"No… don't go." He looked so lost. The others were still in shock, but she couldn't care less. "I… I don't want to die alone…"
She was immediately back by his side, grabbing his hand and squeezing. "I'm here Jaune, I'm not going anywhere. I'll always be with you," she silently cried as she saw the light leaving his eyes.
Jaune Arc smiled one last time, and then he died.
For the longest time, Ruby just stood there, unmoving, holding his rapidly cooling hand. What felt like days passed without anyone moving a muscle. Only when the first sobs began to wreck her frame she did move, grabbing Jaune's scythe and using her Semblance to get out of there, to get out of the dark and oppressive cellar.
She only needed a minute before she found herself in the courtyard.
Her mind was blank, even as she continued to cry. She couldn't go on, she just couldn't. After everything she had gone through it wasn't going to just end like that. She wouldn't allow that. She couldn't just forgive and forget. She would never forget about Jaune, and if she couldn't forget about him, there was no way she would forgive them for having killed him.
"It's their fault… they killed him…" she growled between her sobs. "It's all their fault…"
"I guess it is, if you put it like that."
She looked up again, and her eyes went impossibly wide. Jaune. Jaune was standing before her, in the same clothes he had died in. There was even the blood on his chest. She felt her heart start to quicken, and she realized she was about to hyperventilate. "J-Jaune?"
"Not quite," he replied. His figure was unfocused and see-through, but he was definitely Jaune. "I am… let's say a ghost."
"A-A ghost?"
"You… You said you'd always be with me, Ruby." She nodded shakily. The shock and the trauma hadn't worn off yet, and probably they wouldn't for a long time. "It's the other way around. Now I will always be with you. But… but this has a price…"
A second figure appeared beside him. Herself, she realized. Herself, dressed just like a Wraith, with Jaune's scythe in hand and his mask on her face. She looked down at the mask she still clutched in her hands, and squeezed her eyes shut. "Am I going to be with you?" she asked.
"You are…" He sighed. "You are going to die, Ruby. If you let Death take over, you will die. Is joining me in the Afterlife really worth it? Death comes for everyone, you can just wait. This… this will have repercussions on the others as well."
Ruby opened her eyes, and they were shining brightly. "I don't care," she replied, her voice trembling just like her body. "They did this. They killed you."
"I almost killed them…"
"But you have been traumatized. I'm sorry to say this, but you were insane, Jaune," she argued, more tears escaping from her eyes. "They aren't. They chose to do this. They killed you."
"They didn't know."
Ruby looked at the mirrored version of herself. Death would handle them. She was tired now. Too tired. She just wanted Jaune. She felt so empty and hollow… she wanted him back in her life. And if she couldn't have him in her life, she would choose to have him in her death. "I don't care…"
She put on her mask, and Ruby Rose died, appearing next to the ghost of Jaune. He sadly looked down at her before hugging her. Then the two of them looked at Death, who gripped Mortem tightly.
"They have to die."
Before you ask this is a oneshot. No explanation for this, you'll see in Trail of Blood proper. No follow-up for this story. Long story short, the others are gonna die. Stop. Death wins, ghostly Lancaster wins, everyone else loses.
Complaints will be graciously ignored. Interesting complaints will be replied to. I'm not the kind of person who wants to argue on Halloween.
Again, I had two betas for this oneshot, LordHellPhoenix and lordrednight. I consider them both friends, and they kindly accepted to review this work. So, thanks guys!
Until next time,
Khor Evik Vlakhavlakh