Disclaimer:
I do not own RWBY.
RWBY: Darkfall contains dark themes; and questionable morals.Viewer discretion is advised.
"That Night"
What is behind a mask, Mr. Glass?
Is it a face?
Is it a soul?
Is it a sense of protection?
Or do you wear it for pure intimidation alone?
Mr. Glass?
Mr. Glass?
Jozy Glass?
Ruby and Weiss were walking down a sidewalk located in Vale's business district. The streets were crowded with humans and faunus alike all either doing some last minute shopping in the fading sunlight or finishing their shifts. Ruby and Weiss were there for a different reason.
Weiss had a few quick errands to run; and had asked Ruby if she would come with her.
"So what errands did you need to run?" Ruby asked.
"Um, actually I needed to go to the Dentist and I hate going alone so I asked you to come." Weiss said; trying to put on a dignified expression.
"Aww Weiss is scared of the Dentist, how cute." Ruby teased.
"Shut up, I am not scared."
"Then go by yourself."
"No!"
Ruby, and Weiss made it to the dentist's office; and the receptionist lead her to the back room where the dentist would work on her. Ruby sat out in the waiting room; lost in thought.
"I shouldn't be so hard on Weiss, I hate the dentist more than she does." Ruby thought.
Both of the girls were in their second year at Beacon; and were very well known for their prowess in combat. However, Cinder and the White Fang were still at large in Vale; and were currently missing. While Ruby was thinking about all of this the news came on the TV that was in one of the upper hand corners of the room.
"We come to you live with breaking news from last night." Lisa Lavender said.
"According to authorities the 'Mannequin' struck again and this time left 6 brutally maimed bodies; all having ties to the White Fang." she said.
"Hmm, this 'Mannequin' guy has been turning up a lot recently. I wonder why they call him Mannequin." Ruby thought. As she was thinking about this she heard a woman scream from outside. It was dark out so Ruby could barely make out the silhouette of a woman running from out of a dark alley way. The older receptionist did not hear the woman so she continued her routine. Ruby stood up; and went over to the receptionist.
"Hi, can you tell Weiss to meet me outside when she is done?" Ruby asked.
"I sure can; is she your girlfriend?" she asked.
Ruby blushed heavily. "No, uh she's just a friend."
The receptionist nodded; and continued her work.
Ruby walked out of the Dentist's office; and shook her head clear of what had just happened. She then walked toward the alleyway that the woman ran out of. As she got closer she could clearly hear the sound of someone choking. Her instincts kicked in and ran toward whoever was in trouble. She ran down the alleyway until she found herself in a large space between buildings. She stopped and hid behind the wall as she saw what was in the center of the area. A tall man was holding a White Fang soldier by his neck. Without even thinking Ruby ran out and withdrew Crescent Rose.
"Hey!" she yelled.
The man turned towards her; and stared at her. Ruby flinched at what she saw. He was wearing a mask that covered his whole face. The top half of the mask was canvas; while the bottom half was mechanical. Seeing that she had a weapon in her hands he snapped the man's neck with one hand and turned all the way towards her.
"So you're the 'Mannequin' I take it." Ruby said; moving closer to him. Just then the moon illuminated the area; and let her get a full view of what her opponent had. On one leg he had a brace that he didn't really need; and had another one on his right arm. He was also covered in a type of armor that she had never seen before. Mannequin hit a button on a pad that he had attached to his arm brace. This undid the locks on the metal jaw of his mask; allowing him to speak.
"You are correct, Huntress." he said in a deep raspy voice.
"Now, let me ask you something. Are you scared?" he asked.
"What? No way." Ruby replied.
" I see. Well, I will be leaving." he said; starting to walk off.
Ruby was not going to let him leave. She shot a round over his head making him stop.
"You're not going anywhere." she said.
"So if you're not going to let me go it looks like I'll have to break you." Mannequin said; turning around and securing the locks on his mask.
Ruby took a defensive position trying to read him. He stood there staring at her with his red eyes. Ruby finally ran out of patience; and shot Crescent Rose behind her propelling her forward. She came at Mannequin with lightning fast speed. She raised Crescent Rose over her head in an attempt to impale him. However, he shifted his position causing Ruby to miss. He then wrapped his right arm around her weapon causing her to not be able to pick it back up. Seeing this Ruby punched him in the face; making a sharp metal sound, and a crack. Mannequin shrugged it off and kicked her in the stomach sending her flying back. Her back hit the wall; and the wind was knocked out of her.
"I know what those braces were for now. They are amplifying his strength." Ruby thought; whilst trying to catch her breath.
"Didn't they ever teach you to not punch metal?" Mannequin asked.
"What?" Ruby thought.
She then looked down at her hands and was shocked. The ring finger on her left hand was broken; and was pointing a different way. Ruby stood up shakily and looked at Mannequin. Seeing this he lifted Crescent Rose.
"You have a nice garden tool here. It must have taken forever to build it." he said; holding Crescent Rose with both his hands.
"Yeah, what do you care?" Ruby yelled.
"I was just wondering how long it would take you to build a new one."
He then snapped Crescent Rose in half; and threw the bladed half into the ground with such a force that it shattered. Ruby was mortified by what had just happened. She built and LOVED that weapon.
"I'll kill you." Ruby said; her hair blacking out half of her face.
Mannequin made a "come here" motion with his hand. Ruby sprang into action; using her semblance to speed herself up. She started throwing punch after punch; but none of them seemed to do any damage. Finally Mannequin had enough. He caught one of Ruby's punches; and threw her to the ground. Still holding her arm he twisted it; and kicked it making sure he broke every one of the bones in her arm. Ruby was gasping for air as she was trying to pick herself up. He then put two good kicks into Ruby's sides; breaking one or several ribs on each side.
Ruby was able to get up; and stood there breathing heavily. Tears were running down her face. She screamed as she ran towards Mannequin; and tried to hit him again. He dodged it; and pulled her legs out from under her. She hit the ground with a thud.
"You don't know when you're beat do you, Huntress?" Mannequin asked; walking toward her. The metal apparatus on his boot making a loud thudding sound on the ground. He placed his boot over one of Ruby's ankles; and crushed it. This made Ruby scream; which was then followed by sobs. He then moved to her head and picked her up by her neck. He started whaling on her face giving her a black eye, a broken nose and a large cut on her forehead.
"Please just kill me." Ruby said; between sobs.
"Why would I want to kill you? You're innocent so you don't deserve death." he said; dropping her to the ground.
"However, your own naivety brought this down on you."
Ruby was slipping in and out of consciousness; and could barely hear him. She could feel her ribs shifting around with every labored breath she took.
"Do you think you can escape? If so try to escape." Mannequin said.
Ruby started to crawl away towards the alleyway. She barely got a foot before the remaining half of Crescent Rose slammed into her back like a hammer. It was still so heavy, even though being only half of it, it broke her back. Ruby laid there helpless as a blade of grass. She was then picked up off the ground by her neck again; looking very much dead.
"You don't deserve this." Mannequin said; ripping Ruby's cloak off of her. This act made Ruby scream louder than she had ever done before.
Weiss stood there in front of the Dentist's Office; holding herself.
"Come on Ruby, it's cold."
"Where could she have gone? She didn't ditch me did she?! No, that's not Ruby. Then where could she have gone?" Weiss was thinking all these questions to herself as she stood there waiting. Suddenly a bloodcurdling scream brought Weiss back to reality. Recognizing the voice Weiss took off at a full sprint; drawing Myrtenaster in the process. She ran down the alleyway; and found Ruby being held by an unknown man.
"Ruby!" she yelled.
This startled Mannequin causing him to drop Ruby. He then withdrew a red and black sword from the sheath on his belt and pointed it at Weiss. As she ran closer the red blade gradually started to turn purple. It started glowing; and a large sound wave was sent at Weiss. She was knocked back and momentarily deafened. She sat up; and saw mannequin put a finger up to his mask and then he disappeared in a bunch of black smoke. She then ran over to Ruby; and held her.
"Ruby, stay with me!" she said; between sobs
"Well, this wasn't suppose to happen." Ruby said; before losing consciousness.
"Ruby, please don't leave me."
"Please don't go."
"You're my best friend."
"I-I love you."
A/N: Will Ruby survive her first confrontation with the Mannequin? Who is the Mannequin? And how will Yang react to Ruby's predicament? All may be revealed in the next chapter.
Continued in part 2