A Night of Terror
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.
It was a clear night. Not a single cloud was to be seen on the night's sky. The light from the shattered moon reflected in Blake's eyes as she walked across Beacon's courtyard. It was Halloween. Her first Halloween at Beacon, but, more importantly, her first Halloween with her new girlfriend, Ruby. The quirky little leader of team RWBY had promised her something special for tonight and Blake just couldn't wait.
She then saw Weiss and Yang approach her and waved casually. "Hey, have you guys seen Ruby anywhere?"
"Last time I saw her was a few hours ago," Yang replied. "She was headed to our dorm, something about "preparations"."
"I see. Is she still bummed that didn't go trick-or-treating?"
Yang nodded. "Her and Nora. I guess they were really looking forward to it. But, it's Ruby realized she's just too old for some things."
"Uh, guys..." Weiss involved herself in the conversation and pointed to their left. "Who's that?"
Blake and Yang followed her finger to see a figure standing a few feet away from them. They were wearing a black cloak and their face was hidden behind a mask which appeared to resemble a scarecrow's face with stitched up lips. It was unnerving at first, until they noticed the weapon they were carrying. Crescent Rose.
"Ruby?" Yang called out to her. "What's with the get up?" No answer. Yang sighed. "Ruby, we already said no. No trick-or-treating." She took a few steps towards the figure. "Got it?" No answer. "Geez, what's with you?" She turned back to Blake and Weiss and shrugged. In that moment, a shot rang through the air. Yang looked down and pressed her hand against her stomache. Blood started flowing from between her fingers. Then blood spurted out of her mouth and she fell to the ground.
"Yang!" Weiss jumped to the blonde and knelt down next to her. Blake, too shocked to move, just looked on. Weiss pressed her hands against the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. "No! No, no, no! No, Yang, you can't! You won't! Hang on, darling, you'll pull through this." Yang continued to moan and cough blood for a few seconds, then her body went limp. "Yang? Sweetie?" Weiss' voice was trembling. Tears were forming in her eyes.
Finally finding the strength to look away, Blake instead turned to Ruby, but she was no longer standing where she was. Instead, she was behind Weiss. She placed her hand on Weiss' head, held Crescent Rose's blade to her throat and ran it across.
Weiss gripped her throat, blood gushing out from underneath her hands and out of her mouth as she fell on top of Yang.
Blake was terrified. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She focused her gaze on Ruby, eyes widening in horror as she turned to look at Blake as well. Instinctively, she reached for her weapon, only to grab nothing. She'd left her weapon in her locker. She was unarmed. She was unable to fight this person. So she did the only thing she could do. She ran. She ran into the school building and through the halls. Her heart was pumping, her vision was blurry. She had no idea if she was being chased and she was certainly not about to try and find out. She just kept running through the dark halls of Beacon.
Something appeared in her field of vision. She couldn't stop. She couldn't avoid. She ran right into it. She fell and landed on the ground hard. She immediately got up and looked around to find whatever got in her way. Eventually, her gaze met a pair of blue eyes.
"Jaune?" she asked between pants. Only now did she realize she was out of breath.
"Hey, Blake," Jaune replied as he rubbed his head. He then took Pyrrha's hand and she pulled him up. That was when Blake noticed the rest of team JNPR was also there.
"What's the rush?" Nora asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost." She gasped and got right up in Blake's face. "Did you see a ghost?"
Pyrrha pulled Nora back, a worried expression on her face. "You do look very pale? What's wrong?"
"Yang...Weiss...they're...they're dead." Her voice was quiet and shaky.
It took JNPR a moment to process the information. They also paled, their eyes widened.
"Dead?" Jaune asked in disbelief. "Are you sure?"
"Ruby...she just...shot Yang...right in the gut...and Weiss...she slit her throat."
"Ruby?!" Jaune exclaimed. "You can't be serious."
"The person was wearing a mask...but they were the same height as Ruby...and they had Crescent Rose."
There was a moment of silence, which was broken by a bloodcurdling scream.
"What? Where did that come from?" Jaune asked.
"I think it came from the cafeteria," Pyrrha answered. "We need to get over there."
"But...we don't have any weapons," Blake argued.
"Well, whoever's screaming might not have time for us to get our weapons," Jaune replied. "We need to go, now!"
(**)
Shortly afterward, they burst through the cafeteria door. What she saw in there once again froze Blake in place. Team CFVY was splayed out on the floor, blood everywhere. Penny was currently sobbing over Velvet.
"NOO!" Blake's head jolted to her left at the ear-piercing scream. Nora sprinted forward and knelt down next to Coco, taking her into her arms. Her limp body wriggling like a rag-doll in her embrace. "Coco. Coco, honey, don't do this to me." After a few moments of holding her dead girlfriend in her arms, Nora let out a shout of despair, then broke down sobbing. "Damn it. Damn it."
While Ren and Pyrrha tried to comfort her, Blake walked over to Penny, who was currently cradling Velvet's body.
"Penny," Blake spoke up after a few moments. "What happened?"
"I don't know," Penny answered in a trembling voice. "I found them like this. Her. My sweet, beautiful Velvet. Oh, darling, who did this to you?"
"Ruby!" They both turned to Nora. Her voice was like venom. Harsh, cold and hateful. Blake had never heard anything like it. Nora was looking at her. "You said Ruby killed Weiss and Yang."
"Ruby?" Penny asked in disbelief. "It can't be. It had to have been someone else. My friend Ruby would never..."
"I DON'T GIVE A SHIT!" Blake flinched under the harsh voice. "Someone took away my Coco. I will find them. I will break their legs, tear them off and BEAT THEM TO DEATH WITH THEM! What do you say, Penny?"
After they looked at each other for a moment, Penny got up and gave Nora a salute. "I'm vengeance ready!" she said in an unnaturally cold tone.
Nora also got up and nodded. "Then our next step is to get our weapons. Let's go!"
As they left the cafeteria, a chill ran through Blake's spine. This wasn't gonna end well.
(**)
Now fully armed, the six of them were slowly walking through the halls. Nora and Penny in the front, Ren and Blake in the middle and Jaune and Pyrrha covering the rear.
"Hey, Ren," Blake whispered.
"Yeah," Ren replied at the same volume.
"You've been friends with Nora for a long time. Have you ever seen her like this?"
Ren shook his head. "She's never been this angry before. I'm afraid she's gonna do something stupid."
"OVER THERE!" Nora yelled, making them all automatically look in the direction she was pointing at. Blake's blood nearly froze in her veins. There was the cloaked figure, staring at them from a window in the opposite building. Nora pulled out Magnhild and shattered the window in front of them, making the others shield themselves with their arms. She and Penny then jumped out the window.
"NO! Wait!" Blake yelled. But it was too late. Using her wires, Penny had already transported the two of them to the other building. "We have to go after them!"
"Uh, yeah, but um, I don't think I can make that jump," Jaune said, looking down and gulping.
Blake sighed. Ren and I will jump down. You and Pyrrha take the stairs."
"Are you sure it's a good idea to split up?" Pyrrha asked.
"It's better than Jaune breaking his neck."
"I agree."
Pyrrha nodded. "Alright, then. Good luck."
"You, too." Blake and Ren then jumped out and ran over to the other building.
(**)
Blake and Ren slowly proceeded through the hallways, weapons unsheathed. Suddenly, they heard a loud noise from the floor above them. After exchanging a quick look and a nod they ran upstairs, where they quickly found an open door. They positioned themselves at each side of the door. They nodded to each other and entered, guns raised and ready to fire. But they quickly lowered their weapons and just gaped at what was in front of them. Penny's appendages were all across the room. Her torso had been busted open, electronics scattered across the floor. Nora was leaning against the wall opposite of them, with one of Penny's blades sticking out of her chest.
Ren quickly ran over and knelt down to check her, only to turn back to Blake a moment later and shake his head.
Blake closed her eyes and just stood there for a moment, but then quickly turned her head when she heard something in the hallway. She ran out and looked around, but saw nothing. She then turned right, swearing that that was the direction the noise came from, and took a few steps forward.
After a few moments of staring into darkness, she went back into the room, only to find it empty. Ren was nowhere to be seen. "Ren? REN!" She cried out in desperation. She didn't want to be alone. Not now.
A noise from above. Glass shattering. A female scream.
Blake immediately ran to the upper floor and made her way to the room. Too late. There was Pyrrha, covered in glass shards, a pool of blood surrounding her. Blake went over to the shattered window and looked out. There was Jaune, sprawled out on the pavement.
Ren was lying next to him, his guts spilled onto the floor.
She stood there for a few moments, breathing heavily. She felt sick. Like she wanted to puke.
She then noticed someone approaching her from behind, reaching out to her. She turned and aimed her gun at them.
"Whoa, chill!" Sun shouted as he and Neptune raised their arms defensively.
Blake lowered her weapon and hugged Sun. "Oh, thank god."
"Uh, Blake, what's going on?"
Blake took a step back. "I have no idea. Everyone's just dying and I have no idea who's doing it. I just...I..." Tears were forming in her eyes.
Sun pulled her in for another and gently stroked her back. "Shh, it's okay. It's okay. We'll figure this out. Okay?"
Blake stepped back, wiped her tears away and nodded.
(**)
"Man, this messed up," Neptune said as they walked out onto the courtyard. "Yang, Weiss, Penny. Teams JNPR and CFVY. Who's next?"
"You want me to guess?" Sun asked. "My money would be on us."
"Dude, seriously, that's not even funny."
"Yeah, it's not."
Blake didn't care about what they were saying. At this point, she was just glad to hear somebody say something. Even being harassed by Cardin would seem like a joyride right now.
"But, seriously Blake. You honestly think Ruby did all this?"
"That figure did have the same stature as Ruby. And they were wielding Crescent Rose."
"Yeah, but still. Ruby? You're girlfriend, the sweetest girl on the planet. That Ruby?"
"Sun, I only know what I saw. Nothing more."
"Hey, you wanna know what I think?" Neptune spoke up.
"What's that?" Sun asked. No response. "Neptune? Oh my god!"
Blake turned around and her heart almost stopped. There was the cloaked figure, hovering over Neptune, who was currently curled up in a fetal position on the floor, a pool of blood forming around him.
"You bastard!" Sun shouted as he opened fire on the figure.
They easily dodged his shots and, in a second, stood in front of him and slashed at him. Tossing him through the air. They then turned to Blake, who had Gambol Shroud ready. The figure sprinted forward and slashed at her, only to hit her husk as she appeared above them and launched her blade at them. However, the figure dodged the blade and grabbed the line that connected it to the rest of the weapon. They then pulled on it, bringing Blake to the ground so hard Gambol Shroud slipped out of her grasp.
As she got back up she saw the figure pull Gambol Shroud towards them and stuff it in their cloak.
Once again unarmed and alone, Blake was once more left with one option. She ran.
(**)
She didn't know how she had been running. She just knew she couldn't run anymore. She leaned down, supporting herself on her knees, panting heavily. After a few moments, she looked around and recognized her surroundings. She close to Team RWBY's dorm room. She didn't know if it was coincidence or if her subconscious led her here, but right now she just wanted to curl up in her bed. If that...that thing was gonna come for her then so be it. She was tired of running. But as she started walking again she noticed something lying on the floor. A scroll. She activated it and inhaled sharply. It was Ruby's scroll. She then noticed an open file and tapped on it. The screen turned black, then a recording started playing. Ruby's face appeared on the screen, chipper and bright as always.
"Hey, Blake." Blake didn't know how to feel. For all she knew, this was the person who had just killed all of her friends, but still, she was her girlfriend. Seeing her face. Hearing her voice. It felt incredibly good. "If you're watching this, I guess you already got my surprise. Sorry, if it seemed a bit excessive. I just really wanted to make our first Halloween together special. Anyway, I...Wait, what was that?" Ruby focus then to something off-screen. She just stared for a few seconds before the screen started shaking violently and a bloodcurdling scream rang from the scroll's speakers. Then the screen turned black, only showing Blake's reflection. With the masked figure standing right behind her.
This time, it was Blake who let out the scream. The scroll dropped from her hand as she jumped away from the figure.
She was trembling, her heart felt like it was about to burst from her chest. She just stared at the figure. And they just stared at her. They didn't move at all.
After a few moments, Blake finally managed to move her arm. She raised it up and grabbed the mask. The figure still did nothing. Then she pulled the mask off and her heart stopped. There was Ruby's face, covered in blood, deathly pale. But the most horrifying thing were the eyes. They were no longer their usual, beautiful silver colour, but instead were now a horrible, ghostly glowing blue.
Blake took a step back. "What the hell are you?" Ruby took a step towards her. She took another step back and looked behind her. She could see the door to her dorm room. She saw that the light was still on, probably from when Ruby made that recording. If she was going to die, it should at least be in the light. She then turned, ran to the door and burst through it. Blinded by the light, she closed her eyes and raised her arm.
"SURPRISE!" Blake jumped at the sudden choir of shouts. After blinking a few times in order to adjust to the light, her eyes widened. The room had decorated with a wide array of Halloween decoration ranging from pumpkins to bats to skeletons. A table had been set up with lots of snacks and a big bowl of orange punch. But the most fetching site was the crowd in front of her. Yang, Weiss, Penny, Sun, Neptune, JNPR and CFVY. All covered in blood, yet laughing happily. "HAPPY HALLOWEEN!"
"Wha-"
She felt a presence behind her and turned around to see Ruby standing there, smiling. She then lifted her hand up to her eyes. When she lowered it again, her eyes had returned to their normal silver colour. Blake looked down to see a pair of blue contact lenses in Ruby's hand. She looked back up at Ruby.
"Happy Halloween, Blakey."
Blake gaped for a moment. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" Ruby cringed at the sudden outburst. "Are you telling me this was all just a joke?"
"I-"
"How the hell did you come up with that?"
"I-uh-I-I-uh-I-uh-I I- I was just...I've been wracking my brain trying to give you the best Halloween ever. Something you'll never forget, you know. I just-didn't know what to do and then I got the idea that, maybe, instead of the best, I should try giving you the worst Halloween ever. Well, I-I guess that could've gone better...Are you okay?"
"OKAY?! AM I OKAY?!" She cupped Ruby's face and kissed her passionately. "I've never felt more alive!"
Ruby's face lit up at this. "So, you're not mad?"
Blake flicked her nose. "Of course I'm mad. You're gonna have to do a lot of groveling in order to make up for this." She then pecked Ruby's forehead. "But I appreciate the thought. Just, please, don't ever do it again."
"I promise."
"By the way, how'd you pull it all off?"
"Oh, please, it was mostly just the timed use of fake blood, with some props thrown in every now and then."
"And the torn-apart Penny?"
"AH!" They both turned to Penny, who pulled the severed Penny head from behind her. "Perfect replica, don't you think? Spent a long time working on it."
"All this effort for a prank?"
"Yeah, it's Halloween. The season of pranks and sweets. Speaking of sweets, let's get to eating, before Yang and Nora eat up everything," Ruby suggested as she leered at the two, who were currently digging into the buffet.
"Alright," Blake laughed.
(**)
They spent the rest of the night eating and drinking, chatting and laughing. And while the shock had yet to wear off at the time, eventually she would laugh that night off as the greatest prank ever. That truly was a Halloween she'd never forget.
A/N: Initially, this seemed like a great idea. Only towards the end did I realize how extreme this actually was. Ah, well. Hope you enjoyed it. Happy Halloween!