Dead By Roselight
Chapter 9: The Champion (Part 1)
Upon hearing the voice of her friend, Weiss' eyes lit up with hope and she started to run towards te sound. Despite her new comrades telling her to wait or slow down, the heiress kept her pace. After losing so many of her friends in such a short time, she was overjoyed by the chance that at least one of her friends had actually survived.
However, as Weiss was getting closer to where the sound of Pyrrha's voice was coming from, the white-haired girl noticed something that greatly disturbed her. The usually calm and happy amazon didn't sound like she normally did. In fact, it didn't sound like Pyrrha was actually talking. It sounded more like hysterical babbling instead of actual speech. The thought of such a strong warrior being reduced to such a broken mess brought a new wave of fear into Weiss.
It didn't take too long for the heiress to find her redheaded friend in the middle of a small clearing in the forest. Pyrrha was crouched down in a fetal position, like she was doing everything she could to protect something underneath her. The amazon was mumbling and babbling to herself while sobbing as well. Weiss couldn't help but fear what had happened to her friend.
''Pyrrha?'' the white-haired girl called out to the sobbing girl. ''Are you alright?''
''Jaune... He took Jaune...'' Pyrrha managed to mumble out as she looked up at Weiss. ''All I could save was this...''
The heiress' eyes went wide with shock, as she saw what the redhead was holding. It was Jaune's hoodie. The piece of clothing was torn up and covered in blood. It didn't take Weiss a long time to figure out what had happened to the blonde knight.
''Pyrrha... I'm sorry, but...'' the white-haired girl struggled to say. She knew that she needed to get her friend to move, but she also that she would sound heartless. ''... we have to go. It's not safe around here, so-''
''Jaune... Jaune was taken. He was screaming. He was in pain. He... He...'' Pyrrha rambled. She then began to scream in absolute agony over the loss of her beloved team leader. ''AAAAAH! JAUNE! JAUNE! WHY DID HE TAKE JAUNE!? HE NEVER DID ANYTHING WRONG! WHY!? AAAAAAAAAH!''
Weiss could only stare at her broken friend with tears in her eyes. For the first time in her life, she had absolutely no idea as to what she should do. Even if she wanted to help the amazon girl, the heiress didn't know how. She knew how important Jaune was to Pyrrha, so his loss something that must have broken the redhead. It was likely that Pyrrha was beyond saving at this point, as she had been taken over by her sadness and grief. Weiss couldn't help but feel like a helpless little girl again, who hid from her father during his drunken rage.
A hand on her shoulder snapped Weiss out of her thoughts. She looked behind her to see Clark looking at her with a sympathetic look on his face.
''Weiss, we need to go,'' the brown-haired man said in a sad tone.
''B-But I can't just leave her!'' Weiss argued desperately. ''She's my friend! She's-!''
''A liability,'' Bruce finished for the heiress in a stern tone. ''In this world, we can't afford to take unnecessary risks. If we do, it could cost us our lives. Whether she's your friend or not, she is beyond any help. The only thing we can do is leave her and look out for ourselves.''
''Bruce, really? You couldn't say that without sounding like a complete dick?'' Clark said, displeased by his friend's actions. ''However, I'm afraid he's right, Weiss. Your friend is broken mentally. Whatever happened to her, it destroyed her completely. We can't really help her anymore.''
Weiss wanted to argue and say that they could still help Pyrrha, but she knew it was futile. It was clear as day that nothing could be done for the sake of her friend, so all the white-haired girl could do was nod sadly, before leaving the amazon behind. Weiss still gave one last look at Pyrrha, who continued to sob uncontrollably while holding Jaune's hoodie.
Weiss' new group continued to wander around the wasteland for some time, occasionally stopping for small breaks. During that time, Clark and Lois taught the heiress about the world they were in. They told her how the realms worked and how a lot of things seemed to operate around there. Right now, they were wandering around the world in the hopes of finding a way to either get back to their own world or at least an area that was safe.
As they kept walking, they eventually stumbled upon something strange. Weiss looked down on the ground and saw some sort of a large object there. She walked up to it and took a closer look at it. The object turned out to be a human-sized training dummy. These were often used in Huntsman academies in order to train new Huntsmen and Huntresses for combat.
''What the hell?'' Ellis asked while the rest of the group had come to look over what Weiss had found. ''Who would leave something like that in the middle of nowhere?''
''Someone who seems to be in the need of a new one,'' Weiss said as she turned the dummy over, revealing a very large slash mark on it. ''Whoever used this didn't hold back.''
''Sounds like someone I don't want to meet,'' Clark said. ''I doubt they would be friendly.''
''Hey, guys! Look around!'' Lois suddenly yelled. The others looked around and saw that the ground was littered with damaged training dummies. ''It looks like someone's been busy.''
''Yeah, but where are they?'' Ellis asked. ''I don't see anybody else here besides us.''
''I think I have a good guess where they are,'' Weiss answered and pointed at a large stadium that was a short distance away from them. Because of all the mist that was surrounding them, no one in the group had been able to notice the large building yet.
''Hey, that's something we haven't seen before!'' Clark exclaimed in an excited voice. ''Maybe we can find a way out of this world from there!''
''Or just another killer, ready to cut us into pieces,'' Bruce added in a sarcastic voice.
''Thank you, Bruce. We all know you're an asshole,'' the brown-haired man said as he was starting to get tired of his friend's attitude. ''It's still worth going in and checking it out, though. None of us know what's in there, after all.''
The group walked to the stadium and went inside from the first door they found. They kept on moving forward, until they found a way outside. Once the group got out, they found themselves on the edge of a large arena.
''What is this place? Some sort of a sport arena?'' Clark asked, not sure of where they had ended up.
''Not exactly. This is a tournament arena for Huntsmen to compete at,'' Weiss answered with wide eyes, as she recognized the place they were at. ''And this is not just any arena. It's the Mistral Arena, where the Champion of Mistral is decided.''
''Wait a second. You mean the place where the winner gets their picture on the Pumpkin Pete cereal boxes?'' Lois asked, recognizing the name. Her eyes widened upon realizing who the redheaded person they had left behind might have been. ''Wait... That friend of yours we saw. Didn't you call her Pyrrha? As in Pyrrha Nikos?''
''The one and only,'' the heiress answered in a sad voice, thinking about the friend she had lost. ''She was one of my friends in Beacon Academy.''
The others in the group went silent, as none of them really knew what to say to Weiss. She had not too long ago lost a dear friend to her without being able to do anything. Not to mention, the white-haired girl had probably lost even other dear people in this nightmare of a world. There wasn't really anything they could say to comfort her.
''Back to the matter at hand, I think we should split our group in two and search around this place,'' Bruce suddenly suggested. ''That way we can cover more ground without leaving anyone unprotected.''
''I guess that's a good idea,'' Ellis said. ''However, how do we split up our group''
''I'll go with Lois, while the rest of you form a group of three,'' the black-haired man answered. ''I feel like that's the best option.''
''Now hold on here for a second!'' Clark suddenly said with a hint of anger in his voice. ''Why should you go with MY wife!? Shouldn't I be the one to team up with her!?''
Instead of responding, Bruce motioned for his friend to come closer. He apparently wanted to keep his reasons a secret from the rest of their group.
''Listen, the reason I should go with Lois is because I think Ellis and Weiss need to work together,'' the moody man whispered to Clark. ''You saw how hostile he was towards the girl, right? If that keeps up, it could possibly endanger the rest of our group as well. If they spend some time together, working towards a common goal, it's possible that they'll get used to each other enough for them to start trusting one another. That way our team will be able to work better.''
''Okay, I see your point,'' the brown-haired man whispered back to Bruce. ''But why do I need to go with them? And why cannot it be you?''
''We obviously need to have someone with them to make sure that nothing bad happens between them,'' Bruce answered. ''It's very likely that Ellis will attempt to harm or even kill Weiss, so there needs to be someone with them to prevent that from happening. And the reason I think it should be you is because you're way stronger than I am. While I am no pushover, you have a lot better chance at stopping Ellis, if he gets violent. It's just for the sake of making sure that nothing bad will happen.''
Clark thought about the explanation his friend had given him. While he didn't like the idea of leaving his wife's side in this horrible world, he did see the reason behind Bruce's idea. All in all, it was best for the whole group, if he went along with the idea.
''Fine. I'll go with your plan,'' Clark said after a moment of thinking. ''However, you better make sure that nothing bad happens to Lois while I'm not around. And I'm not just talking about the killers.''
''I know, Clark. Don't worry,'' Bruce replied. ''I'll take good care of her.''
With their plan set, the group split up into two and went to search around the stadium. As Weiss was walking around with her two companions, she couldn't help but notice that Clark seemed to be nervous, like there was something bothering him. The brown-haired man kept looking behind his back, as if to check on something.
''Clark? Is everything alright?'' Weiss asked.
''I'm okay, Weiss,'' the brown-haired man answered. ''I'm just a bit worried. That's all.''
''Are you perhaps worried about Lois?'' the heiress asked. ''You weren't exactly fond of the idea that she would go with only Bruce.''
''Yeah. I know I should trust him and everything, but I can't fully do that,'' Clark explained. ''Even if he is my friend, things are... complicated between us.''
''I know that he's not exactly friendly, but I doubt he's actually dangerous. I have personally dealt with people that have rather difficult personalities to deal with, but they can be pretty good people. You just need to get to know them better.''
''Well, the thing is that I do know him very well. In fact, I've known him for the most of my life, along with Lois. The three of us are childhood friends and we've always been together, for as long as I can remember. Bruce and I have been especially close, since we share similar backgrounds. Both of us lost our parents at a very young age, which allowed us to understand and sympathize with each other well.''
Weiss was listening to Clark's explanation very closely. She was hoping to learn more about her new comrades and hopefully get to know them better.
''However, unfortunately for Bruce, his personality didn't really make him popular. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I'm his first real friend ever,'' the brown-haired man continued his story. ''We eventually met Lois, who became the third member in our group. After that, we have been practically inseparable. Even when we grew up, we have always been in close contact with one another. But while Lois and I kept meeting new people, Bruce never really made any other friends. Let alone with other women.''
''Wait... Are you telling me that Bruce might be after Lois?'' Weiss asked with wide eyes, realizing what her comrade was suggesting. ''Please tell me you're not serious.''
''I'm afraid I am,'' Clark answered. ''He didn't really take it well, when he heard that Lois and I got engaged. At first, I thought that he was afraid of being ignored by us, which was ridiculous. But now I'm almost certain that he's jealous of me getting Lois. Every time we were kissing or being even a bit close with each other, I could always feel him glaring at us. I can't help but feel that he has had feelings for her as well and is now angry at me.''
''But he wouldn't really do anything, right?'' the heiress, hoping that they actually didn't need to fear for their two comrades. ''I mean, he's not exactly nice, but he should know better than to do anything stupid, right?''
''You should never underestimate love, Weiss. It can be both a great thing, but also very terrifying.''
As the group of three went around the stadium, they couldn't really find anything useful or interesting. All they could find were things that you would normally expect to find at a stadium, such as locker rooms, souvenir shops and other such things. The only thing that was out of the ordinary were the hooks that they had seen at the carnival. Weiss also noticed posters on the walls with a text saying ''Mistral Regional Tournament'' on them.
The trio eventually made their way to another locker room they found and started to look around it, hoping to find something useful.
''What exactly are we looking for here?'' Weiss asked.
''Anything that's useful,'' Clark answered while looking inside one of the lockers. ''For example, medical supplies could be useful for us. Stuff like that or even things that just seem to be possibly useful for us. You never know what you might need in this world.''
The heiress nodded and was about to go continue looking, but noticed something. Ellis was nowhere to be seen. This alarmed her, since they had not heard the faunus man leave or anything, meaning that something bad could have happened.
''Clark, where's Ellis?'' Weiss asked her comrade. ''I can't see him anywhere.''
''He was supposed to be here,'' the brown-haired man said while looking around for the missing faunus. ''We all agreed that we would stay together and not wander off. He hasn't done this before.''
''Do you think something has happened to him?'' the white-haired girl asked, fearing for the worst. ''There could be another killer here, so he could have been caught.''
''It's okay. I'll find him,'' Clark told the girl reassuringly. ''You just wait here and don't go anywhere. I'll be back soon, okay?''
Weiss nodded and watched as her comrade walked out of the room and left. She stayed in the room, hoping that both men would soon come back with nothing bad happening. However, the heiress suddenly heard something. It was a strange, mechanical sound, like the sound of a machine getting turned on. She walked out of the room and looked around. The sound was coming further down the hallway from the opposite direction of where Clark had gone. With her curiosity getting the better of her, Weiss decided to make her way towards the sound and investigate it.
The white-haired girl soon made her way to another room. The place was almost completely empty, except for one thing in there. There was a generator in the middle of the room, and it had already been fixed a bit.
'Is that the generator Clark and the others told me about?' Weiss wondered to herself, thinking about what her group had been telling her. 'I guess I should go and finish the job. No point in leaving it like that.'
The heiress began to work on the machine, hoping to finish what someone had started. While most wouldn't expect her to be able to fix the machine, she was actually doing quite well. Weiss' training as a Huntress required her to be able to do maintenance on her weapon and possibly on other machines as well. Not to mention, she had done research on machines that used the Dust from her company. This gave her a fairly good idea on what to do.
However, before the white-haired girl could complete her task, she heard a footstep behind her. Someone was trying to sneak up on her. Weiss barely managed to get out of the way in time, as someone tried to smash her head with a rusty pipe.
The heiress rolled to the side, dodging the attack from behind. Once she had stopped, she was able to take a look at her attacker. Much to her shock, the attacker was Ellis.
''Ellis!? What the hell are you doing!?'' Weiss asked. ''Why are you trying to kill me!?''
''Isn't it obvious?'' Ellis asked with anger and hatred dripping from his voice. ''You're a Schnee and I'm a faunus. What other reason do you think I'd need to kill you? The only way for the world to be better for my kind is by getting rid of your entire filthy bloodline.''
''I know my family has done bad things towards your people, but dammit, I am not like that!'' the white-haired girl yelled. ''I actually want to make things better, unlike my father! What does it take to make you believe me!?''
''Oh, I do believe that you meant every word you said to me,'' Ellis answered. ''However, people change with time and I'm certain you will as well. The same blood that flows in your father flows in you, too. There's literally nothing that can prove me that you won't become like him in the future. Might as well not take the chance and just finish you off right here and now.''
''Are you insane!? Don't you have any idea how crazy that sounds!?'' Weiss almost screamed at her attacker. ''Besides, do you remember where we are!? We are in a world filled with horrifying killers that are trying to sacrifice us to some monster in the sky! Don't you understand that you'll need all the help there is to get out of here!?''
''I doubt anyone can get out of here. Might as well do something good before I die,'' the wolf faunus said. ''Besides, I see no reason to let you live, seeing as your family is responsible for me losing everything I had.''
''What are you-?''
''I never wanted to join the White Fang. All I wanted was to live in peace with my family. I was working as a Huntsman, which had me travel the world in order to provide for my family. I was in Mistral, when my wife called me and told me about my son being born. That was the happiest moment of my life,'' Ellis explained as tears started to fall from her eyes. ''But then there was an accident in a nearby Dust mine, causing it to spread over our village. If you breathe it in large amounts, there is nothing that can be done to you. My family never had a chance. I never got to see my son alive or even hold him. And all because the SDC had decided to save money by using faulty equipment. But you people never got any of the blame, did you? Instead, the blame was put on us, the faunus. You claimed that it was all because of faunus workers who didn't do their job properly, which let you dodge all the blame. Well, now is the time for your family to take at least some of that blame. And I'm going to enjoy it.''
''I guess we've got no choice but to do this then,'' Weiss said. While she wanted nothing more than to make the wolf faunus understand that she wasn't like her father, she knew it was pointless to talk to him. Ellis was too overtaken by his grief and anger to be reasoned with. ''However, as bad as I feel for you and wish to help you, I can't simply die here. I still need to survive, so that I can make the future better. Both for my family and the faunus.''
Seeing as they had nothing left to say, the Ellis charged towards his target with his weapon held high. He was going to swing the pipe downwards in an attempt to crush Weiss' skull. However, the heiress was quick on her feet and managed to dodge out of the way in time. Not only that, but she managed to get past her attacker as well. The wolf faunus had been standing in front of the only exit from the room, making escape difficult. Now that she had managed to get past her attacker, Weiss could run out of the room and hopefully get away from Ellis.
As soon as she got out of the room, the white-haired girl started to run down the hallway. She needed to put some distance between herself and the wolf faunus, if she were to have a chance of escaping from him. However, her escape was cut short, when something hit her on the back and knocked her down. Ellis had thrown his weapon at Weiss' back and had managed to hit.
With his target down on the floor, Ellis quickly made his way to the heiress and was soon straddling her. Before she could put up a fight, the faunus man had his hands around her throat, choking the life out of her.
''This is honestly too easy of a death for you, but I hope you'll feel at least some of my family's pain, you-''
Before Ellis could finish what he was saying, a blade suddenly burst through his chest. While the wolf faunus was looking down at it in shock, his body was lifted up in the air by some invisible force. Weiss watched with wide eyes, as her attacker was floating in the air and his body was getting pierced by numerous blades, before he was dropped to the floor dead.
Upon a closer look, the white-haired girl was shocked to find out that the blades that killed Ellis looked quite familiar. Their coloring and shape were exactly the same as Pyrrha's sword, with the only exception being that these swords were more damaged and covered in rust.
Weiss looked at where the weapons had come from and was horrified by what she saw. Down the hallway stood a very familiar person. It was none other than her dear friend, Pyrrha Nikos, but she wasn't herself anymore. The redhead was covered with dirt all over her body and her skin was sickly gray. Her eyes were no longer the bright, lively green that they used to be. Instead, they were completely black, like she had no soul. On top of that, her eyes had red streaks under them, like she had been crying blood. But the most horrifying thing had to be what was coming out of her body. There were blades sticking out of it, like she was some sort of a monstrous pin cushion, and all the blades looked like rusted versions of her old sword.
The heiress could only watch in horror, as the monstrous version of her friend slowly lifted her head up, with every joint in her neck letting out a loud crack. With her eyes now locked on Weiss, the redheaded monster let out a horrifying scream filled with rage.
Author's notes: I am very excited to hear what you guys think of this chapter. Before I even started to write this story, I had always planned to have Pyrrha become one of the killers. I thought that she could use her magnetic powers as a way to use projectiles, kind of like The Huntress. Her name comes from her being the Champion of Mistral and her realm would be the arena, where the Mistral Regional Tournament was held.
The way people get turned into killers in this story work in a way that has The Entity essentially drain the survivors from their hope and will to live. When Pyrrha lost Jaune, she pretty much gave up on life and was swallowed by her grief and despair, thus making her a target for The Entity to turn. People who are sacrificed or killed cannot become killers. In other words, Blake, Nora, Ren, Jaune and Ellis won't be returning.
By the way, a friendly tip for anyone who is writing horror. Go to YouTube and write ''horror ambience'' into the search bar. You should be able to find some great music to get you in the mood for writing horror stories. It at least worked for me.
Until next time.
RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Dead by Daylight belongs to Behaviour Interactive.