Goldilocks ran down stair after stair descending further into the catacombs of the mansion. The paintings grew smaller and fewer and far between, before disappearing entirely. The wallpaper was next to go leaving only grey stone pressing in on all sides. She jumped from red velvets stairs, to creaky wooden tiles, to cold concrete slabs below her. And yet Goldilocks ran. It still wasn't right yet. Too fancy, too noisy, way too old and cold. There had to be something here that was just right.
The child jumped another half flight only to spin and hit her knee failing to find another railing or wall that would hold her. The stairs ended here. Goldilocks bit her lip and fought back the tears. There had to be something else. It had to be hair. She limped to the cold hallways and made her way, half-running till she could get feeling back in her left knee. It was fine. She had worse at the bears. Don't think about the bears or that horrible girl in white. There had to be someone else here who could protect her. If she could just find her it would-
Goldilocks ran right into something big and hairy. She looked up? Bear? Was it Bear? Was it The Beast she'd been searching for? It certainly was some kind of animal though not a large one, only about a foot or so above her height. It stood on two legs and with its fancy suit it could almost be mistaken for a person, save for the thick golden hair rebelling against their velvet constraints. Between its coattails, a third long yellow tail stood up in shock. Its face was flat with huge nostrils and surprised eyes. A monkey. A monkey dressed in a servant's clothing save for the golden circlet on its forehead.
"Whoah, what are you doing here?" The monkey howled, baring its fangs.
Goldilocks stood up, pouting till she was right at the monkey's navel. "You're not that big."
"Bigger than you, pipsqueak."
Goldilocks crossed her arms, "I'm just right."
The monkey sighed and rubbed its temple with its gloved hands. "Listen, can we not do this right now? My boss is nearby and she will not like it if I chuck a kid into space."
"Is your boss pretty?"
"Huh, What?"
"Is she down here? I want to meet her!" Goldilocks tried to run past the no-fun monkey butler, but he caught her by the collar of dress and hoisted her into the air.
"Hey hold on kid. It's dangerous here. There's a monster nearby who can hurt you badly. Like eat you up and gobble you whole."
Goldilocks blew a raspberry and raised her stump arm to the monkey's nose. "That's what they all say about my friends! I say you're just a meanie! You and Ms. Weiss!"
"Ms. Weiss- oh great. There's more of you?"
A hoarse voice went wrong out over through the basement. "Goldilocks where...are you?"
Goldilocks took a deep inhale, ready to shout out her location but the monkey placed its hairy hand on her mouth. It wasn't hard enough to hurt but just enough to muffle her calls beneath the friends shouting. And then another long groan came from deeper within the dungeon. It was a monstrous deep voice like that of a dying animal. It almost sounded-
"Ow!" The monkey hissed. The stupid brat bit his finger!
Goldilocks stuck her tongue out but did not call out. The kid even had sense enough to whisper. "What was that?"
"That is the reason I'm here. And to stop any tiny children from being gobbled up like you and your friends. So you, stay back and I'll go make sure they're okay next." The monkey set her down and adjusted the ruffles on his outfit. "If they're still alive, that is."
"I'm going with you."
"You're not going with me."
"I'm going with you or I'll scream and tell your pretty boss what a bad job you've been doing."
"What? No that's-"
Goldilocks took a big inhale.
"No. no. no! That's fine you can come with. Just do it quietly."
Goldilocks nodded, her hair bouncing as she did so.
The monkey sighed. "Just be careful kid. There's a Beast nearby"
They followed along, silently behind their unknowing friends. Goldilocks tiptoed quickly along the stone walkways, but even then they quickly caught up to Rose Red and Cinderella who were creeping along calling for her. Cinderella's bedhead was all messed up and covered in ash, and Rose Red was holding close to her. Goldilocks wanted to run up and hug them, it was no fair that Rose got all the good hugs. She was scared too. But the monkey butler placed a gloved foot in front of her and scooted her back.
"It won't come if it knows I'm here," he whispered. "Just you knowing is frankly too risky. Let's just follow at a distance."
Stupid monkey. He couldn't tell Goldilocks what to do. But she wanted to see the beast too. She bit her cheek and grabbed his tail instead to stay close.
The groaning was coming from the end of the hallway, near the leaky grate. Goldilocks could just make out a metal grate of bars glinting between two torches, much closer together than any of the others here. And recently lit. By now Cinderella and Rose Red had stopped calling for her. It was clear the groaning was coming from something much larger, with a deeper voice.
The monkey pressed himself up against a wall as goldilocks' friends slowed and turned.
"Who-who are you?" Rose Red squeaked.
The inmate of the cell groaned again. It was longer now, and started stuttering. "Be-be-beware."
A pale hand reached out from between the bars. Rose shrieked. So did the monkey butler since goldilocks had just bitten his tail.
He cursed at her but she got past right. Cinderella stuttered something as well. Was she calling for Goldy? Didn't matter, Goldilocks had to get Rose Red away, had to protect her. She gave the older girl a big hug.
"Goldilocks?" Cinderella gasped, "What are you do...ing here?"
Goldilocks was crying now right into Rose Red's dress as the older girl took her hand and stump into her hands. It didn't matter. This wasn't fun anymore. She didn't want to see the thing anymore. It wasn't pretty, its hand was inches from her face, pale and...human?
"Goldy?" Rose whispered.
Goldilocks pushed off and came face to face with the man in the cage. He was human, bone-thin with shaggy dark red hair and claw marks over one eye. Goldilocks always tried to challenge bigger opponents way out of her league but she was sure she could take this adult in a fight even at her size. So why did seeing him make her teeth ache worse than the honey at the bear's house? Her stump arm itched as he spoke again. "He-lp me...the beast...will be back... soon."
The monkey butler came out of its hiding spot, scaring Rose even more. Cinderella started a fire in her hand. The monkey didn't notice. "Really? You gotta be kidding me! Well if you're not the beast, who is?"
The book stared back at Weiss taunting her. Not literally of course, but honestly after the week Weiss had been through sentient objects would be far from the strangest. Rather it sat crumpled on the floor. The book was splayed out and several pages had the misfortune to bend back in on themselves pressed between the hardcover and fur carpeting. The book would never close right again. The Schnee dust logo on the cover stared back innocently.
Weiss kept her rapier pointed at it, daring it to move. Her few short days traveling this messed up world, and nothing had recognized her or anything from home. Now this place knew about both the White Fang and her own family? It wasn't a coincidence. There was someone else here who remembered Remnant. And that made them the most dangerous person alive right now...and Weiss's only hope.
"Well, you got me," Weiss said, trying to sound confident. "You lured me into your library. Got me to read the book. Ha ha not funny. Well, I know you're there now, watching me. You can come out now."
Weiss looked around, but nothing moved.
"Oh come on! That had to be enough! What you want more do you want?"
The candles flickered.
"My name is Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust company. Or at least I was. Whitely is probably going to get the company now and I'm...I'm a member of Team RWBY. Led by Ruby Rose. I didn't think she deserved it at first and frankly, I'm still half-convinced Ozpin only gave it to her for the pun...it's not even a good one my name starts with a 'W' not a 'U'! But Ruby really shaped up. We made it to the semi-finals of the Vytal Festival Tournament. And then...everything just fell. After that, it's hard to remember. I don't want to remember. Please is that enough for you? Huh? Is it?"
The books on the walls stared at Weiss, peering through her and her admittance. But they did not respond.
"Ahh! That's it!" Glyphs shot out around the glass bell protecting the single rose and its dying light. Shining birds, glowing squirrels, and all sorts of other woodland creatures made of light appeared gnawing on the glass. Their pecks did very little, but the message was clear when Weiss herself poised her rapier ready to stab at the wilting flower in one swing. "You like this Rose? Tell me what happened to mine or I'll take yours!"
A flash of black fur swept past the table, easily destroying the summoned forest creatures. The rose was gone. Behind Weiss, the carpet gave way to only the slightest *thump* as if a graceful dancer had landed on it. The thing behind Weiss did not look like a graceful dancer.
It was a mass of black fur and muscle covered only by a torn yellow dress that did not suit it. The clothing was ripped with several gashes across the chest and no sleeves and a short hem to not restrict movement. Behind it an impossible long thin tail swept the ground, pushing aside more fallen books with surprising dexterity. Its head was vaguely feline in shape like a jaguar with alert pointed ears. But from its jaw hung two mismatched fangs; one shard and thin, the other flat, rectangular, and slightly longer. Its yellow eyes brimmed with intelligence.
"Why should I care what you do with that paltry weed?" The voice was surprisingly calm behind those disgusting fangs, but deep and distorted. Weiss couldn't recognize it.
"You had it on display. That means you must like it. "
"I like watching it die. But I would not weep to see it pass sooner than expected."
Weiss watched the thing's tail sweep hack and forth, and its paws move closer. Was there an emblem left on the ruined dress or just her imagination. Who did Weiss know that wore yellow? This thing looked more like one of Salem's experiments than huntsmen or huntress she knew. "Then why did you come out? You didn't have to expose yourself if you didn't care for the flower."
"Because I enjoy watching you more." The Beast rose up from where it had been squatting and even on all fours it was still taller than Weiss. It paced the area around the table, keeping those sharp emotionless eyes on Weiss. She had definitely seen those eyes before. "You said you're Weiss? Weiss Schnee? Heiress of the Schnee dust company and member of team RWBY?"
Weiss sucked in her breath and corrected her foot to the left one pointed right at the creature as it moved while her back one remained firm. "That is correct."
The Beast looked almost disappointed. "You'll have to come up with a better alibi than that. I'm very well-read, as you can see."
Wait- what?
The confusion must've been evident on Weiss's face. The Beast sighed and stopped its passing, but slowly flicked its tail to a higher shelf and dropped wrapped around a snow-white book that it placed on the table in front of Weiss. It had a painting of her standing proud the night she gained her scar after slipping up with the colossus.
"She's fictional. A fairy tale."
Weiss had been bracing herself for the creature to lunge, to rip her apart and tear her to pieces. Her footwork was perfect, she could pirouette and glyph out of range on any physical attack before the beast could even get herself airborne. But this, this got past her perfect guard. "Excuse me."
"This is the fairytale section of my library. Everything is fictional." At this point, The Beast rolled her slitted yellow eyes and suddenly Weiss knew who it was.
"Oh really?" Weiss said, psyching herself up for a very different sort of battle. "Because sometimes I find these stories to be truer than true. After all, there are some characters that you identify more with than you identify with yourself. That's never happened with you?"
The Beast paused in its prowling. "I never said that."
"Oh really?" said Weiss taking the book up and a courteous seat at the table across from The Beast. "Then which character do you identify with the most?"
The black beast ceased its prowling and turned her piercing yellow eyes to analyze Weiss's suddenly amicable personality. It stood up on two legs like a massive bear. From within in her seat Weiss could feel her feet twisting into a battle stance, the glyph mere nanoseconds away. And then The Beast sat back down into a cozy pillow-filled chair. Its tail lifted a teacup from next to the rose to the creature's snout and she drank what must've been very cold tea.
"Well, if I had to choose," said the creature thoughtfully, "I always imagined myself as a Robyn Hill-type figure."
The central fireplace crackled. Weiss tried to feign a smile even though she swore she would never do that again. "You sure, you're not more like oh I don't know...Blake Belladonna?"
The Beast made some sound that may have been a growl or even a hiss but its weirdly human eyes revealed it to be a howl of laughter. "That coward, really? Always running away, too scared to participate in what's really going on. No, I don't think I'm her."
"I wouldn't say that. Blake has a lot of positive qualities I admire in a...character. She's smart, decisive, not afraid to make the tough calls."
The Beast's ears flattened. "This is because I'm a monster, isn't it?"
"No-" Weiss stammered, "It's just that you're-"
"A coward? An idiot? Don't insult me to my face, child, and think that I will let you leave." The Beast pounded the table, causing the rose to shake nearly as much as Weiss was.
"You...you really don't like Blake do you?"
The Beast bared her fangs but lifted her claws up from the table. "No- I don't. But enough games. You came claiming to be Weiss Schnee but you didn't even know about my library before doing so. Why? What are you trying to gain?"
Weiss took a sharp breath. If this wasn't Blake, it certainly had her perceptive skills. "I've been traveling with a small group of girls to The Emerald City. Your house was right off the Yellow Brick Road and I was hoping you might be able to help me deal with a problem I've picked up along the way."
"More travelers? Where are they now?"
"Downstairs" said Weiss. "At least they should be still sleeping in your common room."
The Beast flicked her tail for a minute, "And you're not recruiting again for that other person who came in pretending to be a fairy tale character, because I believe I made my message very clear that time too."
Weiss paused at that. Another person claiming to be a 'fairy tale' character? Someone else who remembered remnant perhaps. Who they should be. She had to struggle to keep her face a mask. Clearly the Beast wasn't as happy about this person as she was.
"No who could it be?"
"An organization. The last message wound up having his soul sucked out and added to this flower." The Beast tapped the glass.
Weiss opened her mouth to speak but just then the last petal of the rose on the table hit the ground and shriveled into dust. Weiss watched it, as well as the surprise in The Beast's eyes. And she saw just enough to know to lunge back as the Beast went for her throat.
Its front landed right where she was, while the back legs crushed the table with a sickening crunch. The glass bell shattered and what was left of the rose scattered on the ground. Weiss poised her rapier for a counterattack. But lowered it again. This was Blake we were talking about. Or maybe not really Blake but someone who knew of Blake. Who knew who she was. This was her last chance for answers.
The Beast's thin tails weaved around Weiss's frozen defense and wrapped around her throat. Weiss had no choice but to drop the rapier and pull at the furry cord around her throat to keep her still breathing. The thing slammed her back against a bookshelf.
"I...didn't...hurt your...stupid Rose!" Oh by the gods. She was starting to sound like Cinder.
"No, but your friends are here. They must of killed that idiot while you distracted me." The Beasts growled, bearing her mismatched fangs. "I wasn't done playing with him yet."
"Ru...by…. TEAM RWBY!" Weiss stuttered with what little air she had left. "Re...mem...ber…" Weiss's vision was fading. The yellow of the fire glowed, blindingly white before it went red and Weiss's vision started to fade into darkness. But she could swear she saw a pitying look on the Beast's face. On Blake's face. The tail around her neck started to loosen.
BANG! Something heavy fell right in front of Weiss, knocking the Beast down and the tail off. Weiss heaved over and took short greedy breaths. Something had fallen on the beast, still living and trying to push its way off the floor. What looked like a red column had fallen on her. It was huge and crimson, and studded with iron, and decorated with dragons as was the style of Mistral. It certainly didn't fit this Mansion in the style of Old Mantle. But tracking it back it did not fall from the roof but was instead held by a yellow-haired monkey man in a butler's suit. Several other figures such as Cinder stood behind it. Soon the regressed Ruby and yang were at Weiss's sides, helping her breathe.
There was one other figure too. A blonde woman that Weiss didn't recognize. She had short hair and weapons with a sword at one side and a large banner in the other. She casually walked past the Howling Beast struggling against the weight of the monkey's pillar.
"Black Beast of the Yellow Brick Road," the woman said in a voice that Weiss did not recognize. "We of the Council of Gods find you guilty of luring travelers to your mansion, imprisoning them, and consuming them on their way to seek safe passage at the Emerald City. How do you plead?"
As Well-mannered as The Beast was before, now she said nothing current. Only howls, hisses, and saliva escaped the pitiful thing's mouth as it tried to push the ridiculously sized column off of it.
"That's what I thought." The woman didn't even look at the Beast as she passed it, and instead walked right over the broken table to the fireplace at the other end of the hall. "Then for these acts and so many more, we find you guilty. As speaker for the council of Gods, I, Joan of Arc, condemn you to death."
The blonde woman stuck her gauntlet into the fireplace and winced. Whatever she was she could clearly feel pain. But that didn't stop her from pulling out burning cinders from the fire and dropping them to the floor at The Beast's head. Weiss had only barely regained her balance when she looked when the flames caught on the bookshelves. The whole library went up in flames.
So how about that volume 8 finale guys? Don't worry what's happening in cannon right now will have little effect on this Isekai fic. That said I was very much using the energy from the last season to write this. I was really hoping I could do a biweekly schedule like I did in college but that was not the case. Still, I managed to finish the chapter right around the time season 8 ended (for non-premium subscribers)
I was really using the energy from new episodes to write this so I'm probably gonna go on a longer hiatus again but I may be when volume 9 starts airing.
And yes, I know I did Blake dirty in this one. Sorry, BMBLB shippers, but old Beasty is not gonna be a regular. Unlike the main series I know when we have too many characters going on all at once.