Hello everyone! How are you doing? I hope you are all doing fine!
So, I have an important announcement to make. Work and personal life are grinding all my free time at the moment. I have managed to not fall back so far, but I am barely making it on time for the weekly chapter update.
For that reason, at least until my schedule becomes a bit less constricting, I am changing the upload schedule from once per week to once per 10 days to be able to breathe a little and focus on writing without pressure.
Practically, that means from now on I will be uploading three times per month; on the 1st, 11th and 21st of each month to be precise. If the situation allows me to, I will be uploading faster, but the regular pace will be that at least for a bit.
And that's all. Thank you all so much for your understanding in advance. I am sorry for changing the regular updates now just half a chapter before the finale, but I can't explain how valuable those three extra days per chapter will be, at least until workdays calm down a bit.
As I have said, you are all awesome and I love you. Hope you enjoy chapter 153.
See you all in 10 days. Until then be well and have fun!
The doll wasn't there. Ruby stared at the ornamental mirror they had passed by an hour ago when they first entered the accursed house. It was the same dim piece of glass where Yang had read the eerie words.
The doll standing in attendance in front of it- wasn't there. She stared at the door on the other side of the hallway. "It's ajar; wasn't it locked before?" Yang's voice resonated from behind her. The brunette gulped.
"I am not surprised at all- not that it helps me calm down" she grabbed her sister's metal hand and squeezed it. The blonde reached out and kissed the top of her head "ready when you are, Rubes" she ushered.
The letters were staring back at the lilac-eyed woman, sending her the same message from beyond the worlds. She shook her head and turned to look at the entrance as they passed by the opening. It was too dark.
Ruby, torch tied on her backpack straps, gave a gentle poke on the door with her sword. Slowly, yet steadily, she pushed it open wide with the same rusty, creaking sound that echoed as loudly as a police siren head.
"There's a staircase here leading up" she informed, showering a narrow space with her light as she gestured Yang to follow.
The taller girl stepped in, her gaze falling at once on an old-looking set of stairs climbing the way to the first floor. It was covered in a thick and luxurious bright red carpet that was clean, without any speck of dust.
Its wooden railing was quite old and ornamental, its heads carved to resemble animal and floral patterns. Ruby rubbed one with her fingers and turned at her sister "it has been smoothened with a tool" she said.
"Just like dad did when we were young- to not cut ourselves on it" the blonde remarked. "Didn't help against the bumps" Ruby joked. "Bumps are a part of childhood" the older sister chuckled back at her.
They laughed a bit, trying their best to remove the tension. Yang smiled if only a bit forcibly and Ruby chuckled a tad more than she felt like she had to do. Laughter echoed in the empty halls and slowly vanished into thin air, leaving a stifling silence behind as they stopped pretending.
"So…" Ruby turned around. The light from her torch reflected on the dark wood, casting shadows on the white walls and serious-looking old portraits "here goes nothing" she tried her foot on the creaking stairs.
"Looks solid enough" she forced a laugh. "Do you want me to go?" Yang asked her. "I can flee faster than you" she shook her head in dismissal.
Ruby raised her other foot and stepped on the wooden plank. A loud, cacophonous creak penetrated their ears. She waited for the shifting of the shadows made by her torchlight to end before moving up again.
The stairs made a turn after a few meters, leading to a dark and dreary corner. Yang clicked her tongue and tried her best to stop her urges of scratching her left arm. Ruby stared at her and then moved further up.
Her body had now reached the corner and she was able to shoot her light towards the upper half of the staircase- two sets of glassy shining eyes reflected it. "Fuck!" she swore as her heart skipped a bit.
Yang jumped next to her, arms ready for a fight. She knew, from her little sister's reaction, exactly what to expect and wasn't surprised. Two dolls were sitting on the railing, seemingly playing with each other.
They were dressed in children clothes with long skirts and little blouses. Their hair was combed down and straight, shining smoothly and silky. A flute was at the first one's hand, presenting it to her companion.
The seemingly normal scene, however, sent shivers down their spines. Both dolls, merrily sitting on the railing and having fun, had their faces turned towards Ruby and Yang, eyes fixed completely on them.
It's as if they are truly aware of us! Yang scratched that thought away. Actually, they must BE truly aware of us; those things are looking at both me and Rubes at the same time!
She remembered the faunus family that had fled the house complaining they couldn't stand the dolls staring at them from every corner. She for sure couldn't blame them; their unnatural fixed gazes were terrifying.
Yang sensed Ruby's inquisitive stare fall on her. She looked at her little sister from the corner of her eye. The brunette girl was pursing her lips in her usual timid manner when needing to request something of her.
Yang rubbed the surface of her bandaged palm "I will go first, Rubes." A glittering spark of gratitude flared in her silver pools. "I am covering your back" she swapped Thorn for Crescent Rose and aimed upwards.
"Thanks" she flashed a smile and took a deep breath. Ok… She took one quick step forward and halted. The dolls stayed still, emotionlessly and intensely fixing her gaze at her. Stay like this, you two, and everything is going to be fine, ok? She prayed as she took another two steps up.
Much to her appreciation, the ornate figures didn't react even when she walked past them. Refusing to let out any breath of relief, she sent a quick gaze towards her sister, still aiming with trembling hands.
After she reached the floor above, Yang turned around- a burst of red appeared before her and Ruby materialized next to her. Without a word, she turned her aim back at the sitting pair of mannequins.
The taller girl moved and pressed her back at her sister. Her lilac eyes focused on the silent, carpet-covered corridor before them. It was quite empty and full of well-preserved doors with polished gold nameplates.
It looks more like a block of flats rather than a mansion at this part. She saw a figure's outlines slightly being reflected at the end of the corridor where her light could barely reach at. "There is one more here, Rubes."
"Uh-huh" the sarcastic reply came. After a few tense moments of the girls waiting for any of the figures to move, the silver-eyed girl shifted her aim to the other side of the pathway. "I see a flight of stairs there."
"Yeah" Yang threw one last stare at the dolls behind them and started moving forward. "I see there are a few misplaced portraits on the wall; possibly after it got renovated" she tried to ease her sister a little.
"Oh, you mean how the frames don't fit with the old marks?" she took interest at the ambiguously calm paintings of landscapes and nature. They were as well-polished and clean as the rest of the place. "I see-"
A loud bump cut her off. It came from behind, startling both girls and forcing them to jump on their feet to shift attention to their rear with weapons ready. Another noise followed at once, a series of quick and-
"Yang" the brunette asked, her flashlight shaking and casting distorted shapes on all directions "is that the sound of footsteps on wood?" she asked. "Muffled by the fucking soft red carpet we just passed by?"
"They are also fading away; running down, if you could say" she patted Ruby's head, but the brunette shook her off. "Let's move" they turned back to the corridor- and their blood was drained by their pale faces.
The doll standing at the outskirts of their vision was missing. The door nearest to it was slightly ajar, a pulsing and silent darkness creeping out of its thin, lightless opening. Silver opened wide and turned to lilac.
Yang was speechless at how blatantly straightforward they were being to them. Her veins had frozen from the chilling sensation of something creeping at her from every corner, observing her from half-open doors.
She turned her eyes at the windows. They were small and covered with thin black safety bars. Staring at us from every window… she could still hear the fading footsteps of the two dolls climbing down the staircase.
"This is a trap if I have ever seen one, Rubes" she finally replied. "Well, yeah; but do you really want to go up with that thing lurking behind us, sis?" she asked back. Yang shivered, looking back at the opened door.
For some reason her Grimm eyesight didn't react to that moving doll. It was your only chance to prove useful, you bastard! She stood there for a couple moments and finally consented, motioning Ruby to cover her as she strode up ahead, mustering all of her bravery to open the door.
-o—
The interior was, to the blonde's impression, unnerving. A large and spacious room with a tall ceiling welcomed her torchlight. Rays of red and white fell on the pink-colored walls and white ornamental bunks.
A circular low table was in its middle, surrounded by four pinkish-white chairs. They were occupied by dolls who were dressed in frilly dresses and linen hats, seemingly enjoying a cup of tea in an eerily realistic depiction of girls' tea party. She could swear their cups were steaming.
Carefully, Yang scoured the room. Dried-up paintings on the walls, pink frills hanging from the tiny little bunks… they all seemed so calm and so serene. "Is this a dollhouse room?" Ruby asked, peeking in from behind.
"Yeah" she replied to her sister, giving her enough place to get in. "I can see all sorts of girly stuff here- even the pillows are dyed pink" she said. The reaper searched at the walls for a source of light- there was none.
Slowly, Ruby moved to the wall behind them. A large set of dollhouses, at least as tall as her, welcomed her dust light. They were made of wood and painted a fresh white color. The front walls were removed, allowing her to peek inside; however hesitant she may have been.
There were many small figures inside. Not taller than her index finger, a few dozen dolls were carefully placed inside an elaborate room with a large chandelier hanging from its middle, towering over a pristine floor.
The details in the tiny bodies were so advanced, Ruby stood in awe for a few minutes taking in how talented and determined one must be to create such a spectacular micrograph of an actual house hosting guests.
No, a mansion would be more accurate a name at this point. They had even paid attention to the fine details. She hated dolls, but this one was an unexpectedly pleasant discovery; it made her feel at ease, somehow.
Slowly and carefully, Ruby lowered her gaze and reached out to grab the nearest figure, ignoring the creepy smiles that formed on the dolls having their tea party without any care in that accursed world of theirs.
Yang had moved on the opposite side of the room, scouring the walls for any sign of the doll that had led them in here. Shadows were cast in every direction, dying the outlines with eerie shapes and forms.
Despite that, the mentioned doll was nowhere to be seen. The brawler removed her hat and let it hang on her back, took a couple peek at her sister to make sure she was right and then continued searching.
A flicker at the corner of her eye made her spin around on her left leg. She cast light on the wall, shining upon an empty corner. Correction; an empty corner with a large painting on it- a tall white marble palace on top of a massive desert, surrounded by a blue lake and vivid palm trees.
Her gaze stopped at the painting. Despite its simple vividness that was on its own way too out of place right here, there was something else too. She could sense a vague familiarity within the picture- but what?
The sand, the landscape… they were both really well drawn. Whoever had done this was truly skilled. It felt as if they shimmered right before her eyes. Yang took a couple steps closer to it. Was it made by Celain?
To her luck, the unknown artist had signed up the painting in the usual way; on the bottom left corner. Ok, so… Petro Ribuli, 02/06/23- WHAT?
Like a shower of horror washing away the attraction she had felt, reality struck her head-on. Her lilac orbs pulsed, open wide in shock, staring at the clear and definite signature of Petro Ribuli, the artist she and Ruby had met earlier today. And the date… February 6th, 23? What the heck?
She had to let Ruby know. She got no chance to do so. Before she could avert her gaze, the bulging eye shone in its sinister green light. A mighty throbbing pain threatened to split her skull in half. She tried to scream.
She got no chance to do that, either. The miasmatic light erupted with a cloudy pulse upon the painting, washing away the marble palace and the desert oasis and revealing Yang its true, cursed and corrupt nature.
Like a passing thought, the green light settled down and Yang felt her body being dragged away with impossible force. One moment later, she vanished into thin air, as her flashlight crashed down on the red carpet.
Ruby dropped the tiny doll down and burst in front of the painting even before the light had finished rolling on the floor. "Yang?" she called out to her sister, eyes wide open in fear. "Yang? Where are you sis?"
She shook her head left and right like a bird, trying- praying- to find her sis. Maybe she had just slipped down and fell right behind the closest doll house. Maybe she just dropped her flashlight and was now looking-
Her shoulders dropped. Or maybe, I am simply acting like a moron. She bit her lips, doing her best to not let the situation break her currently fragile spirit. Her sister had just vanished- possibly due to some magic.
First things first… she turned and aimed Crescent Rose at the four dolls that were smiling at her, seemingly enjoying their tea and snacks. A chill ran down her spine as she took a breath. "Did you do this?" she asked, ignoring how foolish she may have looked "did you take my sister?"
"I can ensure you they didn't; suitable it may have been, none of us had any part in her disappearance" the voice came from behind her and was accompanied by a sudden in the wall- the opening of a secret door.
"You" she didn't need more than a single look to understand the man's identity. Even if she didn't remember the long red hair tied down in his neck, or his heavy voice, one stare in his piercing amber eyes was more than enough for her to recognize the vengeful ghost of Grimmwater.
"Alizar"
-o—
Violet stood in front of the half-finished painting of the sand dune. She was no art expert, but it looked a bit dull for her tastes. She had seen so many dunes in her life and this depiction lacked realism quite a lot.
A few steps away from her, Wilfred and Marie were discussing the current state of things. Their investigation had brought them here, in this empty atelier full of landscape paintings and vanishing tracks.
"So, Mr. Ribuli" Xanthe Rumpole was sitting on a chair next to the pale and restless artist, her coat scraping the pristine and polished floor as she shifted her weight forward. Christopher stood on full alert by her.
"You are telling me that two of the most famous people in Remnant came by, talked with you for an hour without you even realizing who they were and then left unnoticed by an entire busy market district."
"That's exactly what happened" the man replied, averting his gaze. "I don't understand what your problem is" he added. Violet turned her head, throat puffing in anger at his lack of apparent tact. Xanthe sighed.
"My problem, Mr. Ribuli, is that Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long have been missing for two days" she pressed her face closer to him, making her authoritative stature seem even more imposing "do you get it?"
He didn't reply. If he cared about it, he didn't let it be seen. "Two VIPs and friends of ours are missing. They vanished into thin air and you are the last person to have seen them alive, do you understand what I mean? Do you realize how bad it looks for you?" she pressed further.
"I didn't do anything!" he blurted furiously. "I didn't do anything to any of them! They left on their own volition and without me forcing them to do anything! They were searching for the mansion I saw, that's all!"
Rumpole motioned with her hand towards Christopher to not act. She had the poor fellow almost broken and could now deliver the finishing strike and find out whether he was actually hiding something or not.
"Petro" she reached out "if you are innocent, if you know something and you are afraid to tell me, please do. If someone out there has hurt them and is terrifying you, let me know. We can help you with them."
Ribuli hugged his legs, raising them on his chair. "Help me?" he asked, more to himself than anyone else. His mind, filled in terror and agony, stirred. Memories of old, shifted in his tormented head.
He remembered his playmates at the dollhouse, gently sipping their tea as he worked on the painting. His brush fell off and he knelt behind the house to get it. The girls jumped up and ran away, screaming in horror.
He remembered a dark corner. A thing- a sweet, sickening voice- took his arm. A gelatinous substance talked to him in a primal, inhuman language that he somehow could understand. His brush got dyed red.
He remembered a doll rising up from the house. Its face was smiling, smeared in blood and gore. It had red, shimmering eyes and a bone mask. He remembered screaming and begging for help; nobody came.
He remembered a vile contract. A blood oath of servitude was signed before a boiling altar. He consumed blood and filth- and lost his soul in the process.
He remembered humans. Countless humans that he helped find their way towards the dark alley. He led them to the twisted, deformed being that had nested inside the house of his childhood; Celain Manor.
He remembered a cycle of the stars. A Mad King seated on a Throne of ashes. He remembered his purpose- until the return of the King he was to sustain the Jester. He was to feed his master, the Blekklat.
And the moment his memories returned, he knew his job was done. He knew the Red Star had awakened the Mad King and his own master had no more use for him. "I did what I had to…" he whispered to Xanthe.
"I only showed them the way home…" as his body crumbled and got turned to dust, Petro Ribuli's 80-year contract had been terminated and his soul mercifully and merrily accepted its descent to eternal slumber.
"What in the name of Dust?" Rumpole jumped away and Christopher drew his weapon at the pile of ashes that remained where Petro used to be. He had shocked them, gently and calmly fading into nothingness.
"What just happened?" Maria asked out loudly, disbelief evident in her voice as well. "Hell if I know" the teacher turned to Wilfred. "I want you to search this room at once- leave nothing unchecked" she ordered.
"Search for what, madam?" he asked her. "Anything that triggers your instincts is fine; our only lead in finding Ruby and Yang just turned to ash before my eyes. We have to find out how and why this happened."
"Ah, don't worry about that" a gelatinous, gurgling voice echoed inside the room. Violet and Wilfred felt their skin crawl in horror- it reminded them of the inhuman, eerie voice they had heard in Jason's radio call.
All of a sudden, darkness enveloped the room. A shroud of black goo filled their vision, as if not only the lights had been snuffed out, but the sun had also vanished from the horizon. Their skin tingled and they felt an intense heat rise from the walls. Quickly, they opened their flashes.
And, as they did, their light rays fell upon a figure. Just above Ribuli's ashen remains, a Grimm stood tall. It was human-sized, with a thin torso and limbs, all covered in white cylindrical plating with red veins.
Its toes and claws were thin and blunt, resembling a wicked parody of an artist's nimble fingers. Its neck was thin and slightly elongated, with a set of collar-like spikes protruding circularly around its base.
Its most notable feature, however, was its head. It was humanlike, with its black skin forming ripples at the chin. Its teeth were sharp but short and its lips thin. A bone mask with a red splatter covered its forehead.
As it moved, though, two more masks appeared on the left and right side of its head. They both covered a thin sharp mouth with needle-like teeth and rippled skin. They were full in blood-like red splatters.
Three pairs of emotionless, cold, tiny red eyes lowered at the mortified humans who were staring in disbelief at the walking nightmare. "Your friends' loss is the least of your worries, insects."