Disclaimer: RWBY and Hollow Knight do not belong to me. They belong to RoosterTeeth and Team Cherry respectively.
a54321, proiu, sampler22613, dragooner: Thank you very much!
Rider09: I can't promise a continuation of this speed, but here you go!
ThePolishSausageRoaster: I know, right? There's way too few crossovers with Hollow Knight. I understand crossovers are a bit niche, but- Well, this is one of the reasons I wrote this fic.
the-lost-memories6: Unfortunately the Hollow Knight will continue to be tall. Though I'll fight anyone who says that the tall boi can't give good hugs.
Rook435: Yeah, having the little goblin that is the Little Ghost would be fun. But I felt a lot more potential with the Hollow Knight.
Chapter 3: The Mighty
The strength to protect others...
Blake Belladonna woke up in the middle of the night and almost screamed. Almost being the key word.
After a very short discussion about the pros and cons of leaving the Hollow Knight outside their dorm, they had gone about their business. Weiss and Ruby working on homework, Yang listening to some music, Blake curling up with a book -
And the Hollow Knight settling up against the wall next to the door and waiting.
Blake recognized what it was doing. Next to the door, able to not only see whoever entered the door but with clear sight of the window too – a perfectly good spot to keep watch.
She still wasn't sure what to feel about the Hollow Knight. Weiss had convinced them that the Knight wasn't malevolent, and Blake believed her. Malevolent or not though, it was eerie. And the sight of it keeping vigil made her hair stand on end.
So imagine her heart when, waking up, she saw it continue to stare out at the room, at full attention.
Sometimes, Blake thought as she clutched her chest and tried to calm her racing heart, it sucked having night vision.
Any hopes that the Knight hadn't noticed her were dashed when its head silently turned towards her. Once again, those bottomless dark eyes pierced through her, as if the Knight knew what she was thinking. Which was ridiculous…
Sighing, realizing she wouldn't go to sleep anytime soon, Blake slipped out of bed and knelt down by her bookshelf. Most of the books here she'd already read, and that was exactly what she was looking for. Something familiar, like an old friend, to lull her back to sleep. Novel chosen, she began to slip back under the covers when she spotted the Hollow Knight.
The Knight was no longer looking at her. Instead, it had gone back to what it was doing before. Sitting completely still, at ready. Against her better judgment, Blake made her way towards the Knight, silent so as to not wake her teammates.
"Why are you awake?" she whispered.
The Knight turned towards her, silent as ever.
Ignoring goosebumps, Blake Belladonna continued.
"It's not like anything is going to attack us. Beacon is...safe."
And safe places were very far and few.
The Knight stared at her and Blake, certain her words didn't do anything, began to turn away. That's when the Knight grabbed her arm. Gentle, and that was the only reason she didn't flip out. She still leveled a glare at the Knight, and felt her ears stand up.
"What-!?"
The Knight motioned for her to place her head against the door. Still glaring, Blake did so. For a moment she heard nothing. And then-
It was the barest of whispers, but for a moment she heard shrieks, hisses, clicks, and buzzes.
Hair standing on end, Blake backed away.
"What was that?" she turned towards the Knight. To her displeasure, the Knight shrugged. The two of them stood there for a moment, and Blake hugged herself. Vale wasn't cold, not for most people, but it was colder than she preferred.
The chill traveling up her spine was for completely different reasons.
The Knight tilted its head, and to Blake's surprise unsheathed its sword. Not in a threatening way – at least, not threatening her.
"You're protecting us from whatever that is?" Blake murmured.
The Knight did not respond. But it sat at attention, and that was a response enough. Feeling slightly reassured, Blake made her way back to her bed and began to turn pages.
It took a long time for her to go back to sleep.
The strength to protect others...
Like Weiss had predicted, getting adjusted to the Hollow Knight would be...difficult. Waking up to see the Knight still standing by the door, as if it hadn't moved at all in the night, was an interesting experience. Still, the Knight did not disturb them as they got ready for the day, and when they were about to leave their dorm the Knight had even held the door for them.
'Finally, a gentleman'
Or whatever the Hollow Knight was. Gentle-bug?
Their first trial approached them not even a moment after they opened the door, in the form of Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos.
She'd never say it out loud, but some days Weiss still lamented the fact that the amazing Pyrrha Nikos was paired up with Jaune Arc. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with Arc, per say. He was kind enough, polite, and nice.
He was also Jaune Arc. And aside from that, he just. Couldn't. Take. A. Hint!
"Hey, Weiss!" Jaune said the moment he saw her, a dopey smile on his face. She rolled her eyes and was prepared to give Arc her most chillingly polite smile when a shadow fell over her and Arc's smile vanished.
The Hollow Knight stared at the paling Jaune Arc, stared at the tensed Pyrrha Nikos, and finally turned towards her. Keeping the smile from breaking across her face, Weiss cleared her throat.
"Hollow Knight, this is Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc," she said, motioning towards the two. Nikos, always quick on the draw, raised a hand and waved.
"H-Hello?"
"Hey guys!"
Ruby popped up next to the Hollow Knight, her sense of personal space nonexistent as always. The Knight didn't seem to mind, though it did seem confused.
"Uh, Ruby?" Jaune began, voice wobbling a bit as he pointed at the Knight.
"Oh, yeah! This is the Hollow Knight! They're the newest member of Team RWBY! Weiss summoned them," Ruby said happily.
It was always nice to see Ruby Rose happen to other people, Weiss reflected as she watched Pyrrha and Jaune's faces as they tried to make sense of what info they had been given. Pyrrha, of course, caught on first.
"And they are…?" Pyrrha began, turning to Weiss.
"Perfectly safe and just here to aid us," Weiss responded.
Not completely true, Weiss thought. She didn't know what the Knight wanted. They seemed content in going along with Team RWBY but she'd have to ask it- them.
"I know they look like a Grimm, but they aren't!" Ruby told Jaune with a grin.
"Are we gonna just chatter like mockingbirds here, or are we going to get breakfast?" Yang asked loudly, walking up behind Weiss. Blake followed her partner like a silent shadow, looking slightly tired.
"Breakfast!" Ruby declared, before rushing away.
"Uh, yeah, sure, breakfast," was Jaune Arc's response.
As they made their way towards the mess hall, Weiss was saved from having to deal with Arc by Pyrrha Nikos sidling up to her.
"Did you really summon that?" Pyrrha asked.
Weiss didn't ask her how she knew about summoning. Blake had proved that the 'secret art of the Schnee family' wasn't that much of a secret.
"I did. Not on purpose, but I can't say I'm not pleased with the result."
"And its not a Grimm?" Pyrrah whispered.
"They aren't. They aren't a normal summon either," which would cause problems.
The Hollow Knight did not desummon. It was a good thing that Weiss did not have to expend aura to keep the Knight active, but it would make classes awkward. It would make everything awkward.
Weiss had considered telling the Hollow Knight to not follow them into the mess hall and classes. But where would they go? And, more importantly, what might happen to them if no one was around to watch them?
Weiss believed the Hollow Knight was capable. But against a full team of Hunters and Huntresses in training? She didn't want to chance that.
So, she'd just have to stand up straight and take what was inevitable with grace and poise.
Despite what she told herself, Weiss almost walked right back out of the mess hall. The moment they entered the entire hall hushed. It was uncanny, and even the Knight shifted next to her.
The only reason she didn't loose nerve right there was Blake.
"Grab me an apple or something, Yang," Blake said as she grabbed the Hollow Knight's arm. The Knight turned to Weiss, but she saw what Blake was doing and nodded.
"Are you sure Blake?" Yang asked.
"I'm sure," Blake said, before disappearing out of the hall with the Knight in tow.
Sound returned to the mess hall slowly. It took effort not to follow Blake, with all the stares on her. But Weiss Schnee had just as much of a right to food as anyone else, and she would not buckle against the judgment of the masses.
Still, she felt infinitely more comfortable when she sat next to Ruby, among friends. She just hopped that Blake and the Hollow Knight weren't dealing with anything unpleasant.
The strength to protect others...
Blake could feel the Hollow Knight's stare on her. They had left the mess hall and walked down the hall, though still in sight. Yang would be scarfing down her food and coming out with Blake's breakfast at any moment.
When she turned, the Knight was looking at her with a tilted head. No expression, but she could guess well enough what they were trying to 'say'.
"I know what's its like to be at the center of attention, and not for good reasons," Blake said after a moment, "It's no fun…"
The Knight stared at her for a moment, before looking away. Blake liked to believe that the Knight was thankful. At the very least, they didn't move away.
The two of them stood there like that, getting the occasional odd look but nothing worse than that. It was nice, to just be able to be quiet. The only other person who truly understood that was Ren. He'd probably like the Hollow Knight, once he got past the creepiness.
Blake glanced at the Knight. In the light of day, they weren't as intimidating. Tall, inhuman...And staring out at the courtyard calmly. Not completely relaxed, but not tensed either, not like last night. The dark cloak it wore looked dusty and tattered in the light, and hung strangely on their left side-
"Wait, do you not have-?" Blake asked, eyes widening. The Knight turned towards her and saw where she was staring. Slowly, the Knight lifted aside the cloak. Blake gulped.
Whatever had taken the Knight's arm hadn't done it kindly. Scarred black shell covered the entire shoulder in an ugly criss-cross. It looked painful.
"Are you okay?" Blake breathed.
The Knight stared at her, before letting the cloak fall back.
Well, she was just going to have to bring this up with Weiss then…
Before she could continue with that thought, the Hollow Knight tugged at her sleeve. Surprised, Blake turned towards them and then turned towards whatever they were pointing at-
Squinting, Blake turned from the Sun to the Hollow Knight and back again. The Knight tilted their head and pointed at the Sun once more.
"Do...Have you never seen the Sun before?" Blake asked carefully.
The Knight shook their head and Blake rocked back a little. Well, this was certainly a surprise. How the hell did you explain something like the Sun?
Yang had returned just as Blake finished her clumsy explanation. She only hoped she hadn't done a horrible job. Yang wasn't alone though. Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie followed her, or in Nora's case, skipped past her and towards the Hollow Knight.
"Oh, wow! You weren't lying! Ren, look, its a friendly Grimm!"
Ren smiled at his friends antics, but his expression shuttered once more when he looked at the Hollow Knight. Blake felt a pang of sympathy towards her fellow introvert. She didn't know much about Ren's past, but she did know that he was an orphan. And the Grimm took everything.
"Not a Grimm," Blake corrected, searching for the correct word. Weiss had called the Knight a bug…
"More like a beetle," she said at last. Nora blinked, and Ren looked surprised. Before turning a considering glance at the Knight.
"...I can see the resemblance," he said at last. Yang tossed Blake an apple and a granola bar before standing next to Ren and squinting.
"Hey, I can see it too."
"Well I can't," Nora complained, before twirling around and beaming at the Knight. Blake watched in sympathy as the Knight stared at the bubbly ginger. Nora took a while to get used to.
"Hello there! I am Nora Valkyrie, proud member of Team JNPR! And this-" Nora reached out and yanked Ren towards her, "-is my partner Ren! He reminds me of you!"
"Uh-" Ren began, stumbling as Nora pushed him towards the Knight. Ren sighed as Nora formed a rectangle with her fingers and squinted, sticking her tongue out.
"Nora..."
"Shhh! I wish I had a camera! You guys can make a club!" Nora said happily. It could've been an insult, Blake thought, but because it was Nora it wasn't. For all that Nora loved talking, she respected silence. When Blake had once asked her for space, she hadn't been expecting the ginger girl to back off and apologize. Of all of them, aside from Ren Nora was a reliable source of peace and quiet...Provided you asked first.
Yang, on the other hand…
"All we gotta do is dress Ren up in some black," Blake's partner grinned, "Maybe some purple eyeshadow."
"Nah, Blake already super rocks purple. Green is more Renny's color," Nora said, matter of factly.
"Is it?" Ren asked Blake. She shrugged, trying to imagine the quiet boy with green eyeshadow. She'd been imagining magenta, really, to match with his eyes.
"Ooh, ooh! Orange would look great on you!" Nora said, pointing at the Knight.
Blake hadn't been expecting the Knight to sharply shake its head. Yang clearly hadn't been expecting it either, judging by her expression. Nora didn't seem to notice though, as she hummed.
"Really? Weeeelllll...Black then. Normally I wouldn't go for it, but I think it'd look really nice on your face!"
Nora grinned and the Knight stared at her for a moment before turning to Blake.
Blake bit back a grin, and felt a stab of companionship with the strange bug that Weiss had summoned.
The strength to protect others...
"Hmmph, I can see that we are distracted today!" Professor Port said to the class at large. The portly professor wasn't mad though. Quite the contrary, he seemed bemused.
"Normally, I would not tolerate this from Hunters and Huntresses in-training, but today I make an exception, seeing as we have a new face in class today!"
It was a testament to the Professor's general amiability that he had allowed the Hollow Knight into the class in the first place. Dry though he might be, Weiss thought, the Professor was a good teacher. You just had to see past the long winded exposition and bombastic childhood stories.
So the Knight was sitting next to Team RWBY, doing their best to sit in a chair that had been designed for shorter, fleshy people. And they had behaved admirably during the class, paying attention to the Professor the entire time(1) and not making a sound.
Still, Weiss could feel the many eyes on Team RWBY, and once or twice she was tempted to look back and yell at her fellow peers. As it was, she just tried her best to take notes.
Professor Port began to pace around the front of the class.
"I have an idea, students," he began dramatically.
"Oh, this'll be good," Yang muttered.
"A true Hunter does not let themselves get distracted, but I know that irresistible lure of curiosity! I know it very well! Why when I was a young boy..."
The class held their breath, dreading the incoming Port Childhood Story.
"...But I digress," the Professor said, "So, as I said, an idea! A live Grimm demonstration, by our newest edition! What do you say, Sir Knight?" Port asked gallantly.
The Hollow Knight sat up a bit straighter, before turning to Weiss. Feeling even more eyes on her, she gave the barest of nods and hoped she wasn't blushing.
The Knight immediately stood up to full height and began their way down to where the Professor was dragging a snarling cage from under the trapdoor he kept beneath his desk.
"You can do it!" Ruby cheered.
"Show that Grimm what your made of!" Yang yelled, giving the Knight a thumbs up.
To Weiss's right, Blake was waving a small yellow flag with the words RWBY + H emblazoned on it. The + H had clearly been drawn in permanent marker.
"Where do you keep getting those?" Weiss asked, exasperated.
Blake just smiled coyly and continued to wave the flag.
'Anyone who thinks that Belladonna is some stoic book nerd can eat crow,' Weiss thought to herself, not nearly as annoyed as she probably should be.
"Oho! What cheer! Now, Sir Knight, I wonder – Have you ever fought a Grimm before?"
The Knight, standing at attention, shook their head.
"Hmm! Well then, today will be a learning experience! Let us see how you fare against those soulless monsters, the enemies of civilization itself!"
The Professor certainly had a flair for the dramatic. And with a quick chop from his axe, the chains holding the cage closed were shattered and the Beowolf leapt out, snarling.
All life held fear and loathing for the Grimm. Soulless monsters that came from who knew where, and returned to ash. Mindless, except for their hatred of all things human. The Grimm would stop at nothing until humans and faunus(2) were extinct. Even the sight of a Beowolf, one of the weakest of Grimm, made Weiss's hair stand on end. It wasn't fear, not the conscious kind. It was simply like that instinctual fear that all mice had for cats(3).
Beowolves were oddly proportioned creatures, manlike and wolflike but not in the correct proportions. Always hunched back, their deceptively wobbly walk could turn into a lightning fast four legged dash. The arms that almost trailed to the ground ended in sharp bony claws. Like all Grimm, its body was pitch black, with plates and spikes of bony white covering portions of it. And on its face mask, blazing red markings surrounding deep yellow eyes that glowed red.
The moment the Beowolf was in the open, it threw its head back with a howl.
The Hollow Knight met it with the roar of challenge that Weiss had heard before. Only this one was much, much louder. The roar physically pushed Weiss down. If anyone in the room was saying anything, Weiss couldn't hear it with the heavy silence of the roar. The bewolf looked visibly surprised. Before snarling once more charging at the Knight.
Despite knowing that the Knight would hold their own – after all they had fought of most of Team RWBY before – Weiss still held her breath. What would the Knight do?
What the Knight did was charge at the beowolf, sword held like a lance. The beowolf managed to avoid the first charge, only to be slammed to the side by a slash from the Knight. The beowolf growled, lunging for the Knight.
The Knight disappeared in a flash of darkness.
"What in the-?" Yang began.
Not a second later the Knight reappeared, above the beowolf, slamming the sword into the grimm's body. The sword sank straight through the beast's neck, and into the floor. The force of the blow crushed the monster, and Weiss saw the light in the beowolf's eyes stutter as it clawed weakly at the floor.
Before fading away.
In the following silence, the Knight wrenched the sword out of the floor and beowolf, staring at the dissolving body before stepping away. They looked no worse for the wear, and stood at attention, sword pointing down at the ground.
The room's silence was broken by Professor Port's clapping, and shortly after that Ruby Rose's cheers.
"Well done, Sir Knight! A most breathtaking fight!"
"Woo!"
"However, in the future I caution against such attacks," Professor Port held up a finger, "For most Grimm have protective plating across their backs, especially the older kinds."
To Weiss's relief, the Knight did not take the Professor's words as insult. Instead they titled their head before nodding. Smiling, Weiss began to clap with the rest of her team-
The world shifted. One moment she was in the classroom. The next moment she was in a dark cave, grey stone all around her. In the distance she could hear buzzes and shrieks. And in front of her was the sleeping figure of a massive armored creature. It had to be asleep, since that noise couldn't have been anything but snoring. The air was filled with pink glyphs and Weiss felt warm and cold at the same time-
And then she was back in Professor Port's classroom with a gasp. Blake's hand was on her shoulder and the raven-haired girl was giving her a concerned look.
"Weiss, are you okay?"
Weiss took a few breaths, noticing that no one else had noticed her…whatever that was. Yang and Ruby were still busy cheering, and the Professor was still giving the Knight pointers. No one else had noticed, except for the Hollow Knight. Who began making their way towards her.
Immediately she waved them off, and shrugged Blake's hand off.
"I'm fine, Blake. Don't worry," she smiled, trying to hide her own worry.
Judging by the look on Blake's face, she didn't believe her. But she didn't press, and Weiss hid her guilty relief.
What on Remnant had that been?
The strength to protect others...
"Are you sure, Weiss?" Ruby asked once more.
Blake watched as Weiss nodded. The white haired girl was trying to convince them that she and the Hollow Knight would skip lunch in the mess hall and go somewhere else. The only reason the rest of the team was even considering this, Yang especially, was because Weiss had already grabbed something that could've qualified for lunch.
"I'm sure, Ruby. It's probably best to avoid incredibly public spaces for a few days, till the novelty of our situation leaves the mind of the student body," Weiss said.
It was a good enough reason, Blake thought. There were plenty of eyes on them, and more than enough hushed gossip. And they thought they were being sneaky, but as they furtively spoke Blake heard snatches and pieces of conversation with her hidden faunus ears.
And yet…
After Ruby and Yang had finally let Weiss and the Knight go, just as they were about to grab lunch Blake grabbed Yang's shoulder.
"Be right back," she told her partner.
"Blake?"
"Just remembered something," Blake said swiftly and was gone before Yang could protest. She felt bad about leaving her partner behind, but…
Last night wouldn't leave her memory. And today, in class, for a moment Weiss had froze. And she hadn't been the one fighting.
Some would call Blake paranoid. She'd argue that it wasn't paranoia when she was right. In the end, Blake had a suspicion of the world and truth and people that one could only get after having seen the ugly side of the world for a long, long time. She didn't enjoy being the cynic, but to her it seemed more often than not that the cynic was right.
She'd been trying to get better, after meeting Ruby and Yang, Weiss and the rest of their friends. But some old habits died hard.
Sometimes she hated being right. And sometimes, she didn't know what to do about being right.
Weiss and the Hollow Knight where in Professor Port's classroom, like she had expected. What she hadn't expected was Weiss holding a plume of pink flame above her head, surrounded by an other worldly light.
The moment Blake stepped into the room the Knight snapped towards her with an uncomfortable intensity. Before anything else could happen, Weiss brought the plume of flame down with a kiai. The plume cut through the air. And from that cut, bright pink light flew out with a storm of glyphs.
"Weiss?!"
"Blake!?"
The world whited out and when her vision returned, Blake found herself being cradled by Weiss.
"-ake! Blake! Answer me, Blake!"
"Weiss…?" Blake coughed out, trying to sit up. Her hand brushed up against cool rough stone, and Blake's eyes snapped open.
Weiss was looking down at her, expression halfway between worried and angry. And the Hollow Knight stood above both of them, sword ready. Above the Knight, the craggy grey walls of the cave rose up and up until she could barely see the ceiling.
"Where the hell are we?" Blake breathed.
"Blake-" Weiss began, still looking concerned. Blake shot her a flat look and Weiss sighed.
"Fine. It's a long story."
It was a long story. A strange story too, that Weiss gave while also lecturing Blake for the downright foolish thing she had done what if she had been hurt!-
Weiss's story was interrupted by the faraway hiss and shriek. No longer whispers, and not comfortably faraway either.
"So, let me get this straight..." Blake began, "After summoning the Hollow Knight, you were trapped in a dream world called Hallownest and only escaped with the help of an old moth lady, but in doing so you might've unleashed some creatures upon Beacon. But you're not sure because the moth lady wont tell you anything unless you gather some, some 'essence'! Did I get all of that?"
At least Weiss didn't seem happy about the whole thing.
"That about sums it up, yes," Weiss said, dejected.
The both of them were silent for a moment. Some of Blake's anger with her teammate faded on seeing how worried Weiss looked. With a breath, Blake stood up and helped Weiss to her feet.
"Hey, don't worry about it."
"You're not mad-?" Weiss began.
"It's not like you meant for this to happen. We'll figure this out – as a team," Blake said firmly. Weiss smiled softly.
"Thank you, Blake."
"So, this is Hallownest?" Blake asked, looking around the dark cave.
"It seems to be. Are we right?" Weiss asked the Hollow Knight. The Knight, still standing tensed, gave a curt nod.
"I can see why they didn't know what the Sun was," Blake muttered.
"We best be careful," Weiss said, taking out Myrtenaster, "We have no idea what could be lurking here. The Seer seemed to reference to hostiles."
Her teammates tone was all business, and Blake nodded, reaching for Gambol Shroud -
which, she remembered with a sinking feeling, she had placed in her locker.
"Blake?" Weiss asked carefully as her teammate began to curse.
"When we get out of this, I'm never leaving my weapon behind," Blake grumbled. She felt a presence next to her and turned to see the Hollow Knight stand next to her. Weiss slid up to her other side.
"Don't worry."
"Worry? I'm the weakest link in the team," Blake snorted.
"Not with your hearing and eyesight, you're not."
Blake blinked at Weiss, who was squinting into the dark.
"I'm not a faunus, remember? Maybe the Hollow Knight can see in the dark, and you definitely can, but I can't. I'm going to be relying on both of you."
A few months ago, Blake would've sooner spit in a Schnee's face, let alone hear anything they had to say about the faunus. And here they were now, Weiss accepting the abilities of the faunus more easily than many others.
With a determined expression, Blake undid the bow she kept on top of her head, and let her second set of ears free.
Now the sounds of the cave were louder, richer. She could hear buzzing, shrieking, faraway hisses. The skittering of claws and the echoes of cries. There was not a human sound in the mix. But there weren't any grimm sounds either. The Hollow Knight had never seen the Creatures of Grimm before, so that was one thing they wouldn't have to deal with-
"Somethings coming!" Blake hissed, hearing the sound of many feet becoming louder. Weiss and the Hollow Knight tensed, bringing their weapons up. A moment later, from the darkness, something skittered towards them.
Something was the size of a puppy and looked like a fuzzy oval, with a grey segmented underbelly and many tiny legs. The thing looked up at them with big black eyes, and Blake should've been creeped out by a bug the size of a puppy but it was strangely cute -
Silently, the bug began to make a u-turn and crawled back into the darkness.
"...Well, that was a thing," Blake said at last, "Scary bugs, huh?"
"It was sorta cute," Weiss muttered, a hand on her cheek.
Blake felt a smile tug at her lips – who knew that the cold Schnee heiress had a weakness for cute things? – when a loud shriek echoed across the room. Several similar shrieks followed, making Blake's hair stand on end.
"We're going towards that, aren't we?" she sighed.
"Onward!" Weiss commanded, and the Hollow Knight rushed forward with such speed that they had to jog after them.
What they found was not more cute bugs.
Several flying bugs the size of beowolves, that resembled flying beetles with normal black eyes and jaws that brought to mind bear traps whizzed around, shrieking at the top of their lungs. And they were all swarming around a massive creature in a suit of armor.
The armored being easily stood as tall of the Hollow Knight, but where the Knight was thin the being was round. It looked like an upright beetle, with stubby legs and beefy arms, their helm shaped back with two horns and four eye holes. One of the shrieking flies charged at the armored being and was smashed into paste by the large mace it wielded. Blake flinched at the goopy sound, and she heard Weiss gag next to her.
The grimm were terrifying, but they didn't bleed like living things.
Whoever this armored knight was, they were good. Like, Nora Valkyrie with her war hammer good. It kept the flies far back with quick and decisive swings of its mace, all the while moving inexorably forward. There was a certain grim cheer to its movements as it smashed fly after fly. A skill that reminded Blake of Professor Port, who while long winded was a true Hunter.
So entranced she was by the simple elegance of the knight's strength that she almost missed the fly charging straight at them. She didn't miss the shrieking though, and as she whirled around the fly was only moment away.
The Knight teleported underneath the fly and swung upwards, cutting the fly from head to abdomen. The fly gave a gurgled shriek as it fell to the ground and skidded towards them. Blake couldn't help but let out a little yelp as she backed away, the dying fly weakly snapping at her legs.
"That is disgusting," Weiss muttered, watching fluid pool under the bug queasily.
Heartbeat slowing, Blake nodded, and realized that the room had gradually gone quiet.
The Hollow Knight and the armored beetle had made short work of the swarm of biting flies. Now, they stared at each other. Blake became aware of a tension in the room as the two figures stared at each other. Beside her, Weiss pointed her rapier forward, eyes narrowed.
The tension was broken by a short chuckle from the armored knight.
"I never thought I'd see you again, our Hollow Knight. Do you remember me?"
The Hollow Knight gave a terse nod.
"Still as serious as ever..." the armored knight muttered, "Though considering the circumstances, I do not blame you."
The armored knight turned towards Blake and Weiss. Thankfully not hostile. Blake wasn't sure her aura could take even a single hit from that mace.
"And who might you two be? I've never seen your kind in our kingdom."
Blake let Weiss take point here. The Schnee heiress was better at this sort of polite talk.
"I am Weiss Schnee. And this is Blake Belladonna. We are...new to Hallownest. Who might you be?"
"Hah, you're definitely new to Hallownest! Though I suppose I am no longer a den-name. I am Sir Hegemol, Knight of Hallownest," the armored knight said, matching Weiss's polite tone.
A Knight of Hallownest? That would explain why he seemed to know the Hollow Knight.
"So, what are the two of you doing, traveling with the Hollow Knight?" Hegemol asked.
"We found ourselves together through chance, Sir Hegemol. And we continue traveling together to unravel a mystery."
"Oho, a mystery? Hallownest has many of them, Weiss Schnee. Which one are you trying to find?"
Weiss narrowed her eyes, and Blake recognized her teammates thinking face. Weiss didn't know what to say next, and was thinking about her next words carefully.
Before she could, Hegemol smashed his mace into the ground and faced the Hollow Knight.
"Humor me, our Hollow Knight. It has been long since I had a good fight. Ease an old knight's yearning."
The Hollow Knight stared at Hegemol for a moment, before unsheathing their nail.
"Wait-!" Weiss began.
The Knight charged at the same time Hegemol leaped. And Blake tackled Weiss out of the way of the shrapnel as Hegemol slammed into the ground. The entire cave shook under his weight. A moment after Hegemol cratered the ground, the Hollow Knight appeared behind him in a flash of darkness, scoring a long slash on Hegemol's armor.
Hegemol twirled around, with grace and speed that you wouldn't think one of his size, and slammed his mace into the Knight. The Knight flew back with a sickening crack and Blake hissed. There was no way that didn't hurt.
But much like their previous fight, the Hollow Knight did not give up easily. Climbing back to their feet, the Knight charged at Hegemol once more. It reminded Blake of Yang's, who employed the maxim of 'hit the enemy real hard, real fast'. Unlike Yang, the Hollow Knight did not have a semblance that allowed them to hit harder the more damage they had taken. If the Knight even had a semblance in the first place, it was probably their ability to teleport-
"Come, our Hollow Knight!" Hegemol bellowed, "Show me your strength!"
The Knight charged and disappeared once more, this time appearing by Hegemol's side and slashing at his face with blistering speed, sending Hegemol stumbling back. The Knight pressed on the attack, slashing at Hegemol continuously. Hegemol stumbled back a bit further, before visibly bracing himself and pushing away the Knight's onslaught with his arms. Countless scratches covered his armor but Hegemol himself seemed unharmed.
The massive knight took another step forward, taking the Hollow's Knight's blows without flinching and raising his mace up high. Right before the mace slammed onto the Knight, they disappeared in a flash of shadows, reappearing a distance away. It was clear that the Knight was tired, though they were trying their best not to show it. That hit from earlier couldn't have helped.
"We have to help-" Blake began. Weiss pulled her back.
"No. If this is truly just a duel between knights, Hegemol won't kill the Hollow Knight."
"Did you see the way he was swinging that mace around? And the way the Hollow Knight was attacking?"
"The Hollow Knight has aura, and we must assume that Hegemol does too," Weiss muttered. As she did, she revolved Myrtenaster's dust chamber to fire dust. So at least her teammate was preparing for the worst…
"Your time in the Black Egg Temple has left you weaker, our Hollow Knight," Hegemol said at last, "Not that I can blame you-"
The Hollow Knight stabbed their sword into the ground and began to glow with a white light.
"Aha, I see that you still have flight left in you!" Hegemol laughed, slamming his mace into the ground. Blake watched as the Hollow Knight's aura became brighter and brighter, before exploding outwards. Ribbons of white light formed intricate patterns in the air and the Knight looked healthier, as if healed.
Then the patterns around the Knight pulsed and there was a loud explosion of white light around the Hollow Knight. The cave shuddered, echoes of the explosion rumbling.
At least she thought it had been echoes till she saw the first of the boulders fall from the ceiling.
"Watch out!" Blake tackled Weiss out of the way of a boulder, wincing as she felt it slam into the spot they had just been. Once started, the cave ceiling fell with remarkable speed and Blake only had a moment to try and find an exit before Weiss pushed her down. Pointing Myrtenaster into the air, the Schnee heiress summoned a shield of her normal glyphs, bracing herself.
The ceiling fell on them, and Blake knew that Weiss couldn't hold the entire weight of all that stone. A particularly large boulder rushed towards them, Blake flinched back, closing her eyes as Weiss screamed.
There was a solid thud that vibrated in Blake's bones, and a deep grunt. Opening her eyes and marveling that she still could, Blake saw Hegemol lifting the massive boulder above his shoulders. Beside her, Weiss looked stunned.
"Are you two alright?" Hegemol grunted.
"W-We're fine," Weiss began.
There was stone all around them and everything was dark. Hesitantly Weiss summoned a small glyph, and the faint light sent strange shadows across Hegemol's faceplate.
"The ceiling shouldn't have caved in like that, even with us fighting," Hegemol said slowly, "Hallownest may not have been what it once was, but...I'll bet anything it was those Vengeflies. They only swarm like that when there's a king around, especially the bigger ones. I'd heard scurrying around and had gone to investigate...What strange ways the water flows, to meet an old face in this old kingdom, hah!"
"Are you alright?" Blake began. Hegemol was strong, that was no doubt. But under the weight of this much stone…
"I am Sir Hegemol, Blake Belladonna! They did not call me the Mighty because of my killer jokes!" Hegemol boasted, "Go, now! I am strong enough to handle this, but squishy little bugs like you? Go!"
"Where to?" Weiss snapped. Blake grabbed her teammates arm.
"I see an opening. Just big enough for us to crawl through," Blake said. Remarkably calm, but this wasn't the first time she'd narrowly avoided death. Came with being a Huntress in-training, among...other things.
"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Weiss asked Hegemol again.
"I am touched by your worry, both of you. I shall be fine. Now go!"
There was authority and steel in that voice, and Blake pulled Weiss along with her as they crawled through the crevasse. It was cramped and jagged and at points Blake thought she might get stuck. It didn't help to think of all the unstable tons of rock overhead…But they made it out into the open.
In time to see the Hollow Knight bound like a turkey and a strange bug pointing a sword their way.
The strength to protect others...That is what I train for, my King.
(1) This was a truly remarkable feat, considering that half the class considered Port's lectures as the perfect accompaniment to naps
(2) Faunus, the sibling species of humanity. Resembling humans greatly, faunus differ not only by their visible animalistic features (such as a set of cat ears or a tail) but because of a varied range of senses and deeper biological structures. And faced with the similar yet not, humanity did what it did best - be jerks about it
(3) This does not include the mice that hit cats over the head with hammers
And by popular demand, the third chapter! I can't promise all the chapters will come out with this speed, but I'm having a lotta fun writing this. Only made better by how much y'all seem to enjoy reading this! Thank you very much!
Ah, Sir Hegemol. We never see him in game, but we have bits and pieces, enough to extrapolate.
Unlike writing for the Hollow Knight, writing for the RWBY characters is a different kettle of fish. Not difficult, but I want to write them with more nuance than I see a few parts of fandom characterize them with. I hope that I do not do the characters too much injustice.
Who might this strange bug be? What will happen to Hegemol? Will Weiss, Blake, and the Hollow Knight be back in time for lunch?
Tune in next time to find out!