Disclaimer: RWBY and Hollow Knight do not belong to me. They belong to RoosterTeeth and Team Cherry respectively.
Finally done with finals and now that its the Hogswatch season we have some free time. So onto the show!
Chapter 7: The Nightmare, Part II
1, 2, they're coming for you…
Blake found more bodies as she walked further into the tunnel. It was a small mercy that none of them were human. But it took all her will to force herself to walk further and further, as the piles of bodies grew bigger and bigger. Cause if she stopped, if she broke down now, then the best case scenario was that the monster would run away. And the worst case-
Blake shut that thought down, hard, and kept walking.
She reached the end of the tunnel, and it lead into a horror show.
It was a massive chamber, whose ceiling was lost in the darkness. Plenty of stalactites were in view though, and from each stalactite at least one body hung from a rope of string. There were bodies of all shapes and sizes. Many of them resembling the bugs of City of Tears. Some of them were the very bugs she had seen in the shadows of the Deepnest. And even more were bug she'd never seen before. All dangling from the ceiling, swaying in a nonexistent breeze like demented windchimes.
As Blake stared up in horror, something scuffed against stone, breaking the suffocating silence of the chamber. Flinching away from the gruesome décor, she came face to face with Adam. Exactly how she remembered him, standing in the center of the room. Time seemed to slow, and Adam reached a hand out towards her.
"Blake..." he whispered, with a smile on his face.
The bark of a bullet ripped across the chamber and Adam jerked back. The scream that had been bubbling up in Blake's throat finally released – a guttural sound that no one would've thought capable from her, Blake including. She fired bullet after bullet into the monster, continuing to scream as the monster flinched back.
"Give! Ren! Back!" Blake screamed, firing the last of her clip. She gasped for a moment, heart racing – and then sinking.
Adam - the monster – was not laid out on the ground, dead. It still stood, and when it stood up straight and faced Blake once more, its face was pockmarked with black bullet wounds. And yet, it still did not bleed.
Blake panted, stomach turning and the hair on the back of her neck standing on end.
The monster stared at her for a moment, before its head twisted upside down with several cracks and pops. It's mouth broke up with a snap and its screamed – a sound that was like nails scratching against her bones, sending Blake to her knees in pain. As it screamed, it contorted further and further. Arms snapping like twigs and twisting like rubber. Legs dangled uselessly as its spine turned ninety degrees, and the body rose as something exploded from the stone. A long neck that resembled a tree branch, followed by a bulbous translucent body, encased in black chitin shaped like a rib-cage and a spine with spikes the size of swords. Several pairs of long spindly legs burst from the ground, gouging into the floor and hoisting the body up.
The monster reared back like a horse, screeching and rushing towards a still paralyzed Blake, legs moving madly. Just as it was upon her, Adam's contorted face inches from her own, the Hollow Knight appeared in a burst of darkness and slammed into the creature.
Blake almost wept with relief, especially as Nora rushed past her with a roar and Weiss skidded next to Blake, searching her teammate for injuries.
"Blake! Blake, are you alright?" Weiss asked.
"I-I'm fine," Blake managed.
Another screech rattled the chamber and Blake and Weiss whipped towards the center of the chamber.
The monster reared back as the Hollow Knight slashed at it. If the gruesome visage of the monster affected them, they didn't show it. Neither did they flinch back as the monster screeched once more, though the Knight did back away as the monster tried to slam its legs onto them. The monster screeched at the Knight clearly enraged – a screech that was drowned in volume by Nora. Like her namesake, she fell from the heavens hammer in hand and a vicious, vengeful expression gracing her face.
The monster was nimbler than Blake had expected, avoiding Nora's stone shattering blow by scant seconds. It shrieked and began to scuttle away, evidently not liking its odds.
"We can't let it escape!" Weiss yelled, rotating Myrtenaster's cylinder, "Don't let it leave!"
"Give me back Ren!" Nora screamed, running after the monster. She'd wouldn't catch up to it, Blake realized with a start. Nora was many things but she wasn't as fast as the monster-
As Blake got up to her feet, Gambol Shroud's ribbon in hand, the Knight materialized in a flash of darkness in front of the monster. For a brief moment, Blake wondered if the monster would hesitate and if Nora would get the clean hit that'd end it all. This creature didn't have even the same amount of armor an Ursa di-
The monster gave a blood curdling screech and slammed into Knight, shoving it towards the ground and trampling it.
"Hollow Knight!" Weiss screamed. Blake threw Gambol Shroud towards the creature's belly the same time Nora was upon the it, her eyes sparking in the gloom.
The monster leapt into the dark above. With one giant bound the monster landed on the cave walls, high above them, before rushing towards the shadows of the distant cave ceiling.
"Dammit!" Nora screamed, slamming her hammer into the wall before falling to the ground. As Nora began to punch the ground, Blake and Weiss glanced at each other and made to walk towards Nora. To comfort her or to come up with another plan, Blake wasn't sure. They were halfway through the chamber when they heard the twin shrieks from above. As Blake and Weiss whirled around, weapons in hand, they saw the monster wearing Adam's face slam in the ground behind them. And from the dark ceiling, another monster – this one with wings – flew overhead wearing Ren's face.
1, 2, they're coming for you…
The inside of the temple was dark, and huge. After the bright Greenpath Yang had forgotten how dark Hallownest really was, but this temple seemed even darker than the winding stone tunnels that seemed to make up a majority of this Kingdom. The lights of the torchsticks barely seemed to illuminate the room. What little they did illuminate was a strange architecture. Tall walls that would've been difficult to climb for your normal person, statues and symbols of inhuman things. At one point they had walked into a room that had a floor practically covered in sharp thorns the size of her head. The temple itself was bigger than it had appeared from the outside – so big that amid the thorn patches were bushes and trees, and countless far away rooms. It felt like a cathedral, though not any sort that Remnant had.
"What wackos built this place?" Yang asked, helping Jaune over a large break in the thorn free path.
"Without more knowledge, we cannot ascertain why the people of Hallownest made such a place," Ozpin said. The Headmaster was clearly distracted, looking around the temple as if searching for something. Yang followed his gaze and caught sight of another one of those strange long haired busts with the inky eyes. Almost involuntarily she shivered and rubbed her arms.
"Are you alright?" Pyrrha asked her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's colder in here than it was out in the jungle," Yang said.
"Didn't you once say you never got cold?" Jaune asked innocently. Yang sighed.
"Yes. Yes I did," she continued in a hushed whisper, "Look, I'm just getting goosebumps from this place, okay? It's creeping me out!"
"I know what you mean," Pyrrha said, "There's something eerie about the air."
"Ruby seems to be doing alright," Jaune pointed out. The three of them glanced at their youngest member. Ruby was standing next to Headmaster Ozpin, humming some tune that Yang wasn't familiar with.
"She's always loved spooky stuff like this," Yang divulged. A fond smile flew across her face, "Her birthday is the Harvest's End."
"That...explains a lot," Pyrrha said at last.
"Doesn't it?"
"One of my younger sisters was born on the Spring Welcoming, and she's practically the embodiment of spring," Jaune confided.
"Must be something about the holida-"
A moan echoed through the temple. As the last echoes of the eerie cry faded away, Yang and Jaune let go of Pyrrha, who schooled her similarly rattled expression.
"What was that?" Yang said, furiously ignoring her racing heart.
"It sounds like someone's hurt," Ruby said.
"Careful Miss Rose, we don't know what truly made that noise," Headmaster Ozpin cautioned.
"We're going towards it?" Jaune asked, voice breaking towards the end.
"Of course we are..." Yang grumbled, readying Ember Celica.
"Headmaster?" Pyrrha asked.
"It could be someone in need of help," the Headmaster said.
"It could also be some sort of monster!" Jaune pointed out, waving his hands wildly.
"That it could. Be on your guard."
The moan had come from a room high above them. There were no stairs to reach it, so they had to climb to the entrance. As Yang did she noticed countless indents in the stone, as if many others before her had also climbed the wall. Maybe it was a bug thing.
The room was a mirror of the first one, but with far more thorns – coating the floor and the walls. Only scant few stone platforms at various elevations were free from the lethal looking thorns. And on the lowest platform, in front of a large version the busts from before, was a bug.
Ruby had been right. Someone had been hurt. But as they hurried their way towards the bug and came close enough to see them, Yang wished she had covered Ruby's eyes before hand.
It was the bug from the busts. About as tall as Ruby, and resembling a beetle dressed in armor. Their long 'hair' spilled across the dais and pooling around their head. They had been laid on their back, and warning signs should've been blaring in Yang's head the moment she saw them.
The bug was staring sightless at the ceiling of the temple, not because they were blind, but because they're eyes had been gouged out. Dark fluid continued to seep from the ruined eye cavities, and the bug's hands were wet with blood.
As they stared on in horror, the bug moaned again. Before speaking, in shuddering sobbing rasps.
"Who's there…?"
Headmaster Ozpin acted immediately, Ruby quick on his heels. The Headmaster knelt next to the bug, while Ruby fumbled for a water bottle and her first aid kit.
"Easy there," Headmaster Ozpin spoke in hushed, gentle tones, "You're okay. We're here to help."
Rather than calming the bug down, the Headmaster's words seemed to agitate them.
"No...No…! You...You can still see, can't you…!"
"Please don't move too much," Ruby urged, a bottle of salve in her hands.
"My child...You can still see...Please don't hurt me..."
"Hurt you?" Jaune asked weakly.
"Can't sleep...with your eyes open..." the bug gasped, "The sickness...It travels through dreams…! Can't dream...if you're breathing, little one…!"
"What the hell is she talking about? Ruby, don't go anywhere near that thing," Yang cautioned. Ruby shot her a look and the bug gave a gurgling cough.
"Precious children...you speak such loathsome things as you sleep..."
As if from far away she heard faint whispers.
"Precious children, a monster had come for us in the dark...will you sing for me…?" the bug rasped.
Ruby unscrewed the slave bottle as Headmaster Ozpin reached for the bug's hand. The bug moved so fast they blurred, grabbing Ruby's hand with a wet vice grip.
"Ahh-!"
"Ruby!"
"The light! The light! They're coming! What's inside of you, your luminous eyes! Strip it out!"
The bug lunged for Ruby's eyes, and made a satisfying sound as Yang shoved them off of her little sister. Jaune and Pyrrah stepped in front of them as Yang checked over her sister, and Headmaster Ozpin gave the no-eyed bug a look.
"Are you okay Rubes?"
"I-I'm fine, Yang-"
The bug, who had been laying face down on the stone floor, stood up unsteadily. And began to sing. A soft lullaby, in a language Yang couldn't understand. As she sang, the whispers in the shadows grew cacophonous. And a hundred ghosts poured out from every shadow and washed over them.
1, 2, they're coming for you…
Nora froze as the monster wearing Ren's face swooped towards her. She narrowly avoided being skewered by the flying monster by the Hollow Knight, who had pushed her away, getting crushed into the ground by the winged monster.
"Hollow Knight!" Blake and Weiss cried out. From the ceiling above was another bone chilling shriek, and they looked up to see the first monster falling towards them.
Both of them dived to the side as the monster slammed into the ground, screeching again before trampling the ground trying to catch them under its feet. Blake climbed to her feet, shifting Gambol Shroud to its sword form with a curse.
The monster turned towards her, Adam's dead face staring at her, before shrieking and charging at her. Blake had little time to react and jumped into the air, bouncing off of a shadow clone. Sailing over the monster's back, she threw Gambol Shroud towards a gap in the monster's exoskeleton.
Gambol Shroud bounced off the exoskeleton and as the monster turned around it's ribbon tangled in it's spines. Blake landed awkwardly as Gambol Shroud was ripped from her hands, and she slid across the stone floor for a moment. She had no time to rest as the winged monster lunged towards her, wings beating furiously.
The winged monster gave an ear piercing shriek as an icicle punched through it's wing and seconds later Weiss had jumped in front of her, Myrtenaster at the ready and a snarl on her face. The monster shrieked once more, causing Blake to flinch, before taking to the air, buffeting them with strong winds.
"Aim for their underbelly!" Weiss cried out.
"And get trampled by those legs?" Blake snapped, watching as the first monster eyed them. Her weapon dangled from one of it's spikes tantalizingly and Blake muttered a few choice words under her breath.
"What did you say?" Weiss asked.
"Nothi-"
Both monster's shrieked and charged at once – the first monster stampeding towards them and the second diving. Blake grabbed Weiss and whirled around to face the first monster, Weiss creating a wave of fire from her sword as she did so. Both monster's flinched back, the first taking a sharp turn away.
However, either the winged monster didn't care or couldn't stop. The next thing Blake knew, she was on the ground and her head hurt something fierce. She heard shrieking and Weiss shouting, her vision swimming so bad she couldn't see.
"...ke…Bla...Blake...Blake!"
When her vision stopped swimming, Weiss was hovering over her.
"Weiss?"
"You idiot!" Weiss scolded, relief breaking out across her face. Blake shot up, fighting down nausea. Weiss was cradling on of her arms and wincing occasionally, and next to them Nora was just sitting with a lost look on her face, cradling a green pistol that Blake realized was one half of Ren's weapon Storm Flower. And standing in front of them was the Hollow Knight, standing tall with sword at the ready despite the large wound in their side seeping black blood.
The Hollow Knight stood between them and the monsters. The first monster was scratched and burned but seemed none worse for the wear. The second monster had multiple holes in its wings and seemed to be grounded. Both monsters were on either side of the Hollow Knight, trying to circle it. The Hollow Knight stared them down, blade thrumming with their aura ever so occasionally.
"We have to do something..." Blake hissed.
"Blake, your aura is really low-" Weiss began.
"I can't just stand here!"
"Ren..." Nora mumbled. Weiss knelt down next to the girl.
"Nora, snap out of it! That's not Ren! The real Ren is still out there!" Weiss said, shaking Nora's shoulders with one arm. Nora blinked and her eyes focused forwards, flinching.
"Watch out!"
Blake and Weiss turned just in time to see the monster's lunge towards the Hollow Knight, screeching. The Hollow Knight braced itself, noticeably wobbling, and Blake knew that it couldn't handle both monster's at once. Weiss shot forward, Myrtenaster flashing blue and she wouldn't make it in time-
Something flew through the air and slammed into the winged monster, shearing through its wing. The winged monster screamed in pain and another silver missile flew through that air, barely missing the first monster. Blake blinked numbly at the sight of the lances pincushioned in the ground, breaking out of her stupor as Nora grabbed her arm and leaned forward.
"Ren!"
Blake followed Nora's gaze. There, at the other end of the room was Ren – covered in scratches and bandages, but otherwise fine. And standing on either side of Ren were two praying mantises the size of the Hollow Knight. Much like the Hollow Knight, while vaguely human, they were clearly mantises. It was also clear in the way they stood that they were warriors.
"Nora!" Ren called out. The winged monster shrieked from it's spot on the ground, and the mantises moved.
Blake was no stranger to speed. Living with Ruby Rose acclimated you quickly. But these mantises were so much faster. One moment they were standing still, and then in a second they disappeared before reappearing next to the winged monster. They had ripped their lances out of the ground, and in a second plunged them into the winged monster's belly. The winged monster let out a chilling cry, flailing and thrashing as the mantises pierced it deeper. The first monster shrieked and charged at the mantises, only to flinch back as Ren ran towards it, the other half of Storm Flower barking in his hand. In that one moment, a third mantis appeared in a flash above the monster and slammed into it, the lance punching through exoskeleton and soft flesh and into the stone floor below.
The mantis looked up at them as the monster struggled under them and spoke.
"Will you just stand there, like children or fools?" the mantis hissed. The harsh words galvanized Blake, who ran forward
"Blake!" Weiss called out.
Blake didn't heed the call, running straight towards Gambol Shroud, still embedded into the monster's spine. The monster thrashed and Blake let a shadow clone take a hit as she reached for Gambol Shroud's hilt, wrenching it out of the monster. A leg spiked towards her and Blake cut it apart just as the mantis disappeared. As the monster struggled to stand up, Blake heard the click of Myrtenaster and wisely jumped away.
The monster wearing Adam's face was engulfed in flames and as it shrieked and struggled Weiss stepped up next to her.
"You okay?"
"...Yeah," Blake lied, watching the monster crumble to ash, "I-I'm fine."
An earth-shattering boom filled the room and Blake and Weiss whirled around, weapons ready. What they saw was Nora standing over the smear that used to be the winged monster, a satisfied glare on her face.
"Nora!"
Nora's attention snapped towards her partner, who was running towards them.
"Ren!" she cried out, leaping off of the corpse and towards Ren. What normally might've been Ren catching Nora turned into both of them falling to the ground, hugging each other fiercely.
"Ren, Ren..." Nora said hoarsely.
"I'm o-okay Nora, I'm okay..."
Blake was startled from the sight as the Hollow Knight stood next to her. Their one good arm covered their wound, which while no longer was bleeding still obviously needed attention.
"Hollo-" Weiss began, reaching for them.
In a flash, the three mantises appeared around them. Each held their lances at attention, and each stared down at them with dark eyes. Blake felt a chill down her spine and gripped Gambol Shroud tighter.
"Creature of Hallownest's King," the mantises said in harmony. Their voices were a deep contralto, with no warmth. Ren disentangled himself from Nora, succeeding in freeing everything but his arm, and bowed to the mantises.
"Mantis Lords, tha-"
"Long has it been since one from that Pale Court hath appeared before us," one of the Mantis Lords said.
"That one of that Pale Court survived the decline of Hallownest is most surprising," another said acidly.
"Of course, that Hallownest's Hollow Knight survived is both most surprising and not at all," the last Mantis Lord sniffed.
If the Hollow Knight noticed the thinly veiled barbs, they didn't react. Weiss certainly had, the way she was frowning. Ren tried stepping in front of Weiss as she stepped forward and failed.
"And who might you be?" Weiss asked, icily cordial. Blake watched warily as the three Mantis Lords regarded her.
"We are the Lords of the Mantis Tribe, oh strange Pale one," one of them said stiffly. Another Lord bent down, causing Weiss to flinch back. Even bent down, the Lord still standing a head taller than Weiss.
"Dost this one even know of the Mantis Tribes? Nay, dost this one even knoweth of the Kingdom she has allied with?"
"This one thinks not. She is not of Hallownest, nor is she from kingdoms faraway," the third Mantis Lord said, "This one thinks that the Pale one might be the sorceress that trapped us in this ghastly mockery."
"Excuse me-?" Blake said, stepping next to her teammate.
"If not the cause, then surely she must be ally with whatever dark forces are at play here," one of the Lord's hissed.
"Now listen here-" Blake began,
"Blake, please, don't-" Ren pleaded.
"-Weiss has done absolutely nothing wron-"
A gust of wind blew against Blake's face. At least, that's what Blake thought, until the two halves of her ribbon fluttered down to the ground.
Blake brought her hands to her faunus ears, making sure nothing had happened to them. As she did Weiss stepped in front of her, a furious scowl on her face. Before a full fledged 'I-Am-Heir-Of-The-Schnee-Dust-Company-And-You-Will-Listen-To-Me' lecture could begin, the Mantis Lords as one pointed their lances at them.
"Do not speak to us about falsehoods, deceptive shadowed one! Ye are either foolish or brave to claim that your Pale friend has nothing to do with this sorcery! I do not tolerate either!" one Lord snapped.
"We can see it on her, that light!" another hissed.
Without making a sound yet still drawing everyone's attention, the Hollow Knight stepped next to Weiss, hand on it's sword. The Mantis Lord's lances inched closer.
"So, the Kingdom's last Knight wisheth to fight us?"
"Protecting the 'honour' of ye new master, oh Hollow Knight?"
"The memory of our last clash still rings clear. Tell me, Knight of Hallownest, with thy injury dost you believe you shall fair well once more?"
"Wait, please!"
Ren stepped in front of Weiss, Nora at his side. She was glancing between Ren, Weiss, the Hollow Knight, and the Mantis Lords with a worried expression. Ren was staring up at the Mantis Lords, meeting their gaze without flinching.
"I do not know what might cause you to believe so, but Weiss Schnee and her allies are my friends. She did not do this."
"Willst thou stake thy honour on such a statement?" one of the Mantis Lords asked, cold.
Ren pointed Storm Flower at the Mantis Lord, eyes narrowing.
"I am."
"And I am too!" Nora shouted, slamming Magnhild into the ground. Blake happily noted that one of the Mantis Lords glanced at the war hammer with an expression that wasn't cold stoicism, though she'd be hard pressed to identify it.
The Mantis Lord that had asked Ren the question stared at him for a moment longer, before huffing.
"I can see in thy eyes that thou intends to fight us should we fight, despite thy injuries."
Ren nodded and the Mantis Lord stood up straight, pointing her lance upwards.
"The Pale one called Weiss Schnee is most lucky, to have such an honourable friend."
"You would do well not to place your trust wantonly, Lie Ren," warned another Mantis Lord said, pulling her lance away.
"And so we part ways, warrior of Beacon," the third Mantis Lord pointed her lance to the ground, "I wonder how you will fight the next time we meet, Lie Ren."
"Until next our paths cross," the Mantis Lords said as one, bowing low. The next instant, they were at the other end of the cavern. And the instant after that they were gone.
Ren remained standing for a moment more, before hunching forward with heavy breaths. To Blake's alarm she saw the bandages around his midsection grow darker.
"Ren!"
"I'm fine...," he told Nora.
Clearly no one was convinced.
"We need to get back to Beacon," Weiss said, glancing between the Hollow Knight and Ren.
"We have to rendezvous with the others," Blake said, realizing with a sinking stomach that they'd have to get through the Deepnest once more. Judging by Weiss's expression she had realized it too. Before either of them could make a move or say anything, the Hollow Knight's face snapped up to the ceiling, their sword in hand.
Blake followed their gaze in time to see a cloud of blood red flames. The cloud curled in on itself and as they watched, it slammed into the ground. Embers flew into the air around them, like the petals of Forever Fall Forest, and when they cleared-
"Professor Ozpin? Jaune, Pyrrha?"
"Yang! Ruby!"
Blake reached her partner just as the taller girl crumpled on herself. She managed to catch her partner before Yang hit the ground. Yang's skin was hot to the touch, more so than usual. Next to her Weiss was shaking an unconscious Ruby. Nora was helping Ren walk towards them, both of them heading towards their own teammates.
"Ruby? Ruby, wake up!"
"Miss Schnee, we need to leave."
Headmaster Ozpin was the only one still awake and even he looked worse for the wear. There were dark circles under his eyes and he was holding his cane with a white knuckled grip. Even still his voice was nothing but even and gentle.
Weiss stared up at the Headmaster for a moment, before nodding and summoning the Dream Nail.
As they vanished in a flash of white light, Blake swore she heard the crackle of flames.
1, 2, they're coming for you…
"So, what will be your choice?" the bug named Grimm asked her, red eyes glowing.
Yang stared up at the bug, before looking down at her own body. There were no words to describe the feeling of staring into your own vacant eyes. And Yang couldn't even bring herself to turn her head to see her baby sister, sprawled out next to Yang on the stone floor of the forsaken temple. Cause if she did, Yang would be forced to see Ruby's eyes, wide open and dull and grey-
A hand on her shoulder stopped Yang from panicking. It was not the most reassuring of hands, seeing as instead of flesh it was hard chitin. But it was there, and it was real.
"There is still time to save them," Grimm rasped, "Join the dance, and let the flames take you."
Yang knew that there would be a cost. She remembered her moth- Summer, reading bedtime stories to her. Not all of them had been hunky dory sugary sweet. There would be a price in joining Grimm in his dance, she knew it.
It was a price she was willing to pay, tenfold if necessary.
"Let's dance, bug boy," Yang snarled, holding her hand out. Grimm laughed, a deep baritone mixed with high pitched hissing and the sound of crackling flames, before grasping Yang's hand.
Dread red flames took her, before flowing over and consuming the spirits of the dead.
Through dream I travel, at lanterns call
To consume the flames of a kingdom's fall
Apologies for making y'all wait so long for the second part, but real life reared its ugly head. In addition, at times this chapter was hard to write.
No Eyes is an interesting character. Even those who know about her might be surprised to learn about her original backstory (which was changed in the final version of the game). For the purposes of this fic I decided to take the theory that No Eyes and her followers tried to avoid the Plague by gouging their eyes out. As it stands, while not as terrifying as the Deepnest No Eyes is a most eerie boss, and that's when she's a ghost. Alive and with the ghosts of her followers? Yikes.
That being said, there wasn't many ways to change the No Eyes fight in an interesting way. So I decided to make No Eyes's lullaby a bit more dangerous than it was in canon (helps that she has ghosts on her side). If the Troupe Master hadn't showed up to 'help' Yang who knew what might've happened?
As for the Nosk fight, it is another wonderfully creepy moment in the game - made even worse since these Nosks are mimicking people. The macabre decor and the buildup to the fight was very fun to right. Unfortunately Nosk is an ambush predator through and through, so if the initial ambush doesn't work its mostly rushdown tactics to kill its prey. That doesn't always work - especially if your 'prey' are the Mantis Lords.
The RWBY characters escape, but not totally unscathed. What happened to Ren while he was with the Mantises? What happened to Yang in the Greenpath Temple? Why does no one seem to like Weiss?
Tune in next time to find out!