Dead By Roselight
Chapter 24: Reunion
Yang's eyes were wide and her face turned pale as she realized just how bad her situation was. The Trapper had cornered her with the only way out right behind him. While the tunnel was wide enough that the blonde could have run past the killer, there were bear traps on the ground, preventing her from doing that. Behind her was a wall of rocks, meaning that there was no escape for her.
As The Trapper began to walk closer to his prey, Yang backed away until her back hit the wall behind her. The brawler's mind was racing as she tried to figure a way out of this. Unfortunately, she couldn't think of anything. There wasn't any type of a way for her to escape from this peril.
With her back against the wall of rocks, Yang could once again feel that strange, terrifying presence wash over her. This didn't help her think at all, as her whole being was overtaken by fear. There was a killer approaching her from the front and something possibly even more frightening behind her. The blonde felt like she was trapped between two giant beasts, both ready to strike down at her.
Once he was close enough, The Trapper raised his cleaver up in the air and brought it down upon his next victim. Upon seeing the attack that was about to strike her down, Yang's survival instincts kicked into action, causing her to bring her arm up to defend herself from the weapon, even though she was certain she would die.
However, when the cleaver connected with the brawler's arm, something strange and unexpected happened. Instead of getting cut down, Yang actually managed to push the attack away, causing The Trapper to stumble backwards and fall down, allowing the blonde to run past him and escape.
Yang didn't understand what had happened, as her mind was still clouded with fear and she was running on pure instinct. But the truth was that two things had allowed her miraculous save from The Trapper to happen. First was the Aura that had come to her body while she had been pressed against the wall of rocks. The brawler herself hadn't realized the Aura that was coming to her body, as she had been too focused on the terrifying presence behind her and the killer in front of her to do so. The second thing was her survival instincts kicking into overdrive, allowing her to unconsciously summon all the Aura she had gathered into her arm, thus blocking The Trapper's attack. Even though she was still left with a bleeding wound on her arm from the attack, the damage would have been much worse if she didn't have her Aura at that moment.
None of this really mattered to Yang at the moment, as her survival instincts were in full control of her. Right now all that mattered to her was getting away from the killer as fast as possible. The terrified blonde was not even looking at where she was really going, as all that mattered was putting as much distance as she could between herself, The Trapper and whatever the horrifying presence she had felt in the tunnel was.
Yang didn't stop running until her body had been pretty much exhausted from stamina and she fell down on the ground. With shaking arms she pushed herself up from the ground and began to crawl, desperately still escaping from the horrors she had just almost been killed by. As she was doing this, the brawler noticed a locker placed against a large boulder and made her way there. She hid inside the locker and prayed that she wouldn't be discovered.
Now that she had finally stopped, Yang could finally do her best to regain her stamina and catch her breath. Unfortunately for her, that was proving to be very difficult as she couldn't calm down at all. The blonde couldn't help but think about The Trapper and how close she had been to getting killed. The only thing more terrifying than the killer was that strange, dark presence she had felt in the tunnel. Somehow not knowing what it was made the whole thing even more horrifying to her.
As she was sitting in her hiding place, Yang hugged her knees and began to cry as her fears got the better of her. Her silent sobs weren't loud, but one could hear them, if they were close enough and listening carefully.
It had been years since the brawler had felt like this. Right now, she wasn't the hotheaded and brave Huntress she used to be. Right now, she was just a scared child, like when she and Ruby had been attacked by Grimm when they were little.
Meanwhile, Eloy had managed to convince Weiss to go with him. The donkey faunus had told her about how he was in a group that was currently looking for a way out, which got the heiress' attention. Not only would there be the safety that was provided by a group, but there was also the possibility of getting out of this world. There was no way that Weiss was going to miss such a chance.
"You're real lucky that I found you! Our group is just the best, so I'm sure you'll become great friends with everyone," Eloy said excitedly with a big, goofy smile on his face. "Not only that, but we might also be getting out of here soon, so it was a good thing I found you!"
"Right. This way of getting out of this world, could you explain it to me a bit?" Weiss asked, hoping to learn some important details that she could use later. "I kind of want to know what I'm getting myself into. It's just to reassure myself a bit."
"Well, the thing is that I don't really understand it myself yet. We are kind of learning of it as we go," the donkey faunus explained, confusing the white-haired girl. "You see, none of us really knows what this plan really is, you know? It was made by our previous leader, who got separated from our group. We are currently following her clues in the hopes of getting out of here."
"So, no one actually has any idea how to escape from here?" Weiss asked, not feeling all that confident about what she had just learned.
"That's kind of how it is, but you shouldn't be worried! Our previous leader was a real hero for us all, so if she says something, it has to be true!" Eloy quickly said, hoping to make the whole thing sound better. "Trust me when I say that our former leader was a truly wonderful person and would never lie to us! I can't even count all the times she saved me, when she was still around!"
The heiress let out a small sigh and debated in her mind whether she should follow the faunus or simply go on her own. After a bit of thinking, she decided to follow him and his group, even if their "plan" wasn't all that trustworthy. Weiss herself didn't have any better ideas and could still use the protection this group could provide her.
"By the way, your name was Weiss Schnee, right?" Eloy suddenly asked, to which the white-haired girl nodded. "I think I've heard your name before, but I can't remember where."
"Well, I am the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, so you must have heard my name in the news or something," Weiss said with a shrug.
"Nah, I don't think that was it. I feel like someone I know mentioned it to me before, but I can't remember who it-" the donkey faunus began to say, until his eyes went wide with realization. "Hang on a second! You were-"
A loud snap of a branch cut off Eloy and alarmed both him and Weiss to someone walking towards them. The two survivors immediately hid themselves in nearby bushes, hoping that they hadn't been discovered by the killer. After a bit of waiting, the duo soon saw The Trapper walk towards them.
Upon seeing the killer, Weiss immediately began to think about the possible ways she could escape. She was going through all of her options, considering her chances of survival with each of them, when her arm was suddenly grabbed by Eloy.
"Come on. Let's get you out of here before he finds us," the faunus said before he began to lead the heiress away from The Trapper. "I'm not gonna let that guy get you. I owe it to my previous leader to do so."
"What do you mean by that?" Weiss asked, clearly confused by what her new partner had said to her. "Do I know this leader of yours somehow?"
"It would be strange if you didn't know her," Eloy said with a small chuckle. "She was Ruby Rose, your former teammate and partner from Beacon."
The white-haired girl's eyes went wide as she heard Ruby's name. In all honesty, she had forgotten that the reason she had gotten into this world was because she had been looking for her partner. Hearing Ruby's name made Weiss feel hope that she could possibly get to see her best friend again.
"W-Where is she?" the heiress asked in a shaky but hopeful voice. "Is she safe? Is she with the other members of your group?"
"Unfortunately, she isn't with us. If she was, she would still be our leader," Eloy answered. "She got separated from our group, so we have no idea where she is. In fact, we are currently following clues that she left behind as a means of getting out of this world."
"...I see," Weiss said with all hints of hope her voice previously had having left completely.
"B-But you shouldn't lose hope! I'm sure we'll see her at some point!" the donkey faunus quickly said, noticing how his new friend's mood had dropped. "Ruby is a really strong person who saved my life countless times! Not only that, but she still had four of our people with her as well! I'm sure she's able to handle herself out there!"
Weiss gave a simple nod in return to what Eloy had said, not really believing that her partner was still alive. She was certain that Ruby was dead, much like everyone else she had ever loved was.
"But I gotta say, I sure am feeling great about you being part of our group from now on," the donkey faunus said. "Ruby always spoke highly about her teammates, saying that they were the best people you could have on your side. If you're anything like what she said, I'm sure you'll be a great help to us!"
The heiress said nothing in return, as she didn't really care about what Eloy was saying. Right now, all that she cared about was getting out of this world and doing what she was always supposed to do, turn the SDC back on the right track.
Eloy's ears suddenly perked up and he began to move faster, while dragging Weiss behind him. They went and hid themselves inside a small building, which turned out to be a storage for all sorts of tools. The two survivors peeked through the window and saw The Trapper walking nearby again.
"Why did he come here?" Weiss whispered. "Does he know where we are?"
"It can't be," Eloy whispered in response. "As far as I know, we haven't made any loud noises. There's no way that he knows we are here."
The two survivors looked in silence as The Trapper stood in the middle of the field, looking around. The killer's gaze suddenly turned towards them, causing the duo to hide. But when they looked again they saw The Trapper walking away, seemingly deciding to look elsewhere for his prey.
"Well, that sure was scary," Eloy said as he let out a sigh of relief. "I'm gonna look through some of this stuff and see if there's anything useful. Once I'm done, we can go look for the others."
Weiss nodded in response and waited as the donkey faunus looked around. As this was happening, the heiress suddenly heard something. The sound came from behind the door and was mechanical, like something was being set up.
Despite hearing this sound, Weiss didn't say anything. She had a sudden idea.
"This isn't much, but I did find a toolbox. Maybe Graham can use it to fix the generators," Eloy said after finishing his search. He then walked to the door and got ready to open it. "Alright, you ready? Let's get-"
As soon as the donkey faunus stepped through the door, his foot landed right into a bear trap that had been set up just outside. The trap immediately closed on his leg with the metallic jaws digging deep into his flesh. Eloy let out a pained scream as he fell to the ground.
Before the faunus could even try to free his leg from the trap, The Trapper appeared from behind the corner and walked up to him. No matter how much Eloy tried to struggle, he couldn't stop the killer from simply picking him up and carrying him away.
As he was being taken away, the donkey faunus managed to get one last look towards the storage he had been hiding with Weiss, hoping to see the white-haired girl rushing towards him in an attempt at rescuing him. However, his heart was broken by the feeling of betrayal as he saw Weiss simply sneak away, not even giving one look towards him.
It was at that moment that Eloy realized what had happened. The heiress had used him as a sacrificial lamb so that she could get away safely. Tears fell from the donkey faunus' eyes as he was being taken away to be sacrificed to The Entity.
Back with Yang, the blonde girl had managed to calm herself at least somewhat. Her cries had lessened and were just silent sniffles at this point. Yang still felt terrified over what she had just gone through, as she could still feel that massive, dark presence. The brawler couldn't stop thinking about it, no matter what she tried. It was actually scarier than The Trapper himself.
Suddenly, the door to the locker that Yang was hiding in was opened, revealing Victoria on the other side. The blue-haired woman had a worried look on her face, as she looked at the blonde girl.
"Yang, are you alright?" Victoria asked in a worried tone. "I heard someone crying and came here immediately. Did something happen? And where's Eloy?"
"I-I don't know where Eloy is," Yang answered while trying to hold back her crying. "We were discovered by The Trapper and got separated. However, he went after me, instead of Eloy, so he should be fine."
"I see that you didn't exactly escape without a scratch," the blue-haired woman said, noticing the wound on the brawler's arm. "If you both managed to get away, then what's gotten into you? I don't think that simply facing one of the killers in this world could be enough to scare you to the point of tears."
"It's... hard to explain. I kind of encountered something that I wasn't ready for," Yang answered. "I'll try my best to explain it later. What about the others? Are they alright?"
"Yeah, the rest of the group is okay. Graham and I managed to fix the generator and even found Bill and Lucy. Now we just need to find Eloy and we can get out of this damn realm. We should also fix that arm of yours."
The blonde nodded and got up to follow Victoria, who took her to the rest of the group. Once they were together, Bill put some bandages on Yang's arm to stope the wound from bleeding. Luckily for her, the cut wasn't all that deep, so there was no need for further treatment.
As they were looking for Eloy, Yang told the group about what had happened. She told them about the note they found, how she and Eloy were separated and also about what she had discovered in the tunnel. The others were quite surprised to hear that their comrade had encountered something that could actually be more frightening than the killers themselves.
"So you didn't actually see this thing, but instead you sort of sensed it?" Graham asked, somewhat interested by what he had just heard. "Can you describe it somehow?"
"I don't think I can," Yang answered and shook her head lightly. "Like I said, I have no idea what that thing was, as it was hidden deep underground. All I can say is that when I felt it all of my senses were just telling me to run away. Whatever that thing was, I don't want to face it at all."
"Let's hope that none of us have to do that," the blonde man said. "Besides, we are going to escape from this world anyways, so we won't have to worry about anything that's in here in the end, right?"
"I know, it's just... I just can't stop thinking about that thing," the brawler said. "It just felt so strange and dangerous. It was like the biggest monster was hiding right behind that wall and could have come to take me whenever it had wanted."
"It's best to simply try and ignore these things, kid," Bill suddenly said and placed a comforting hand on Yang's shoulder. "I know from experience that sometimes you face things you can't really do anything about. At moments like that all you can really do is try to move on and ignore it to the best of your abilities."
The blonde girl nodded at the old soldier's advice, but it didn't make her feel all that better. She knew that there was something out there that was more powerful than the killers and it scared her. Yang wasn't sure if it was The Entity or something else, but she knew it was close and dangerous.
As the group went on to find Eloy, the brawler noticed something very white moving around. She focused her full attention on it before her eyes went wide upon recognizing what it was. Yang suddenly ran towards what she had found with her group soon following after her, wondering what suddenly got into the blonde girl.
The reason for Yang's sudden excitement was that she had seen someone she thought was dead. It was Weiss Schnee, her teammate and friend.
The heiress heard someone running towards her and turned around in time to see a familiar blonde girl running towards her. Weiss' eyes went wide as well, as she had thought that Yang had died along with Blake.
The white-haired girl was soon wrapped in a tight hug, as the brawler held onto her with tears of joy falling from her eyes.
"W-Weiss! I-I didn't that you- that you were-" Yang struggled to speak, as her crying was making it difficult. "I-I-I swear that I had no idea you were-"
"It's okay, Yang. It's okay," Weiss said, returning the hug and even had a small smile on her face with a single tear falling from her eye. "I didn't think I would see you again either."
By this point, the people in Yang's group had made their way to the two hugging girls.
"Hey, Yang, who is this person?" Victoria asked. "I can see that she is someone very important to you, but I would like to know exactly who she is."
The blonde girl wiped away her tears and git ready to introduce her friend to the group.
"Guys, this is Weiss Schnee, the heiress to the SDC," Yang said. "She is also one of my best friends and teammate from Beacon."
"One of Ruby's teammates? Well, that is certainly good news," Graham said with a smile. "I wasn't aware that there were others left from your team, besides Yang. It is truly a good thing that we met."
"Thank you," Weiss said to the group and even gave them a small bow. "If you're traveling with Yang, I hope that I may join your group. I feel like it would be beneficial to all of us."
"Well, of course you're joining us!" Yang said happily. "There's no way that I was going to lose you again! I want us all to get out of this horrible world, so I need you with me, Weiss!"
"That is good to hear," the heiress said with a small smile. "I also happened to meet someone who told me that your group had a plan to escape from this world. This is also one of the reasons why I would like to join you."
"You met someone who told you about us?" Graham asked in surprise with the other members of the group equally shocked. "Was this person perhaps a donkey faunus by the name of Eloy?"
"Indeed it was. He told me about how you were all following notes left by Ruby in order to get out of this world," Weiss answered. "I happened to meet him not too long ago."
"Do you know where he is?" Victoria asked. "We have been looking for him for some time now and could leave this realm once we find him."
"I'm afraid that's not going to happen," the white-haired girl said, confusing the others. "The last I saw him, he had stepped into a bear trap and was being taken away by the killer of this realm."
Hearing that their friend was gone shook everyone in the group. They had all been hoping that they could get out of this world without losing anymore of their friends. Yang was especially saddened by this, as she started to blame herself for Eloy's death. After all, she was supposed to be his partner, but she got separated from him. If she had stayed together with the donkey faunus, he might still be there with them.
Victoria seemed to notice her blonde friend's inner turmoil and put an comforting arm around Yang's shoulders, hoping to snap her out of her thoughts.
"Hey, this wasn't your fault, okay?" the blue-haired woman said. "You did all you could, but in this world it isn't always enough. You can't blame yourself for this and you need to move forward. For the sake of all of those who have died so far."
"I-I know... It's just- I just can't help but think that I could have done something different," Yang said. "If I had stayed with him, maybe he wouldn't have gotten taken away."
"While that might be true, there is also a chance that you would have both been caught," Victoria said. "Besides, you can't change what has already happened. You need to look forward and focus on the future."
The brawler gave a simple nof as a response. She might have been feeling slightly better, but not by much. Eloy's death was still weighing heavily on her mind.
"Well, since there's nothing we can do anymore, I suppose we might as well all get out of here," Graham stated. "We already know the next place we need to go to, so there's no use to us wasting time here."
The whole group agreed with the blonde man and they made their way to the exit gate with their newest addition to their group. None of them knew yet just what kind of a danger they had invited to their group, as they headed towards the location of Ruby's next note, the realm of The Huntress.
Author's notes: It was kind of sad for me to kill Eloy, as I really liked his character in the original series from which he came from. However, this is how the story is supposed to play out, so it couldn't be helped all that much.
When I started writing this story, I knew that there were two killers that I was going to use. The first one was The Huntress, as she is my favorite of all the Dead by Daylight killers. The other one was The Trapper, since he is pretty much the face of the whole game. Not using him would have just felt wrong.
Anyways, next time we will see The Huntress. Hope you guys check it out.
Until next time.
RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Dead by Daylight belongs to Behaviour Interactive.