Dead By Roselight

Chapter 25: The Red Forest

Some time had passed since Yang's group had managed to get out of The Trapper's realm and everyone was silent. All the losses they had been suffering were taking their toll on everybody's morale, leaving every person struck by grief.

Despite feeling sadness over the loss of Eloy, Yang felt at least some relief with finding Weiss. The fact that at least one of her friends that had gone with her to search for Ruby had survived was something she was truly happy for. The blonde might have lost the others, but at least one of her best friends was still around.

However, Yang had found something rather strange about her teammate. While Weiss wasn't exactly a noisy person, she was being unusually quiet. Normally the heiress would have had at least something to say, but right now she was being even less talkative than Blake, which was saying a lot. The brawler assumed that being stuck in this world must have forced Weiss to go through quite a lot, which was possibly the reason for her silence.

"Hey, Weiss," Yang called out to the white-haired girl. "Is everything alright with you?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Weiss answered. "Why do you ask?"

"It's just that you've been completely silent for some time now," the blonde explained. "I was just wondering if something had happened to you, while we were separated."

"Well, a lot has certainly happened," the heiress said, thinking back to everything she had seen so far. Blake, Nora, Ren and Jaune getting killed, Pyrrha turning into a killer herself, the loss of Klein and all the people she had to sacrifice in order to make it this far, including Eloy. "A lot of bad things for sure. This world is... a very difficult thing to handle."

"Yeah, I know. I've had my fair share of bad experiences as well," Yang said with a sad sigh, thinking about all the people that she had lost. "However, I'm sure we are going to get out of here. With the help of Ruby's notes, I'm certain that we'll find a way out. We just need to stick together and look out for each other, so that no one else has to die."

"I know," Weiss said, her mind only on her goal of getting back to their world to fix her family's legacy, and how much she was willing to sacrifice for it. "We have to keep in mind what's truly important, even in here."

While the brawler didn't notice anything too alarming about her friend, someone else did. Bill was looking at Weiss with suspicion in his eyes. There was something about the way the white-haired girl spoke that set off alarm bells in the old veteran's head. Somehow he knew that something was wrong with Weiss and that it was dangerous to all of them. He just needed to find out what it was before it was too late.

As the group made their way through the foggy fields, the terrain around them suddenly changed. First the air began to feel colder, like they were in a much more northern part of the world, like Atlas. Soon after the change in temperature, the area around them became much different. They had walked into a thick forest with very tall tress, along with vegetation that wasn't familiar to most of them.

"What the-? These plants... they're similar to ones you can see in Atlas," Weiss said, recognizing some of the plants around them. "How is this possible?"

"The Entity is able to recreate things from our world in order to create whatever type of environments it wants. I'm guessing this area has been modeled after Atlas," Graham said while looking around. "This is also the area of The Huntress."

Without saying a word, Yang immediately took out Ruby's diary and looked for the entry on the killer they would be facing. It wasn't long until she found The Huntress' entry.

This world holds all sorts of strange beings as killers, but the killer known as The Huntress is strange in a rather special way. While most of the killers seem to be nothing more than mindless monsters, The Huntress seems to have something in her that's almost like a hint of humanity. I have heard strange tales and seen her do strange things that set her apart from all the other killers. Not only is she constantly singing a strange song that's like a lullaby, but I have heard that The Huntress has also shown mercy to little girls. Instead of attacking them, she has taken them with her, but I have no idea where she takes the girls. All I have heard is that The Huntress acts very differently with them, almost like she cares about her captives.

However, you shouldn't think for a second that The Huntress is anything else than a monstrous killer. Many have fallen victim to her, so you must be on your guard not to end up like that.

Out of all the killers I have encountered, The Huntress is the only one with a long-range weapon. Her regular weapon of choice is a large two-handed axe, but she also carries around small hatchets that she throws with one hand. She is very skillful with her throwing weapons, as she can hit targets that are very far away. If The Huntress spots you, you won't be safe even if you manage to put distance between yourself and her. Add the fact that The Huntress seems to be an excellent tracker and you have one of the most dangerous killers of this world.

One of the best methods for dealing with The Huntress is to try and move as wildly and unpredictably as possible while using looking for cover. Depending on how you move may make a difference between staying alive or getting hit with a hatchet. The Huntress can also carry only five hatchets with her at once, which means that you can essentially count how many weapons she can throw at you. Once she has run out of hatchets, you should be able to run away from her like all the other killers.

There's is also one other thing that should be mentioned. Despite being skillful at hunting, The Huntress seems to have a small flaw in her actions that can help you locate her before she sees you. She is constantly singing a lullaby, which can very easily give away her location. Keep your ears open and you might be able to avoid her before it's too late.

Yang closed the diary with a slightly confused look on her face. The Huntress seemed to be a very dangerous killer, but there was something about Ruby's notes that puzzled the blonde. The redhead had mentioned the possibility of the killer kidnapping little girls for some unknown reason. Ruby had even said that it's almost like a hint of humanity in The Huntress. That was definitely something Yang would have never expected to see in these notes.

However, the brawler decided not to think too much about it, since it most likely didn't matter all that much in the end. Humanity or not, the killers of this world were all threats to anyone who was unlucky enough to end up in here. The only thing any of them could do was try to avoid the killers while trying to find a way back to their own world.

The group came to a sudden stop as Graham raised up his hand as a signal. He then motioned for everyone to follow him quietly, as they all began to sneak forward. It didn't take long until they all saw what had caught the blonde man's attention.

There was a dead body on the ground with a small hatches buried deep into its back.

"I take it that this is the work of The Huntress, right?" Yang asked quietly, not wanting to possibly alert the killer to their position.

"Your assumption is correct. This is a clear sign that we have stepped into her territory," Graham answered. "When you're dealing with The Huntress you can never get far away enough from her. The moment you think that is the moment this happens to you."

"So, what do we do now?" Weiss asked, hoping to get out of this realm as soon as possible. "What exactly is our plan?"

"I want you to go with Bill to look around the area and see if you can find anything useful. I'll go with Victoria to work on the generator, and Lucy will go with Yang to see what Ruby left in here," the blonde man explained. "Keep your eyes and ears open. If you get noticed by The Huntress first, it could be too late for you."

The group once again split up with each pair going to a different direction. It didn't take long until Yang couldn't see any of her companions, as they had all disappeared into the woods surrounding them.

Now that the blonde was alone with Lucy, she decided that it was a good time to talk to the cat faunus. Not only did she feel like she needed to thank Lucy for saving her life from The Nurse, but Yang also wanted to ask about something.

"Hey, Lucy?" the brawler called out to the pink-haired girl, getting her attention. "I forgot to say this due to everything that's been happening, but I wanted to say thank you for rescuing me from The Nurse. If you hadn't been there, I'm sure I would have gotten myself killed out there."

"W-Wait... I saved you?" Lucy asked, her eyes showing genuine confusion. "When did this happen?"

"What are you talking about?" Yang asked in return. "This happened when we were in The Nurse's realm. I came running towards you with her chasing after me. You then got her attention and kept her from going after me, thus allowing me to escape. How did you forget that?"

"Oh... I guess it wasn't me who did that," the cat faunus said, confusing her partner even more. "That must have been my other self. I was wondering why my memories from that time were all hazy."

"What do you mean by that? Are you saying you turned into another person entirely or something?" the blonde kept asking, wondering just what the faunus girl was talking about.

"Kind of. I'm a bit of a special person," Lucy began to explain. "You see, I never had any parents as a child. I was forced to grow up in an orphanage that wasn't exactly a nice place. The other kids there were very mean and often bullied me, and the people working there weren't all that helpful. It kept getting worse with every day, until my other self was suddenly born. Another Lucy living inside of me."

"So you're saying that you have a split personality? That explains why you became so different so suddenly," Yang said, thinking back to the time Lucy saved her from The Nurse. "I have to say that it seems to be quite useful. Thanks to that I'm still alive."

"While I will admit that having the other Lucy can be useful, I wish that I didn't have her in me," the cat faunus said. "The other Lucy was essentially born to keep me safe and to protect me from harm. Whenever I'm threatened, she takes over and handles the situation I'm in, while I remain completely ignorant to what happens. When the other Lucy takes over, it feels like I suddenly fall unconscious before waking up again once everything is cleared. Even though I have been saved by this, it has been more of a curse than a blessing."

"How come? So far it seems to have been quite useful."

"In here I can see my other self to be very useful, but it's not always like that. Not only is it quite horrifying to lose control over your own body with no idea what is happening, my other personality can trigger unexpectedly with terrible consequences," Lucy explained. "The other Lucy is essentially my exact opposite in personality. She is brave, strong and confident. However, she is also very violent, aggressive and even brutal. If I'm not careful, I might accidentally trigger her awakening by simply feeling very nervous, which can result to something horrible happening. Many people have been hurt because I haven't been able to keep her in check properly. Because of that I even ended up here."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Due to me being a "ticking time bomb", I became a freak of nature that people either avoided or tried to drive away from their communities. Due to that I ended up living like a hermit in the middle of a junkyard while fearing for my life every day. I was not only afraid that someone I had harmed would come and seek vengeance against me, but that the other Lucy would take over and do something even worse. Even now I can't help but fear what might happen to me if-"

Lucy's ramblings were cut off by Yang putting a comforting arm around the smaller girl's shoulders. The blonde held her close in order to calm her down as much as possible.

"Don't worry. The others and I will be here to help you and keep you safe," Yang said. "Besides, you're a lot stronger than you think. You've been able to survive here for so long and even managed to turn something that caused you problems into something helpful. Be it your other personality or not, you still saved me from The Nurse. I swear that I will repay you for that, no matter what it takes."

"T-Thank you, Yang," Lucy said with a slight blush on her face, having not expected her partner to act in such a way. "Usually when people find out about my special condition they get scared and try to avoid me."

"Well, you kind of remind me of my sister, actually," the blonde explained with a small smile.

"R-Really? I remind you of Ruby?" the cat faunus asked wide-eyed.

"You sure do. Ruby used to be quite scared and shy back in the day," Yang answered as she began to think back to her days as a small girl with her sister. "When she was little, Ruby didn't have the courage to go and make friends with others. Because of that the other kids around her began to see her as weird, which wasn't helped by Ruby's obsession with weapons. It wasn't until we made it to Beacon that she finally began to truly open up to others and make friends with people around her. That's why you kind of remind me of her."

"Wow... When she was leading our group, she always seemed so strong and determined that it's kind of hard to imagine her being shy at all," Lucy said in wonder. "I guess people can turn out to be much different once you get to know them, huh?"

"Well, she may be a bit of a shy dork, but she is still a badass in the end," the brawler replied. "There have been numerous times she honestly surprised me by just how-"

Yang stopped telling her story when she suddenly heard something. The sound could only be heard faintly, but it was getting stronger and closer to them. Thanks to Ruby's diary, the blonde immediately knew what it was.

It was the sound of humming. The Huntress was getting closer to them.

Both Yang and Lucy immediately hid into some nearby bushes and waited quietly, as the humming just kept getting closer and closer. It didn't take long until they both saw The Huntress come into view, looking for her next prey.

The Huntress was an incredibly tall woman, easily taller than even Yatsuhashi. She was also very well-built, as she had some very big muscles on her arms. The killer wore what seemed to be a white sweater and blue pants that were held up by brown suspenders. She was also wearing what seemed like a long, dark blue skirt that revealed her left leg. The Huntress also had long black hair and was wielding a large two-handed axe. She also had a few small hatchets attached to her belt. But the strangest thing about the killer was the white rabbit mask that covered the upper half of her face.

Yang watched in silence as The Huntress calmly walked through the field while continuing to hum. The song sounded like a lullaby of some sort, as it reminded the brawler of the songs Summer used to sing to her and Ruby when they were little.

The two survivors waited silently in the bushes for the killer to leave, so that they could go and look for Ruby's next message. Unfortunately, it seemed that The Huntress had decided to stay there for some reason, leaving them stuck in their hiding spot.

"Why is she just standing there? Isn't she going to go look for anyone?" Yang whispered to her partner. "Does she know that we are here or something?"

"I-I don't know," Lucy answered. "Usually the killers roam around their realms, looking for new victims. It doesn't make any sense for her to simply stand there and-"

The cat faunus' sentence was cut off by The Huntress suddenly pulling out one of her hatchets and throwing it. Luckily for the two girls hiding in the bushes, neither of them had been the target. Instead, the killer had thrown her weapon at a woman that had been hiding behind a nearby tree and had tried to sneak away. The hatchet flew though the air and landed right into the woman's leg, bringing her down to the ground and leaving her at the mercy of The Huntress.

Having managed to take down her prey, the masked woman walked up to the victim who was crying in pain on the ground. The Huntress then picked her up and carried her to become the newest sacrifice.

Once they were certain that the killer had left, Yang and Lucy got out from their hiding spot. Both were pale and shaking a bit from what they had just witnessed. Even if they had already witnessed many deaths in this world, there was no way either of them would ever get used to it.

Without even saying a word, the two survivors went on to continue looking for Ruby's message. It didn't take long until they discovered the place the redhead had most likely described in her last message. The building was very small and had smoke coming out of it, most likely from The Huntress smoking meat like the not had said.

Before going in, Yang and Lucy peeked in through the entrance of the building to see what it was like inside. Due to the smoke that covered the inside of the place, neither of them could really see all that well. They did see a large fire in the middle of the ground, and they could smell something that wasn't smoke. It was the smell of blood.

Both survivors entered the building, expecting to see deer and other animals hanging from the ceiling. However, they were horrified to find dead human bodies that had been cut up hanging from the ceiling to have their meat smoked.

Yang somehow managed to hold her composure, but Lucy couldn't do it. The pink-haired girl threw up on the ground, having been thoroughly sickened by the smell and the sight before her eyes.

"Lucy, you go wait outside, okay?" the brawler said to her partner. "You keep watch in case The Huntress comes here while I go look for Ruby's note. There's no need for both of us to look for it."

"O-Okay..." Lucy answered weakly, as she went outside. She knew exactly why Yang had suggested that they would split up like this, which she was a bit ashamed of. Despite that, she still realized that she wouldn't be of much help with looking for the note. The cat faunus was certain that the smell of blood and gore would cause her to pass out.

With her partner now waiting outside, Yang went to search the place for the note. She pulled up her scarf to cover her nose and mouth in order to make breathing at least a bit easier, even if it didn't really help all that much. The blonde looked around the place, wondering what would be the best place for Ruby to hide her note. She soon saw a staircase that led up and decided to start her search from there.

Once she had made her way up the stairs, Yang could breath at least a bit better, as there was an open window that allowed fresh air to blow in. Thanks to this, neither the smoke nor the smell of bodies were as bad as they were on the lower level.

The brawler looked around for any sign of Ruby's note and eventually found a piece of her sister's cloak tied around one of the support beams of the staircase. She went to have a closer look at it and found Ruby's next note.

Yang wasted no time in taking the piece of paper and making her way back to Lucy. Even if she wanted to read the note as soon as possible, the blonde couldn't stand the smell of smoke and gore anymore. Both she and Lucy were soon a good distance away from the building, which allowed them to finally breathe more easily.

Once they had managed to breathe in some fresh air, Yang wasted no time in opening the note and reading its contents.

I'm afraid that I'm going to have to start this note in a sad way. When we were in this realm, Louis was unfortunately not able to make it. The Huntress got him in the leg with one of her hatchets, thus making him easy prey for the killer. We did want to save him, but he told us to leave him behind. It was... hard for me to simply abandon one of my comrades like that. I have always dreamed of becoming a hero, and what kind of a hero leaves their own behind?

However, I will not let his death be in vain. I will find a way out of this world and then I'll go see the families of all those people that were lost along the way. I refuse to let their lives to simply be forgotten.

As for the reason I came to this realm, we were able to find the researcher's stuff. Luckily for us, his notes had not been damaged, so we were able to read what he had been working on.

What we found came as a shock.

His notes talked about two very special realms that only few have seen and even fewer had come back from alive. These realms house such terrifying killers that those that have faced them are barely able to talk about them. I can only imagine what frightening monsters we are about to face.

But other than housing the most dangerous killers of this world, these realms also seemingly hold something very special in them. The first one holds a key that is unlike any other key you can find here. Normally the keys in this world are used to open up chests more easily, but this key is different. Apparently, it doesn't fit in the lock of any chest or even door you can find here, and it can disappear with time.

What is the key used on then? That's where the second realm comes in. There are apparently two special exits in this realm. One is a gate that will not open even if you power up the generator and the other one is a hatch. The theory is that one of these two exits has to be the way out of here, but which one? I think it's the gate, since I have already sort of come into contact with whatever lies underground, and I don't want to see it.

No matter what the truth might be, I have to try this out. I have no other ideas on how to get out of here, so I need to do all I can to get out of here with my companions.

I will go to the realm that supposedly holds the special key I'll need. From what I've heard, the realm is a rather strange one. The first sign of you getting close to it is that you'll see ash falling from the sky. Soon after that you'll come up to a large metal door in the middle of the field. When you walk through that door, you'll enter a large boiler room. That's the realm of the killer known as The Nightmare.

I can only hope that we are ready to face whatever this realm holds for us.

Before I end this message, I want to mention one more thing. From what I've learned, both the key and the two special exits have a signature carved into them. It's the name "Vigo."

Just who is this Vigo and what were they trying to accomplish?

Ruby Rose, leader of team RWBY in Beacon Academy.

After reading the note, Yang closed it and put it in her pocket. There were clear signs of worry on the blonde's face, as she thought about what she had just learned. Her dear sister had apparently gone to face things that are even more dangerous than what she had been facing until now. This was definitely a horrifying idea for Yang. She could only hope that Ruby had made it out alive from these new realms she had learned about.

"Well, this is certainly something new to me," Lucy said, bringing the brawler out of her thoughts. "While I knew that there were a lot of realms and killers in this world, I have never heard of this one. Not to mention that it's apparently more dangerous than everything I have faced up until now. Makes you wonder just what lies in there, huh?"

"Yeah, but it's not like we have a choice," Yang said. "As far as we know, this could be the only possible way out of this world, so we have to take it. Not to mention, even if this wasn't the way out of here, I would still go. This is the path Ruby went and I will not give up on looking for her, no matter what."

The cat faunus gave a nod, agreeing with her partner. Even if she wasn't related to Ruby, Lucy still felt like she owed the redhead for helping her, so she wanted to find her as well. The pink-haired girl was certain that the other members of their group felt similarly about this, too.

With their work done, the two girls started to make their way towards where they would meet the others. They made their way through the forest quickly and quietly, making sure not to attract the attention of The Huntress.

However, as they were making their way past a large cottage, they both heard something that made them stop. It was the sound of a crying little girl and it was coming from the cottage. Both survivors looked at each other before going in the building to investigate.

Luckily for the two, there was an open window that they could climb through and get inside. Once they had gotten in, they looked around themselves to get an idea of their surroundings. The cottage seemed mostly normal with the only exception being the large amount of animal skins that were lining the walls. There were pelts for deer, wolves and even bears. As Yang carefully made her way forward a bit more, she discovered what seemed to be a staircase that led to a basement. The stairs were covered in blood and there was a horrible smell of blood and gore coming from where the stairs led to, making it a place the two survivors didn't want to investigate

However, much to the horror of both Yang and Lucy, the sound of the crying girl was coming from the basement. It seemed like they had no choice but to go and investigate it.

With careful steps the duo made their way down the stairs to the basement, hoping that they wouldn't make any sounds that could alert The Huntress. After they had made their way to the basement, Yang and Lucy took a look at the area to see if they could find the girl they were looking for. Unfortunately, the basement was too dark for either of them to see properly, but luckily the blonde still had the flashlight she had found in The Hillbilly's realm. She took it out and began to light up the basement for both of them to see.

As the flashlight's light moved around, it revealed all sorts of horrifying sights to Yang and Lucy. Blood covering both the floor and the walls, severed limbs, dead bodies and bloodied hooks hanging from the ceiling. The two survivors were somewhat glad that they couldn't see everything ahead of them, as they were sure it would have been a scene straight from a nightmare.

After a bit of looking around, Yang was finally able to find the crying girl. She was curled up in a corner of the room, facing the wall and crying against her arms. The girl looked like she was at best six years old and was wearing a dress that was covered in dirt and filth. She had long black hair that reached her back and seemed to be very thin.

Despite the light from the flashlight pointing straight at her, the girl didn't seem to care or notice. She seemed to refuse to turn around and simply stayed still, continuing to weep.

"Hey. Are you okay there, kid?" Yang called out to the child in a comforting tone while approaching her at the same time. "Are you hurt? Did the big lady in the rabbit mask hurt you? Don't worry. We'll get you out of here, so you don't have to fear her anymore."

As they were walking towards the girl, Lucy couldn't help but have a confused frown come to her face. Something was wrong with this whole situation. Like it was all some sort of a trap.

"Kid? Can you hear me?" Yang asked the child, having walked up to the girl by now. The brawler knelt next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "You can stop crying now, as we-"

Upon placing a hand on the child's shoulder, her head began to tilt back before turning around, revealing her face to Yang and Lucy. Both survivors felt their blood run cold upon seeing the little girl's face. Or what was left of it at least.

The girl's face was that of a rotting corpse with both her eyes completely gone, leaving only empty black holes. Her skin was grayish green from being decomposed and was drained from all life. There were even small, white maggots crawling over her face, showing that this child had died a long time ago.

Both Yang and Lucy stepped back with their faces pale and faces in expressions of terror. The blonde's hand that was holding the flashlight was shaking violently as it was still pointed at the dead child.

"O-Okay... We need to get the hell out of here right now before-" Yang began to say while struggling to keep herself calm, only for something else to cut her off.

It was a very angry scream that came from a woman. Yang and Lucy both knew immediately that the scream belonged to The Huntress, and they knew by judging the sound that she was both very unhappy and very close.

Author's notes: Besides The Trapper, one killer that I knew I was going to use was The Huntress, as she is my favorite killer in Dead by Daylight. There was no way I was not going to have her appear here.

I know I was supposed to explain Lucy's deal earlier, but since I keep switching between the different stories I'm working on, I tend to forget things. Besides, I feel like explaining her background here felt more natural.

The whole thing about Lucy's split personality is based one the series she's from, as she apparently has multiple personalities in Elfen Lied as well. I wanted to make that essentially the reason she ended up in The Entity's world and also the thing that's been keeping her alive.

The whole bit with the child in The Huntress' home was something I came up with from a combination of a certain review to this story and discussions I've been having about the game itself. A member by the name of lion0 suggested that The Huntress could have a young child as captive, as that's part of her backstory. TM Calypso, whom I've been talking with about the game, gave me the idea of The Entity essentially trying to control The Huntress by giving it little children.

It was because of these two things that I came up with what I put in my story here. The Huntress takes little girls as her captives, but can't take care of them, which causes the children to die. The Entity then uses its powers to make it seem like the children are still alive in order to control The Huntress and to fool other survivors to come to The Huntress' home, where they end up as easy prey.

Thanks to both TM Calypso and lion0 for giving me the idea.

There are still a couple of quick things I wish to say here. First, I'm going to be putting a lot more focus on this story, so that I can finally finish it. We are currently getting pretty close to the end, so I wish to end this story and move on to something else.

Second, I'll be trying to change this story from being simply a RWBY fanfic to being a RWBY and Dead by Daylight crossover. This will mean that you won't be able to find this story under RWBY category, but you'll have to look for it in the crossover section. This is so that people will have a better idea of what kind of a story it is.

Until next time.

RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Dead by Daylight belongs to Behaviour Interactive.