You did not win any candy. None. Zilch. Everyone else won at least one piece, but you couldn't win even one of the games Ruby planned. Nobody could really believe it either, but there was humour in seeing you whine and cry when you lost every game. Ruby, despite being a caring girlfriend, refused to even give you a nibble of anything she won. She smiles at you as she gobbled up the candy, then would tell you to "Just win a game and you'll get some." That advice was pointless since you NEVER WON ALL NIGHT!
But still, it was more than fun. Everyone was laughing, having fun, and taking a break after everything that has happened inside school and out. Beacon hasn't been the easiest time, but it's definitely been the most fun of all places you've been. Though that could be attributed to the people rather than the place. Shade Academy had some friends as well, along with those… interesting people at Atlas. But no doubt Beacon has been the most fun, if the most hectic.
Alas, your victory never came. As the games went on so did the time, and you were left with no candy as everyone else nibbled on theirs for the night. Though as they all rubbed it in your face that you had no candy people starting heading back to their dorms. It started with Nora and Ren, then Blake, then Weiss, then Pyrrha and Jaune, then Yang. All that's left in your dorm is yourself, Ruby and Dylan. The only real difference is that Dylan and Ruby are no longer in their costumes. You get why they both did it – Dylan because he hated your hard work, and Ruby because she's most comfortable in her hood.
You and Ruby sit beside each other on your bed while Dylan attempts to sleep. You're looking through the book of games and rules that Ruby found in the library, laughing at some of the things you guys didn't get around to doing and planning how to subject Weiss into these activities. However this whole time, despite laughing and having fun, you can tell Ruby has something on her mind that she doesn't want to say.
"Hey, Little Red… what's up?" You whisper, letting Dylan sleep.
"What? Nothing, I was just laughing at this one," she responds, pointing to another game.
"No, I mean something's bugging you, I can tell. What is it?"
Ruby's façade drops instantly as she huffs.
"Well… I didn't want to bring it up, but… there was one part that was more than just games, but I didn't want to bring it up to the group." You raise your brow, gesturing her to go on. "I mean, there's one part where we visit the ones we've lost, and I thought maybe… we could visit your parents? You haven't taken me there and I kinda want to go, but if you don't want to its fine this whole thing was more for fun anyway," she tries to play off.
You chuckle, though in a more thoughtful way than your usual chuckles.
"You're right… I haven't brought you there… I never really thought about it… huh" You rub your chin before eying Ruby. "I mean… I already went through all the trouble of dressing up and playing your games… I suppose we can go, but not for long. It is late."
"It doesn't have to be long! We'll be back before anyone knows we're gone!"
You hop off the bed, readjusting to the costume.
"Alright," you submit. "Grab what you need."
Ruby swipes her book of games and another book she has, then leaps beside you, happy as ever.
"Ready!"
She intertwines her hand with yours as you lock-on to your home. It takes about thirty seconds of silence and concentration before Ruby feels herself leap to another locations, giving her a weird feeling in her stomach. But, it worked. You and Ruby stand before your village, the broken moon of Remnant being the only light allowing you to see. You both look around, making sure there are no stray Grimm. Thankfully its clear, and you both move on.
"So, you want to visit my parents' grave?"
Ruby nods.
"Alright, follow me."
You lead Ruby up to the hill where your parents are, which is a short distance away. Ruby stays right by your side as you bring her to the hill. She spots the two gravestones right away, as they're the only notable things on the hill. You bring her to the memorial stones and stop in front of them, respecting your deceased mother and father. Ruby stays silent beside you whilst keeping her hand locked with yours for support. It's still hard for her when she visits her mother's grave, so she knows how you must be feeling when standing here with one more dead parent than Ruby.
"Does it feel weird to be here?" Ruby speaks.
You shake your head.
"No… I mean, kind of, but…" You hold her hand tighter, but still caringly. "It's easier with you here," you say, not looking at her.
Ruby blushes at your comment, but she still smiles. Your little compliments spread out through the day always bring her so much joy, and make her feel special in a way that she's never felt before.
In the spirit of the small holiday Ruby took from the book, she comes up with a little joke plan. She grabs her second book… the book you gave her. She's no longer dressed as a witch, but she can still have fun with the novelty book you got her. She opens up a random page and slips away from you, standing closer to the gravestones. You look at her, confused at what she's doing. She's smiling, confident, and has a plan.
"Don't worry, my friend! I, the witch Ruby, will fix your problems!"
"Little Red, what are you…"
Ruby looks down at a page and starts reading out what it says, which doesn't make sense to you or her.
"Calash no cipo ie bae hala!" She recites in an overdramatic voice, waving her hand around the gravestones.
But nothing happens, as expected.
"Little Red… what're you doing?" You chuckle, repeating yourself.
Ruby giggles, shrugging.
"Just having fun with these fake spells you got me," she happily admits, hoping she got your spirits up.
You shake your head, walking to her side, turning around, and leading her away from the stones.
"Well, it put a smile on my face, so I'd say that's a spell you've mastered."
Ruby's glowing at your words. She's glad her little skit worked to her advantage. But something catches her eyes as she looks to you. Something is glowing behind her, the source seeming to come from the village. It's getting closer and closer at a breakneck speed.
Ruby slips out of your hands and pushes you to the side.
"Lookout!"
You're knocked on your side, lying on the floor utterly confused. You look up at Ruby, ready to question her, but all fun is thrown out the window when some glowing ball passes through her, dragging her a foot into the air before dropping her face first on the ground.
"RUBY!"
You scramble off your feet and to her side. She's pale, more so than she usually is, and her breathing is extremely light. On top of that… you don't feel her aura. It's like it's gone, drained. You hold her in your arms, shaking her so her eyes will open.
"Ruby! Ruby open your eyes, come on!" You shout.
As much as you want to be helping your girlfriend, a strong glow catches your attention. You look towards it, the same direction the ball dragged Ruby.
The ball is shifting, growing, morphing into something else. It grows a body, then legs, arms, a head. Somehow clothing starts to mold around the body that… looks exactly like Ruby's outfit, hood and everything. As colour finally comes to the figure, you realize the only visual difference between Ruby and this thing is what's normally red on Ruby is now an orange. Even the overall stature of this new presence resembles Ruby; from height to body type. The figure descends to the ground, their boots softly landing on the grass. It looks up at you, glowing eyes breaking through the darkness that the hood casts over their face.
"Who are you? What did you do to Ruby?" You angrily shout.
The figure tilts their head as they look at you, almost like they're observing you… studying you.
"S… S… S…" A broken English echoes out of the figure, though a word is never said.
You raise your hand over your shoulder, grabbing your sword and unsheathing it.
"Who are you?" You scream.
The figure extends their hand to the side, palm open. Suddenly bones fly out from the ground all over the village, likely from the villagers who were killed when you were a child. The start to form together, twisting unnaturally as they create something that you recognize. The bones finally stop, and the figure grabs hold of the middle.
She twirls around a scythe, highly resembling Ruby's, completely made of bones from the fallen. It's not clumsy, either. This demented woman is using that scythe with expertise that far surpasses your own. Similar to how this woman's overall look resembles Ruby's, the style that she's using with this new weapon mimics Ruby's style completely. Through these two points, you concur that whatever passed through Ruby had to have copied what makes Ruby Ruby. Perhaps that's why Ruby's aura is completely drained.
"What are you? Answer me already!" You shout, your anger over the edge because of Ruby's state.
The woman tilts her head to the side once more, then leaps into the air. She holds the scythe behind her as she looks down at you, the moon right behind her. Instantly she drops down, slicing at you. She's so fast that without your Shadow Transmission, you might not have been able to dodge it.
You appear behind her and dash forward, slicing her stomach. But the woman moves out of the way in a blink of an eye, leaving dead rose pedals in her wake. You grind to a halt when you realize she's not there and stop right in front of Ruby. You look around, trying to get a lock on your enemy, but you can't see her. As much as she's a problem, Ruby is top priority. You have to get her to safety, and that's to Beacon. You sheathe your blade and grab hold of her. You focus, attempting to lock-on to Beacon. As your mind travels there, your core senses feel something coming at you. You open your eyes and see the woman running at you, flailing her body from side to side as she spins the scythe around her body. You step to the village, away from the woman.
"I can't leap to Beacon with her on my butt. I have to distract her, or at least get her away from Ruby."
You rest Ruby against a nearby house, putting her in a sitting position. You kiss her forehead.
"I'll be back, Little Red. Just hang on."
You stand up and walk away from Ruby, assuring the attention is off of her. You step away from the village and look for the copycat, who is standing on top of one of the gravestones, letting her scythe drop as she laughs in a demonic voice. You grind your teeth at her arrogance. First she hurts Ruby, and now she casually stands atop the memorial of one of your parents, disrespecting them. You unsheathe your weapon, ready for a fight. Whoever, or whatever, this thing is… she's going down.
You keep your sword in your grip as you step away from Ruby – your eyes keen on keeping track of the woman. She throws her upper body back in an unnatural way, still laughing, then, as she throws her upper body forward, she disappears in a wave of dead rose pedals. You keep your eyes peeled and your grip strong. The moment she comes upon you you'll be ready. You dig your feet into the dirt, relax your breathing, and focus.
All it takes is the smallest, most insignificant sound of a pedal hitting the ground to alert you to her location. You spin around and brace yourself for a full force attack. She slices at you, but your sword holds strong against the pressure and momentum she's giving off. It's amazing how much force is behind her one swing. As you hold her off you see the end of her scythe start to morph into some sort sharp bone. Your eyes widen when you realize what that is. You let your legs slide under the woman, just missing the deadly bone firing where your face once was.
You flow under woman and slide to your feet behind her, then turn to cut her down. But she's no longer there. You look around frantically.
"What? Where did she go?" You question, scanning the area. "How does she move so fast?"
You look down at where she was and see dead rose pedals.
"Just like Ruby's semblance… but… she's faster."
You keep searching for her for a few seconds, but she's no longer in sight. Did she leave? Is she planning something? You have no idea, but that doesn't matter. If she's left you alone then you can get Ruby out of here. You sheathe your blade and jog around the building to find Ruby… and the woman. She's standing over Ruby, staring down at her in some sort of demented fashion. You step to her, off the ground, swing your body around and drive your foot into her head, sending her away from Ruby. You step behind her, still off the ground, clamp your hands together and smash her into the ground. Knowing she's after Ruby, you decide to get her as far away from Ruby as you can. You quickly grab her face, your fingers touching the cold, hidden skin under the hood, and leap away from the village to where you fought Aza.
You appear in the middle of the field, lift the woman into the air, then drive your fist into her stomach, then repeat that with your other fist, and then punch her across the field. She tumbles, spins, and finally recovers, sliding across the ground as she looks at you like a maniac, like she's enjoying this. She swings her scythe around her before running, dragging the point of the scythe across the ground. You grab the handle of your sword and wait for her to get closer. Once she gets where she wants she spins the scythe around her, and slices, but this time you're no longer there. You stand behind her, holding your sheathe. You turn around, releasing your blade as you attempt to cut her in half.
As you predicted, she moves out of the way with her semblance… but something is different. You know you hit her a tiny bit, you could feel it. What does that mean? You couldn't touch her before, yet now you can hit her? Is she already weakened by the few hits you got on her? It's possible, but you're unsure.
No time to dawdle on it though, as you see her coming at you from your peripheral vision. She swings the blade around and then cuts at you horizontally. You lean all the way back, completely safe but admittedly vulnerable. She knows this as well as you, thus she uses the momentum to bring it around her body and come down on you, the edge aiming for your heart. You throw your legs to the side and manage to maneuver out of the way. Her scythe starts shifting again to form at least eight small points on the side, facing you. You see what those are, and, having no other choice, lean back once more to dodge the bones attempting to impale you. You rest your free hand against the ground so you don't fall over, but even then its not easy. This costume wasn't mean to be fought in. It's not flexible enough, it's not light enough. You know for a fact that its holding you back, but there's nothing you can do about that now, especially since she's not done.
The small bones that attempted to become one with you grow small points through them, similar to the original scythe.
I can't dodge this one!
The bones shoot down, impaling a cloud of shadow where you once were. The woman looks for you, but you make your presence known before she can find you. You come down from above, driving your heel into the back of her head and land on her scythe. You let your foot slide down her hood, then, quickly, slide your foot under her forehead and backflip, kicking her once more. As you complete the full flip you spin around and kick her. But she grabs your leg mid kick and throw you away. You easily land, though it takes a few steps to regain full composure.
Her scythe retracts, taking in all the bones used to attack you. She spins it around constantly in a flow that you can… follow. It's not as fast as she was swinging it earlier. That doesn't mean you can relax, however, but it gives you a clue into this beings fighting style. She keeps swinging around and around and around until her plan comes to fruition. Small spike-like bones spawn from the scythe as she swings it, and all of them go to you. You prepare to retaliate but you notice something behind the incoming barrage. She's using her semblance, indicates by the dead pedals flowing behind her, but you aren't losing sight of her like you were before.
Still, she's moving very fast to you, and so are those projectiles. She's planning to flank you, so you have to play this smart. You could just use Shadow Transmission to get out of there, but you have a different plan in mind. You start making small leaps away from the projectiles to give more time for the woman to attack you. As you expected, she passes the projectiles and meets up with you. Her scythe morphs, much like Ruby's, so the blade can easily hit you. You hop over the first attack, flip over her to evade another, move your stomach back so that your costume is only grazed by the blade, block an attack coming down on you, push it back and slide behind her. Now she's between you and the projectiles. In a flash you sheathe your sword and grab her, locking your arms around hers and holding against her own attack. Some of them miss, but over a dozen pierce through her. You smile at the success of your plan… until you start to feel warm. You look down, seeing the bones going through her and into your "armour."
You push off her, removing the bones from your suit and getting some distance. The woman stands still as she realizes she's been stabbed. She could cry, scream, fall and die… but instead she laughs. She turns towards you, grabbing the bones one by one and pulling them out. You grind your teeth at the sight. It's almost like…
Suddenly she rushes you, dead rose pedals flying behind her. This one act proves your theory. Though using a semblance, she's barely running faster than a normal person at full speed. She seems to recognize this as well, as she halts her attack and looks down at herself. She starts to feel something different… a hunger… a pain. She slowly looks up, glowing eyes watching the sky, before raising her hand. You prepare for whatever she may do, while also hoping to stall as your aura does its job. Thankfully you weren't hurt too bad, but her attack seemed to do something to your aura. Not cut through it, but weaken it, poison it.
However something new happens, something you've never seen before. Some sort of essence wiggles through the air behind you into her palm. It… feels like aura… Ruby's aura. It flows into the woman's hand, lighting her up with a white shade. In an instant she's in front of you, dead pedals behind her. You try to react, but she's too fast. She disappears, and once you can see her again you have no time to react to her scythe cutting into your chest, shredding through the costume. You fall on your back, winded, hurt, and defeated. It was a clean, fast, and unexpected blow. You never predicted it, and you didn't have enough time to register the attack, let alone step away.
Thus you lay on the floor, unconscious. The woman shuffles over you, looking at your face with her glowing white eyes. She should finish you now, but she doesn't. She can't. Instead she has somewhere to be. She uses her semblance and runs towards your village. Towards Ruby.
So, now things are starting to kick off in a big way. This story won't be more than five chapters, so we're about halfway there now. There was a lot of things I thought of for this story, but not everything came through. For instance I wanted to have this take place after the Battle of Beacon and have Pyrrha come back as an enemy. But it didn't work out like that. Props to Akkura on fanfiction that Pyrrha is dressed as a ghost because she's dead. You were very correct, Akkura.
This chapter was actually longer than I thought it'd be, but that may be because I got carried away with the fight. It happens, but I still like it. Anyway this is the halfway mark. It might be ending real quick, but I said it was a short story that wouldn't be all that long, though I hope it's still enjoyable.
Also, even though this is a Halloween Special, due to circumstances that matter little, the rest of the chapter will not be posted in October. They will be posted, but not in October. It just didn't work out how I planned, which happens. You'll still get it when I have a chance to upload the rest, so stay tuned for that. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!
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