Disclaimer: RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum, not me. This is merely a fanwork meant for entertainment purposes only. Cover image courtesy of Simon Howden. All rights reserved.
"Eurgh...what is that smell?"
Although he somehow doubted that his senses were as keen as the heiress', even Jaune had to admit that the smell was particularly pungent. Something between rotting greenery and off seafood, it was hardly what the two students had hoped for when they had made their escape through the riddle-spewing doorway.
"Is...is that…?" Jaune began, pointing towards the unnerving environment that awaited them.
He hadn't seen many mansions in his time, even from afar, but he was fairly certain that this was one of the grandest. It reached merely two floors up, but what the building lacked in height it made up in sheer width and length. Four ancient windows peered out from this side of the mansion, so vine-covered and misted up that looking into the off-grey walls would provide more information about the manor than the glass itself. A heavily rusted gate creaked incessantly every few seconds but, as far as he could tell, there was not a breath of wind in the entire complex.
"Can you stand?"
Nodding, Jaune pulled himself up, taking yet more glances around as they walked towards the gate. Eerie black street lamps stood proudly by the small portions of the perimeter wall that still remained, illuminating the area in a sickly green flame. Yet, despite the lack of actual sunlight, the snatches of grass that could be seen were still as verdant as any from the surface, almost as if they had been frozen in time. 'Unusual' didn't even begin to describe it.
"Nice place?" he attempted conversationally.
Weiss remained silent as they finally made it to the mysteriously creaking gate. Even with the ridiculous amount of rust that had been ingrained into the metal over the years, it was easy to spot the Schnee snowflake positively shimmering in the unnerving light.
"You want to know why my family's emblem is on here, don't you?"
Jaune looked over to Weiss, unable to decipher the odd expression on her face.
"If you're okay with telling me." he put diplomatically.
Quiet once again, Weiss walked ever closer to the gate, running a hand down the well-maintained snowflake.
"I've heard rumours about it my entire life, really. The first Schnee manor, built for my grandfather all those years ago, completely vanished overnight. No one knew how, why, or where it went...just that it was gone, leaving several unfortunate servants inside."
Jaune gulped.
"Do you, uh, think they're still in there?"
"It was more than seventeen years ago, and given the look of this place…well. Let's just say that finding them 'alive' would be much more frightening than finding their stone-cold corpse."
Weiss paused for a moment, frowning.
"Look, Jaune…"
"Hm?"
"Did you ever wonder why I wanted to come here in the first place?"
"Not really. I guess I just didn't think it was my place to ask."
"Well, the truth is…"
The young heiress sighed softly.
"It was never really my idea to begin with."
"What?"
"It was my father." Weiss answered sharply, "I didn't hear about it before, but apparently he'd been searching for this place for longer than I've been alive. When he finally found the location about a month ago, he wanted to send a team in to scavenge the remains, but someone stayed his hand. Instead, he asked me to go, to find the entrance to this place that could be practically anywhere in the Emerald Forest!"
"And you said yes?"
Weiss shook her head.
"Not exactly. He wanted me to go on my own, without telling any of my friends about what I was doing, and come back with what I'd found. I'm hardly a stranger to obedience, but that...that seemed a little too far."
"I-"
"But then he threatened...told me that, if I didn't go, he would cut off my funding for Beacon, for everything! I...I was scared, okay? What would you do if someone just told you they were going to essentially destroy your life, just like that?"
Jaune started opening his mouth to respond, but near instantly closed it again.
What would I do? It's not like I've ever been rolling in cash or anything, but if I was…
"I don't know, Weiss." he admitted.
"So there I was, walking to my room that afternoon, going to find Myrtenaster and planning to set off the next morning while everyone else was none the wiser. And then..."
"...oh." Jaune said, realisation slowly dawning on his face.
"...there you were, swatting it about like you didn't have a care in the world. Hmph."
For a moment, Jaune wasn't quite sure how to respond, carefully fitting the idea into the ever-growing jigsaw puzzle of Weiss.
"So if I hadn't broken your sword, you would have come here all alone?"
"Assuming I found it at all, yes."
"In that case," Jaune began, a little courage beginning to form in his heart, "I don't regret what I did, and I'd do it again, too!"
Weiss blinked.
"Excuse me?!"
"Look, it's bad enough that just the two of us are down here, right? I mean, jeez, this place gives me the creeps like you wouldn't believe. I couldn't leave you to confront all this stuff on your own, could I?"
"What? Because I'm a girl?" Weiss challenged.
"No, because you're my friend!"
"...what's that supposed to mean?"
"Well...friends don't leave friends to deal with this stuff by themselves. From what I've heard about that thing with Blake a while back, you know enough about that already. If my mistake means that you aren't stuck in this hole in the ground by yourself, I'd do it again, every time."
The heiress smiled despite herself, turning back to face the gate.
"You're a dork sometimes, Jaune."
"But…?"
"No buts, you're just a dork. Now come on, let's get going!"
Jaune watched as Weiss pushed the rusted metal open with ease, happy to see that she had returned to her usual self.
After all, with all this creepy stuff going on, you had to find something to be happy about.
The earthen warrior makes his way to the gate, surveying the area like a hawk on the hunt. It was certain that they had passed through here already, but for some reason, the gate was closed. A question springs to its mind.
Did the gate close to keep me out, or to keep those two in?
The earthen warrior draws its weapon, effortlessly smashing through the gate like so much glass.
"Gah! What the hell was that?!" Jaune yelped in surprise.
Due to the incredible scale of the complex, it had taken them almost a minute to get from the main gate to the mansion's double doors, monstrous oak constructs with yet more Schnee logos inscribed upon them. However, when the dynamic duo finally reached the doors, the rusted old gate had slammed shut behind them with a heavy CLANK.
"Probably just the wind." Weiss dismissed offhandedly.
"But there isn't any w-"
"Probably. Just. The. Wind. Jaune." the heiress repeated through gritted teeth.
"Okay, okay, I get it! So, uh," he paused, looking the doors up and down, "These things don't need a key, do they?"
EEEEEEEEEEEK
"...apparently not!" he exclaimed anxiously.
"Oh, shush. If there really is something in there that's messing with us, you quaking in your boots is only getting them exactly what they want!"
"I-I guess you're right. Lead on, then?"
Dust, this is going to be bad, isn't it? It'll be really dark, full of skeletons and-
"...huh. Gotta admit, wasn't really expecting this one."
From where he was currently stood, Jaune could very clearly see an enormous hallway stretching to his left and to his right, leading off into three distinct doors. The ones on each end were painted a dark blue, contrasting with the icy blue of the walls and white marble of the floor. Meanwhile, the door right in front of him was mostly made of perfectly transparent glass, with the remains of the frame bearing a welcoming cream colour.
"It is somewhat odd." Weiss admitted.
"Are those candles on the walls, too?"
"Candelabras, you mean."
"Yeah, those...and they've got a proper orange flame rather than that green thing from the lamp posts outside."
"Mmhm."
"Any idea why?"
"Obviously they did it just to annoy you, Jaune." Weiss replied dryly.
"I'm curious, not annoyed!"
"And frightened?"
"Oh yes, definitely."
The strange pair tried to peer through the glass in the door but, as soon as they attempted to look closer, some kind of otherworldly frost began seeping through it, despite the relative warmth in the mansion.
"That...that doesn't normally happen, does it?"
Weiss shook her head.
"I thought as much." Jaune grumbled quietly, "Even the doors don't seem right here…"
"Just keep your wits about you, Jaune...maybe draw your sword, too?"
He nodded, readying Crocea Mors for (potential) combat.
"Right…" Weiss breathed, "Let's get this over with."
Pushing open the icy door, Weiss and Jaune were greeted with yet more unnervingly perfect scenery. Bookcases upon bookcases took up nearly all the space along the walls, broken only by the odd ornate cupboard, window or a grand fireplace, the flame of which seemed to burn with no trace of fuel. In the middle of the room, meanwhile, stood an expensive mahogany table, surrounded by around eight chairs and bearing several bowls of mixed fruit.
I guess I'll put my shield away since, somehow, I don't think the fruit bowl's going to be attacking me any time soon.
"This definitely reminds me of my grandfather's old room back home...he really did love books with a passion, you know."
As Weiss began cautiously browsing the shelves, Jaune turned his attention to the food on the table. From what he had found out about the manor so far, he knew that this couldn't be real...but then again, he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast.
"Books on business, books on economics...The Wayfarer's Guide to Dust? Maybe he had that one when he was younger."
"Weiss?"
"Hm?"
"Do you think I could eat any of this fruit?"
Weiss' delicate form snapped around, her eyebrows lowered threateningly.
"Are you serious?! Do you have any idea how long this place has been down here? Maybe it looks good, but if it's even there at all, it'll be rotten to the core!"
"But I'm hungr- OW!"
"Eat that."
"Did...did you just thrown an apple at me?"
"I don't know, did I?"
"Where did you get it from? You don't have any bags! Or pockets! ...I think."
"Ask yourself, Jaune; do you really want to know the answer to that?"
"...maybe?"
"Well that's too bad, because I'm not telling you! Now eat your apple and try not to get into any trouble, okay?"
As Weiss turned back to her book searching, Jaune began morosely eating the lovely red apple he had been passed, taking a look around all the while. A set of windows resided comfortably with the cupboards and bookcases on two of the walls, giving a glimpse into what was through the other doorways they hadn't took yet. The windows to his left weren't terribly interesting, apparently showing a heavily dilapidated dust elevator, perhaps the only thing on the inside of this place that visibly looked broken. In the opposite windows, however...
Jaune Jaune Jaune Jaune Jaune Jaune Jaune Jaune
Jaune Jaune Jaune Jaune
JAUNE JAUNE JAUNE
JAUNE JAUNE
JAUNE
A thick fog...it must have been what had clouded up the windows from the front. And it…
JAUNE JAUNE
JAUNE
JAUNE JAUNE
Jaune
...it was calling his name.
Tock. Tock. Tock. Inch by inch, step by step, Jaune was drawing ever closer to the door, though he hardly remembered deciding to walk there. He tried to scream, to call to Weiss for help, but his voice would no longer obey him. Positively shambling now, the body of Jaune had finally made it to the ominous entrance, the boy's mind roaring as its will was refused time and time again.
"Well that's not very- Jaune?!" the heiress yelled as his situation finally came to her attention, "Get away from that door, now!"
Slowly, like a toddler who had just learned how to do it, Jaune's body began attempting to pull the lever handle, shaking profusely as he continued to rebel against the hostile presence.
"Jaune, snap out of it!" Weiss ordered, using both of her arms in an attempt to pull him away from the door...but as soon as she tried touching him, a jolt of electric current ran right through her, making her let him go out of instinct. Taking the opportunity, the force that was controlling Jaune's body surged forward, pulling the door handle down with as much force as it could muster.
CRACK
The fog poured in with the ferocity of a waterfall, making everything it touched wither and fade. The fruit on the table, once plump and vibrant, had curled up and returned to rot. The case upon case of books, seemingly in as good condition as one would expect from a top-notch library, revealed their state of decay, the ancient covers beginning to laboriously fall to the ground.
"J-Jaune!" Weiss managed between coughing fits, "C-come back!"
Yet, despite her shrill calls, the boy continued shambling deeper into the poisonous fog, and Weiss had little choice but to evacuate the area, lest she be met with the same fate. Looking around desperately, the heiress burst through the door that apparently lead to the disused dust elevator, closing it behind her with a solid WHAM.
She was safe. The fog couldn't come through the door.
Knowing that she couldn't take the elevator, Weiss glanced to her right, spotting a beautiful spiral staircase.
I guess the only way is up…
White. Dark white. Blinding. No sight. Deathly. Toxic. No air. Can't breathe. Can't breathe. CAN'T-
A different white. A blue white. Familiar. Friend…
"Jaune Arc?"
Blue white makes the dark white go away. Blue white feels like…
"I've heard a lot about you."
I...I can think again. Who…?
Surrounded by a brilliant ice-blue light, the girl looked out at him with curious eyes. Eyes which, he couldn't help but notice, weren't quite there to begin with.
"Who are you?"
"Me?"
The girl smiled softly, merely accentuating the likeness she held to Weiss.
"I'm just the girl who died."
Hiya, Soul here once again! Starting to write in bold for author commentary, just to make it a bit clearer, okey dokey? Anyways, you could say this is one of the chapters I've been wanting to write since the idea of this story popped into my head, and I'll admit that I had a lot of fun making it! A bit of a mix between horror, comedy and adventure...yep, certainly a new avenue for me (though I do try and make my dialogue comic, if possible). Let me know what you think in the review section and, as always, the next chapter will be up for next Sunday (the 20th of April).
P.S - In response to Craxuan: sorry if it seemed like I was saying that she didn't have any pockets, since what I meant was that Jaune didn't think she had any. I mean, there's that diddy little satchel she has just below her back and whatever others she may have, but I don't think Jaune's attentive enough to notice. Still, I changed the line up a bit to make it more sensical while (hopefully) retaining the joke.
See you soon, all!