Yo guys! Sorry, if this was (very) late, but I needed to get some stuff done. So, now after getting out of my Cave of Dreams, I give you the third chapter of Dusty Thief!
I yawned as the sunlight shone dully through the dirty window, its gentle, warm touch waking me from my slumber. I roll off my bed, landing quietly on my feet. I grab my scroll and began texting my little sister: time to execute Plan Brown Pants.
"Hey, little sis," I texted into the device.
"Morning, big bro!" she answered back, "How's it going?"
"Fine. I just need a favor…"
"Sure! What new gear do you need today?"
I paused, pondering over plan that I formed in my head last night. "I need some noisemakers, a set of lockpicks, my blackjack, and some motors. You know, my more flamboyant gear?"
"Sure! The usual method?"
I grinned. Alexis has two little drones that could transport anything up fifty pounds in weight, and both are specialized in day or night drops in camouflage.
"You mean the only reliable method?"
"You know it! Sun Griffin ETA ten minutes. Following your scroll, so get in a secluded spot!"
Rolling my eyes, I open the window, and climbed out, grasping the ledge above the sill. As I heaved myself up onto the rooftop, I felt… something. Glancing towards the building across from the one I was currently on, I scanned the area, my eyes darting back and forth between the windows.
"Must be nothing…" I muttered to myself, and continued on my way to the middle of the rooftop. I laid on my back, and waited for my package.
Ozpin raised a curious eyebrow at the sight.
A boy, who looked no older than sixteen years of age, climbed out the window of the supposedly haunted and abandoned room of a student that met her awful fate. The headmaster took a sip of his coffee, letting the dark, bitter liquid slither down his throat and into his stomach, warming himself to the core. Caffeine entered his mind to keep his strained brain at full capacity.
"Ozpin?"
The professor turned to see his assistant, Glynda Goodwitch approaching.
"Good morning Glynda," Ozpin said with a warm tone, "what brings you here?"
"I could ask the same thing," Glynda scoffed, "but I know something's on your mind, Ozpin…"
The headmaster chuckled. "You know me too well… do we have a team housed in room C-30?"
The woman paled. "N-no… there isn't anyone housed in that particular dorm room, residential or visiting…"
Ozpin gave the teacher a gentle smile. "Thank you. I was just making sure."
Looking back at the window, the headmaster takes another sip of coffee. Checking his watch, Ozpin walked away from the window.
"I wonder who could that be?" he mused to himself as he entered the elevator, the ping of the doors sliding to a close forces him into the small box.
Who could that be, indeed?
Jaune sighed as he exited the classroom. Bad enough that he lost his polish that Pyrrha gave him, but the look on his partner's face when she saw her necklace out of place… it was awful. Not mention that he felt bad for Ren, due to the fact that Nora was a bit… psychotic, at the least. Well, it was an understatement, but soon someone will have their legs broken if they don't find-
Crash!
Jaune groaned as the sudden janitor's cart ambushed him, knocking him down to the ground.
"Oh! Sorry kid! Didn't see you there!"
A hand reached down towards Jaune, who took the gesture with his own hand, pulling himself up.
"Thanks!" the hunter said, "Sorry… I didn't see you…"
The man dismissively waved him off. "Hey, it was my fault. No biggie. You better get to class, though."
Jaune nodded and ran through the hallway, leaving the janitor behind. The boy glanced at a clock on the wall.
'I have five minutes… I can make it!'
Oh Jaune, fate really hates you…
"Hey! Barf Boy!"
The speeding hunter was stopped by a oversized, gorilla like arm grabbing his hood.
'Damn...' Jaune thought. "What do you want, Cardin?"
The well known bully smiled. "Just a little dare, Jauny boy. A deal."
Jaune tried to laugh, but he couldn't find anything to laugh at; he was still pretty pathetic. He sighed in defeat. "What is it? Want me to go get stuff for wasps again?" he asked, a slight hint of venom in his voice.
Cardin feint a hurt look. "No no no, nothing like that. I was wanting you to spend the night at Sanguine Sammy's abandoned dorm room."
The air went cold.
"That's it?" Jaune asked, his naive knowledge on the lore at Beacon overriding his logic.
"Yea… and I'll help you find your stuff back." Before Jaune could say a thing, Cardin quickly interrupted. "I highly doubt Russel could sneak into your room and steal something."
The boy pondered for a bit. Should he trust his past tormentor? He suspected it to be a trap, but Pyrrha's face of distraught… he wished to make her feel better.
"Alright, I'll do it."
Cardin grinned as he and Jaune shook hands.
Then the bell rang. Both boys groaned; once again, they will have to stay later in Oobleck's class for the semi-lunch detention.
After History, Jaune sat down by his team with a tray of food. Also sitting at the table was team RWBY.
"Hey guys… does anyone know anything about a Sanguine Sammy?" he asks as he took a bite out his steak. Once again, the air went cold, and many of the surrounding third and fourth years looked back at the group cautiously. However, the rest of the team seemed to be ignoring said stares.
"Hmmm… Nope." Ruby said.
"Me neither," Yang added in, "sounds like a ghost story of sorts…"
"It sounds familiar," Blake stroked her chin, "I can't remember where, though…"
Pyrrha shook her head.
"Anyhow… I think that we should stake out the place-"
"And why is that such a good idea?" Weiss asked scornfully.
"Um… because…" Think Jaune! "Because… there has been hearings of footsteps in the room, which is odd because its abandoned!"
The whole table went silent, all eyes piercing Jaune's very soul. Then suddenly…
"Let's do it!" Nora exclaimed, "I'm gonna break a ghost's legs!"
Ren rolled his eyes. "I don't think ghosts have legs, Nora, much less there being a ghost."
She paused, then her usual cheerful (yet scary) grin plastered over her face. "Then I'll break its soul!"
"Well, we're in too," Ruby said.
"Yea," Yang added, "I mean, it's not like we're a bunch of perverted teenagers that sneaks into rooms and snatch articles of clothing or objects. Let's do it!"
Velvet sighed with relief as she passed by Cardin and his goons. Without incident, mind you. As she walked down the hallway, she heard a peculiar noise; a sneeze. Not very audible and very faint, but still there. The noise itself wasn't strange, it was the location of the sudden waves of sound that urked her attention. It came from team CRDL's room.
The only problem was, all four said team members passed the faunus.
"... could someone tell me why this was such a good idea again?" Weiss was huddled in a blanket, the dusty room illuminated by a single lantern. Blake was reading in a corner with Yang, who provided the faunus a flashlight to read in.
"Come on Weiss, you know we hardly ever get to do something like this! It's fun!" Ruby exclaimed in a hushed voice.
"Yea… r-right… fun?" Jaune stuttered as he nervously glanced around the room.
"Oh! You know what would really set the mood?" Nora added a pause in her voice, "Scary stories…"
Ruby pales slightly, with Jaune looking like a sheet. "Oh no," they both say, while Yang grinned mischievously.
"So, Pyrrha, what do you say? Got any good nightmare fuel?" Yang questioned. Before the spartan replied, Ren spoke up.
"I have one."
"Nope…" Ruby muttered as she put in some earplugs. "Nope nope nope…"
The comical show of the usually red-cloaked huntress huddling in the corner with a blanket and closing her eyes while muttering to herself raised a few questions.
"Um… is she alright?" Weiss asked with a dumbfounded tone.
Yang just shook her head. "She hates scary stories."
Rolling his eyes, Ren began his dark tale…
"Long ago, there was a team, much like ours. Two girls, two boys. All faunus team. They had a team leader named Sammy, her last name unknown. However, one cold day, she fell deathly ill due to wolfpox…"
A small crack formed between the closet's door and frame, making a barely audible squeak.
Soon…
"... when the doctors thought she would make it, her heart gave way from stress. People say it was from the bullying she had taken. Now, it was said that she haunts this room, killing anyone who dares enters her room with the sins against discrimination…"
"Oh boy…" Jaune gulped, his hands shaking. Weiss, although her calm demeanor says otherwise, was worried. After all, she was the Schnee Dust Co heiress-
BANG!
Suddenly, three cloaked figures sprung out from all corners of the rooms, causing most of the people into the room to start and scream, all save for Ren and Ruby, who the latter was somehow still able to block out everything going on around her with her muttering. She even blocked out Jaunes girlish- er… manly scream. Then, the cloaked figures began to laugh.
Then all the pieces fell into place.
"Ohmygod… that was hilarious!" the first figure said, pulling down his hood to reveal a familiar face.
"Cardin! What are you doing here?!" Jaune asked, although he suspected the bully's foul play.
"Oh, just playing a prank on you chumps… nothing special…"
Weiss rolled her eyes after regaining her composure. "You got Jaune to drag us up here for something didn't you, Cardin? You and Dove, Sky and…"
Something was amiss, and everyone realised it.
"Hey… where's Russell?" Sky asked, his voice slightly wavering. Dove rolled his eyes.
"Don't you remember the plan? He was supposed to come out of that closet and scare everyone with us. Come on Russell! Quit playing games!" Dove walked towards the closet and opened the door.
Then a skeleton popped out in Russell's garb.
The whole room was silent, the tenseness of the fear that lingers in the room could be cut with a knife. Then, in a whirl, the skeleton moved its arm, causing quite a scare for almost everyone in the room, even Ren was shocked that the object moved, much less the fact that it also turned its head towards the group.
"Run," it said in a feminine, menacing tone, but by the time it finished that word, everyone was running out of the room, and Jaune wasn't the only one screaming an octave higher than it should be this time.
Aaaand cut! Take five, people, that's a wrap! I pressed the button on my scroll to stop recording. I'll be sure to send that to Alexis tomorrow, since it was her voice that was recorded into the microphone. I dropped down from the ceiling tile lightly and moved over towards the skeleton. I removed the clothing to reveal several motors, a sisterly special just for me. I began to take off the machines, and placed them into my pockets. I'll be sure to return the skeleton soon, but for now, I stuffed it into the closet (again), along with my janitor disguise. Then I broke into a laugh. You try holding in a laugh to a well thought out prank-
"Hey…"
I froze. Slowly, I turned around to see a blob of red, with a cute girl's head poking out, slowly opening her silver eyes. Then they widen when they came across my figure. We must of been in sync, because the same words exited out mouths.
"Oh crap…"