RWBY Puppet AU
Chapter 3: Death vs. Will! Facing the Grimm Reaper!
Ruby's team recoiled in horror at the sight before them. Ruby was brandishing knifes on her wrists and slashing away at Weiss's chest with glee, chipping away her aura.
"RUBY!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Yang screamed with fright at her sister. Her response was only a loud cackle that chilled Yang's spine as she gripped Weiss's ponytail.
"What's it look like you dumb cow? I'm killing Weissy here." Ruby coldly said as she rubbed the edge of one of her blades on Weiss's cheek, drawing a small line of blood to WBY's terror. Weiss was low on aura and in the palm of Ruby's hands now. At any moment, a single thrust was all it would take to penetrate her defenses and end the heiress's life.
Yang knew she had to stop her sister, she couldn't stand the thought of her becoming a murderer. As much as it pained her, Yang had to pummel her sister. Before she could charge though, a hand placed in front of her face by Blake who only shook her head disapprovingly startled her.
"Wait Yang." Blake said, but her partner only scoffed.
"She's going to kill her Blake! We gotta hurry." Yang whispered, trying not to give Ruby the idea as she eyed them eerily.
"If we move too suddenly she'll strike Weiss down and counter. Besides…That isn't Ruby right now." Blake said sternly. Yang's eyes widened in confusion.
"What do you mean?" Yang asked, Blake responded by pointing at Ruby's face.
"Noticed her cheeks? Those red marks?" Blake asked her. Yang could only smack her head in annoyance. How could she have missed that? She was so caught up in rescuing Weiss and reuniting with Ruby she failed to notice anything else.
"S-So is this…some kind of Grimm posing as Ruby?" Yang asked sheepishly. If this wasn't her sister, she didn't want to think of the alternative.
"No, I think she's possessed though. There were legends in the Menagerie about a strange second semblance few were born with that allowed them to possess people. Those marks were a warning sign. My guess Ruby was captured by someone with this semblance and is being brainwashed. Don't worry, I got an idea how to get through to her." Blake said oddly calmly to Yang's surprise. How was she so calm? Yang thought that before noticing her partner's hand trembling near her waist.
"She really is scared. She's just trying not to spook Ruby into-" Yang began thinking before being startled by a laugh from Ruby, who unknown to them had heard their whispers the whole time.
"Ding Ding Ding! You got it right Blake!" The possessed Ruby mockingly cheered as she laid Weiss on the ground and stomped on her back, keeping her pinned.
"Get off her and let my sister go you freaking monster!" Yang yelled, but the possessed Ruby only chuckled.
"Sorry sis, your leader doesn't take orders, JUST LOSERS LIVES!" She yelled menacingly before she lunged her blade equipped wrist towards Weiss's neck. Yang gasped while Blake narrowed her eyes at the sight. It was now or never for her plan. She quickly grabbed something hanging on her waist.
"RUBY HERE'S YOUR SCYTHE!" Blake roared as loud as she could as she waved the weapon around, desperately hopeful it would distract Ruby. To her relief it worked. She sighed heavily as Ruby's body stopped, her blade inches short from Weiss's neck. Her hand was shaking as her head jerked towards Blake and Yang.
"C-Crescent Rose?" Ruby stuttered, her blanks eyes flickering a bit as she eyed the weapon.
"That's right Rubes! Your baby!" Yang yelled, hopeful this would work as she saw the trembling her sister was doing.
In a bunker far away…
"Damn it! She's slipping away. At this rate…" Cinder groaned.
Cinder bit her fingernail a bit in frustration as she felt her control slip a bit. She was tempted to put more power in despite it already being exhausting controlling her to this degree before she had an idea pop into her head.
"Well… now there's a thought. Lets play a little game then Kitty." Cinder chuckled.
Back in the forest, Blake steadily approached Ruby with Crescent Rose drawn out to its creator. She didn't want to risk startling Ruby with sudden movements, lest the fright might make her lose control of herself again.
"I-It's okay Ruby. We kept your scythe safe for you, for when you came back." Blake said as calmly as she could, fighting with all her will the fear for her friend stabbing at her heart.
"B-Blake?" Ruby stuttered as tears flowed down both her eyes now. Her lips were quivering as she whimpered a bit and let go of Weiss's hair. Weiss gasped for air as she felt Ruby's foot release her back before seeing her partner walk slowly towards Blake and the scythe.
"Ruby? Are you really back?" Weiss asked hopeful as Yang circled around Ruby and supported the Heiress up, even wiping the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand.
"Shhhh. Lets wait and see. Don't startle my sis or she may relapse." Yang urged Weiss. Though the Schnee nodded, she hated how the silence felt so suffocating. She wanted nothing more than to run up and hug Ruby and cry her name and tell her how she felt after being apart for so long. She was honestly jealous of Blake for being the one to give her back her partner's treasure.
This jealousy would soon vanish instantly as she noticed her partner blade hand tremble. Was she about to stab Blake? To Weiss's relief, the blade retracted into Ruby's sleeve. Blake was going to be fine.
"Here Ruby, keep fighting that monster. I'm sure having your baby here will make you feel better while doing it." Blake said as she tenderly grabbed Ruby's hand and placed the scythe in lock form into her friend's shaky hand. The silver eye maiden wept as she looked up to her friend and met her gaze.
"B-Blake your…" Ruby whispered. Blake leaned in to hear her leaders words. She was almost as desperate as Weiss to hear that beautiful voice after so long, only to hear something frightening soon follow.
"You're so freaking gullible." Ruby chuckled with a cruel tone, making Blake pale a bit as she heard that.
"BLAKE LOOK OUT!" Weiss screeched, but it was too late. Suddenly Blake's skin burned like wildfire as Crescent Rose unlocked and delivered a slash from Blake's wrist to across her chest. Blake was sent flying as she crashed a few feet away from Ruby, her aura shattering upon impact. Cinder laughed as she saw this through Ruby's eyes, glad her plan worked. By withdrawing her control momentarily, she allowed Ruby to get in close so she could strike at full force when Blake's guard was down. It was sooooo worth it to see that cat girl's look of terror and knock her down.
"aaaagh fuck! That stingS." Blake groaned as she felt like a wrecking ball just struck her gut while clasping her wrist. Though her aura absorbed the damage so it wasn't cut, she could still see a large red line across her arm and chest. She knew her aura was gone and she was just as defenseless as Weiss now. She was driven out of her stupor as her eyes widened to feel a cold jagged blade on her chin force her head upon slowly, meeting Ruby's blank silver eyes as she grinned madly at her before releasing her and lifting up the Scythe.
"Maybe you won't be such a gullible dumbass, IN YOUR NEXT LIFE!" Ruby yelled, Blake winced as she raised her arm to cover her eyes, waiting for the end to come. To her surprise, she heard a clang and opened her eyes to see Yang in between her and Ruby now, Ember Cecilia's metal locking with Crescent Rose's scythe blade. Suddenly she was yanked back and felt Weiss wrap her arms around her neck.
"Great plan dunce! You almost got killed. Now Ruby's even more nuts than before!" Weiss scolded her, but with a sad tone as Blake saw the tears in her friend's eyes.
"I know the legend too! I didn't want to believe it but, we both felt it. Ruby's had her heart broken. That person with that damn second semblance is using her body like a puppet. It's not her right now. The only way to save her now is to kill the puppet master, not through talking!" Weiss cried.
A surge of guilt washed over Blake as she cried as well. Her plan was an utter failure, and now things felt even more hopeless. How could they save Ruby if they got their heads chopped off?
"I'm sorry Weiss. I really thought I could-" She tried to say before a yell from Yang startled her and Weiss.
"RUBY ROSE!" Yang yelled as she pushed the blade back and grabbed her possessed sister by the collar.
"As much as I don't want to do this, I'm gonna beat some sense into you and then I'm gonna freaking kill that monster for possessing you!" Yang screamed before getting the wind knocked out of her as she was given a swift kick to the chest.
"Oh yeah? You truly think you can beat your darling sister? Especially since she now has Crescent Rose?" Cinder mockingly asked as she had Ruby twirl her weapon.
Yang merely gave her a stern glare. She knew in their many sparing matches Ruby would almost always win when allowed to use that weapon. It was a perfect counter to Yang's battle style as she could be shot from afar and Ruby could always keep a distance by pole-vaulting with it or using her semblance. Still though, Yang could only scoff at the question.
"If it was truly her? no way. But I can feel it, you're just an amateur with it. You can't beat me. I'm gonna beat her and then I'm gonna kill you for touching my baby sis." Yang coldly told hermaking the witch just chuckle to her irritation.
"You'll be long dead before you uncover my identity, Xiao Long!" Cinder declared. Yang raised her fists and entered a battle stance in response.
"You're giving me back Ruby!" Yang yelled. Cinder simply had Ruby point at Yang the scythe in defiance.
"Well then…come at me sis!" The possessed Ruby roared as Yang charged at her.
Meanwhile,
At a high-level security prison in Atlas, Neo strutted down the halls, ignoring the cat calls from the gruff looking men in the cells. She merely rolled her eyes as she gripped her weapon Hush, itching to stab their eyes out with its blade like she did to the guards lying dead before her.
"Nah, waste of time. He's waiting for me." She shook her head as she thought that. Her heart was itching to see Roman for so long she couldn't sacrifice another second.
"Just a few more minutes, then it will be all worth it." She thought as she neared the cell she was told to look by Cinder. Neo groaned as the mute thought back to how she needed to work alongside the woman who was a total bitch to her in order to get the coordinates.
2 Weeks ago.
"Thank you for coming Neo, not that you had much of a choice." Cinder arrogantly chuckled at the mute as she grit her teeth. She wanted the power to speak right now more than ever as she wished to curse at the witch with all her might.
"Love the spirit, but be warned. My master won't give you your boyfriend unless you help me….which is the ONLY reason you're still alive despite your rudeness" Cinder warned as her eyes flickered fire to the mute's shock. She gulped as she swallowed her pride and simply nodded in confirmation to Cinder's amusement as she chuckled. Neo soon caught sight of a tall boy with grey hair and robotic legs followed by a familiar little girl from Roman's tales.
"Good, now let me introduce you to Mercury Black and my new little pet, Ruby Rose." Cinder said as she waved over to the two who strutted towards her. Neo raised an eyebrow confused as to the huntress-in trainings presence. Last Roman told her, she was one of those naïve brats with a hero complex. It honestly sickened her to her stomach the air-headedness of it all, but she was now more confused as to why Rose was working with terrorists. It seemed so unfitting, that was until she noticed the red marks on her cheek.
"You have a keen eye Neo. My powers allowed me to possess Lil' Red. That brings us to you." Cinder said as she narrowed her gaze on Neo, who bared Hush in blade form, fearing such a fate for herself.
"Good guess, but no. I don't need to possess you, I'm just too busy to train the brat with Mercury. That's where you come in." Cinder clarified, making Neo stand and grit her teeth annoyed again as she took out her scroll and wrote on it.
"I am not a damn baby sister!" Neo wrote.
"You will! If you want us to help you bust Roman out. Or we could simply kill him in his cell? Your choice." Cinder chuckled before giving off a venomous warning, making Neo pale a bit.
"Okay fine. I'll train her." Neo simply wrote.
Over the next 2 weeks she helped the possessed Ruby harness wrist blades, despite the annoyance of it all. Honestly, how could a brainwashed girl have an admiration for weapons. Mercury snickered as she read her thoughts, it being easy being an assassin.
"Cinder can loosen or tighten her control at will. She wants Ruby Rose to gets some muscle and absorb the weaponry into her movements like it's second nature. It will make Cinder, whose already a master, able to move with her in sync when she fights as her." Mercury explained before sighing. He still remembered how weak Lil' Red was when they first spared without the blades.
"Ow?" He had said confused. It was clear Ruby wasn't that physically strong with her stick arms. How did she lug that scythe around so easily then? He thought.
He and Neo then began parrying Ruby's stabs with their weapons before they soon gave off cold sweats as she disappeared in a cluster of petals.
"Left!" Mercury yelled as Neo brought up her Hush's blade to block a surprise strike from Ruby's blade, only to be smacked in the back by a roundhouse kick.
"Good to see she's picking up on our lessons so quickly but DAMN!" Neo cursed in her head as she felt sore from that strike. Before she and Ruby could continue Mercury got a notification on his scroll. He slapped his hands together to grab their attention.
"OKAY TIME'S UP!" He hollered. Neo and Ruby walked up to him in response, attentive to what he was about to announce.
"That was Cinder so Neo, you going to take a bullhead and go to Atlas with Emerald and free your boyfriend." Mercury said, making Neo's eyes widen as she grinned with joy.
"I personally think Rose here could use a bit more, but hell! She's getting stronger by the second and we need to focus on that first." Mercury groaned as Neo wrote on her scroll.
"Why? What happened?" Neo asked.
"Cinder wants Lil' Red to use her training now to the fullest. Her team is heading here and she wants her to fulfill her purpose and kill them right now." Mercury said irritated. As much as he would love to join in and slaughter some annoying brats, he knew it would be suicide to defy Cinder and interfere with her plans. That was the whole reason she brainwashed Ruby to begin with.
Neo couldn't help but shiver a bit, not just from the thought of the little girl being forced to kill her own teammates. Though she admitted she found it amusing to train with the girl after a while, they weren't friends, it was just pity. The true uneasiness she felt was the girl sneaking up on her and asking her,
"You okay partner?" Ruby asked, making Neo jolt before she typed out a response.
"Don't sneak up on me like that! And why do you care?" She asked.
"Because you're my pa-partner?" Ruby said before her left eye starting watering to Neo's discomfort. She hated seeing kids cry, even one's that annoyed her like Ruby. She didn't realize Ruby calling her partner made the girl see a girl in white flash before her tearful eyes.
"W-Weiss!" Ruby cried softly before feeling a rush of pain stab her head as she arched over and pounded the ground to Neo's shock.
"What's wrong with her?" neo typed.
"Cinder felt her control slipped so she tightened her grip. Why do you care?" Mercury asked annoyed. Neo just glanced at the possessed Ruby hacking a bit. Now that she thought about it, seeing the girl in pain vaguely reminded her of her past self. That weak little girl crying pain caused by a powerful tormentor, not that she would ever swallow her pride and admit it to the cocky jerk near her. She had wasted enough time and pity on Ruby and talking to him to begin with.
"I don't, just curious. Now, where's my ride? Roman needs me." Neo wrote.
Now Neo was grinning madly as she opened Roman's cell with the access codes Cinder gave her, coming face to face with her lover who warmly embraced her.
"I knew you'd come for me." Roman warmly said. Neo's eyes fluttered as she met his gaze, so grateful to see him free and having him back in her life again.
Unfortunately, an annoying chuckle from a familiar voice interrupted their reunion. Neo and Roman glanced down the hall to see Emerald aiming a gun at them. Neo quickly wrote something down.
"What's the big idea? I thought we were here to save him?" Neo asked.
"Nah, Cinder just wanted you to think so and do all the hard work." Emerald responded, making Neo narrow her gaze.
"Meaning what?" She wrote.
"Cinder wants to start her plans over, so wee needed to tie up loose ends, including you. Thanks for saving us the trouble of breaking in here and killing all the guards while busting him out, it's gonna make my job a whole lot easier." Emerald laughed as she aimed her pistol at Roman first to his nervousness.
"Nothing personal Roman, Its just business so lets get this over-" Emerald tried saying as her finger itched on the trigger. She was shocked as she saw her hand go flying in a torrent a blood gushing from a stump where it once was.
"Aaaagh!" Emerald yelled as she recoiled in fright only to gasp as she realized she felt no pain.
"W-What the?" She asked confused as she soon saw her hand back and gripped it before realizing she dropped her gun and Neo had her blade on the illusionists neck.
"Y-You…You can create mirages too?!" Emerald asked, Neo only nodded in return.
"Yes, and better than you apparently." Neo said in her head with a smirk, proud she made it in time to wipe that grin of this traitorous bitches face. She was about to slit her throat to send her head back to Cinder as payback before her eyes widened in shock as she heard something rip through the air like lightning and shoved him away to his shock. She soon drew Hush's hidden blade and parried a flurry of green swords flung at her, huffing as she was startled beyond belief by the attack and jumped back towards Roman, itching to guard him.
The source of those blades soon flying slowly back towards the other end of the hallways was a teenage girl with orange hair and a green power symbol on her stomach smiling cheerfully at them.
"Salutations! Sorry Mr. Torchwick and friends, but your no friends of mine. Penny Pollendina is going to have to arrest you and breakup your reunion." Penny said with a chuckle as more blades floated around her, aimed at the group, who eyed her angrily for her interruption.
Back at the forest
Another reunion wasn't going so well. Ruby and Yang, two sisters once close enough to read each other's thoughts, were now locked in a deadly duel. Both were sweating and full of cuts and burns, clearly getting worn down by the battle.
Ruby jumped in the air and delivered a downward slash aimed at the Xiao Long, who slid to the left to dodge it before attempting to smack her sister's face and knock some sense into her.
"SNAP OUT OF IT RUBY! Yang hollered as she nearly delivered the blow, only to freeze as she felt something sharp and cold on her neck as she neared Ruby, who she saw had an aura of a red cloaked grim reaper appear behind her as she grinned menacingly.
"You should worry more about yourself." Ruby coldly said with a snicker. The girl let Yang get close to position the blade around her neck. Yang's eyes widened in horror as she saw her finger on the trigger and glanced to see Crescent Rose around her, preparing to slice her head off. Her sister was about to kill her.
"RUBY DON'T!" Yang cried, her voice and tears making the little sister cringe a bit, taking her finger off the trigger.
"YANG!" Ruby hollered as she took away the weapon and kneeled on the ground, clasping her face as it begun to ache, the red marks flickering on and off.
"What's happening to Ruby now!?" Blake asked in shock at what she was seeing this. Weiss soon blushed as she gave the brightest smile she could muster as she hugged Blake.
"Perhaps it IS possible to break free from someone's control without killing them!" Weiss cheered.
Cinder sneered as she sat in her chair, pissed beyond belief as she felt her control slip away again.
"She's almost regained control, we can't have that now can we?" Cinder sneered.
Soon Ruby jerked her head back and screamed in pain, her whole body felt she was being electrocuted as she lingered in pure anguish.
"RUBY!" Yang hollered, frightened for her sister as she ran towards her only to recoil in terror as Ruby grit her teeth and roared at her with angry eyes.
"NOW DIE!" Ruby yelled as she delivered a heavy slash towards Yang who barely leaned back to dodge in time.
"Wow! That was close she-" Yang sighed before noticing a lock of her hair falling off on the edge of the blade. She grinded her teeth with rage, how dare this bitch use her sister to cut her hair. Only Ruby herself was allowed to so much as touch the hair.
"I love your hair Yang. Its cool, like a fire dragons" A 6 year old Ruby's voice echoes in Yang's head as her hair caught flame and her eyes reddened in anger.
"YOU MONSTER!" Yang roared as she was engulfed in flames and blazed past Ruby's scythe to her and Cinder's shock. They didn't get time to process how the Xiao Long got past them as a hot fist burned Ruby's cheek as it smacked her, drawing blood from her mouth as she gagged when another one rammed into her stomach, nearly knocking her out.
"Ruby!" Weiss yelled, absolutely surprised by this outburst from Yang. Blake just looked on amazed in all honesty.
"I guess… even Ruby's no exception when someone cuts Yang's hair." Blake surmised.
Yang roared as she was about to deliver another blow, this time to Ruby's head before it jerked, revealing Cinder's pupil in one of them.
"Enough!" Ruby roared as Cinder's voice melded with hers to everyone's shock. This was nothing compared to the surprise Yang felt when a sharp pain ripped out of her chest. Ruby had unshaved her wrist blade and slashed her. Yang fell on her but, eyes wide open in terror as she slowly processed her near fatal wound before choking on blood and gagging. Ruby sheaved the blade again as she grabbed Crescent Rose annoyed.
"It's time to put an end to this already." Ruby groaned as Cinder grew impatient to have her kill the girls.
"Now die!" Ruby roared as she prepared to deliver a final slash to Yang only for her eyes and the Xiao Long's to widen as Weiss got in between the two, her arms held out unarmed.
"WEISS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Blake yelled in horror, but Weiss merely grit her teeth and firmly spoke.
"Ruby, I won't let you hurt your sister even if it kills me!" Weiss said. Her voice and stern gaze made Ruby shutter.
"Weiss?" Ruby whispered. Her eyes wept as she soon felt the memories of their time together, even the nasty first encounter and explosion rip through her head painfully. It was nothing though compared to the pain she felt as a torrent of blood gushed from her arm.
Weiss gasped as she heard Ruby yell and stab her arm with her hidden wrist blade. Cinder recoiled in her chair as she felt that pain through their connection.
"Fuck! What's going on here!?" She groaned in pain before realizing she was in a black void. All she could feel, all she could here was a person's voice behind her resonation.
"I'm fighting back that's what!" Ruby yelled defiantly, despite being naked and bound by black threads in this dimension. It was then Cinder realized they were in Ruby's mind.
"I WON'T LET YOU HURT THEM ANYMORE!" Ruby roared. Cinder only scoffed in return.
"Why do you keep fighting me? You know you can't hold me back forever." Cinder coldly asked.
Ruby winced a bit, feeling her spirit fade a bit at those words. She knew it was the truth, her will was washing away by the minute. But for every second she could spare, she knew she had to be strong for her friends and families sake.
"I know, but hear me! For as long as it takes, until I run out of energy and fade forever, I will fight you to protect them!" Ruby screamed, her voice echoing in the void.
In the outside world, Ruby was shivering as she clenched her arm, blood washing over her hand. WBY approached her cautiously, unsure if she was still in control as they noticed the red marks still on her face, signifying Cinder's presence still there.
"R-Ruby?" Weiss called out fearfully. Her eyes wept as she saw her partner gasping for air before giving her a bright smile.
"Don't worry. Its me this time. Your fearless leader kicked her butt for the moment." Ruby said cheerfully as she threw her scythe far away before groaning, not from the pain in her arm that bleed to Weiss's concern, but from her ears ringing as the Heiress felt a vein burst as she roared at the top of her lungs into them.
"YOU DOLT! Do you have any idea how deadly that injury could be!? You could bleed to death you-" Weiss hollered before a call from Blake, carrying a bleeding Yang over her shoulder, caught her attention.
"Take it easy Weiss. She did that to keep herself from killing you." Blake argued. Weiss huffed as she pouted a bit, annoyed at that fact. She hated how selfless her partner could be sometimes.
"Weiss." Ruby weakly whispered to Weiss; catching her off-guard as she gasped and knelt down towards her.
"Yes Ruby? What is it?" Weiss asked softly, reaching her hands out to comfort her before they slapped away by Ruby's good arm and she doubled back by a shout.
"PLEASE! KNOCK ME OUT HURRY!" Ruby screamed before groaning in pain, clutching her head.
"That woman *huff* Cinder Fall she… I can't hold her back for long. Please do it." Ruby begged.
"R-Ruby I- I can't hurt you." Weiss whimpered.
"PLEASE! I DON'T WANT TO HURT ANY OF YOU ANYMORE PLEASE!" Ruby screamed for mercy. Weiss almost felt all the strength in her knees fade as she struggled to stay awake through this nightmare.
"I'll do it." Yang groaned. Weiss and Blake eyed her surprised at her weak declaration, considering she was gagging up blood and sweating like crazy from her injuries. It was a wonder she was even still conscious.
"I don't want it to happen at all but….If hurting Ruby is anyone's burden to bear it has to be mine." Yang firmly said as she weakly shoved Blake aside and walked towards her half-sister to Weiss's surprise. Ruby was smiling, grateful she could once more count of her big sister.
"Thank you, Yang. I know I'll see you again when you save me I… I love you." Ruby tearfully said as she raised her head up, bracing herself for the blow. Yang could only bit her lip painfully as she too wept, barely finding the strength to speak after hearing those words. She couldn't help but fear they were just comforting lies for them both.
"I-I lov-…. I'm sorry for this Ruby. I'm so sorry." Was all Yang could muster the strength to say as a loud crash rippled throughout the forest followed by a roar of anguish from the Xiao Long as the deed was done.
Author Notes
Mix of CH 3,4 and 7 of the webcomic. Link below. Next time, Ruby's team recuperates and tries to uncover the mystery behind the woman Cinder Fall who kidnapped sweet little Ruby and why she almost killed them with her. Time is of the essence as Ruby's spirit flickers away with each battle. Can WBY save her in time? Next time in ch4: Cinder's Goal
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