Happy Halloween and Happy Birthday Ruby Rose! Holy shit, it's been...a year. Last year, you guys were seeing Ben go toe to toe with Tyrian on a lame Thursday Halloween- now you're seeing Ben and Ruby hooking up and...also the pregnancy chapter.
...I almost honest to God cut that one.
Also, check out my Deviantart, transwiththeplans, to see some fanarts! :3
Also, starting with this chapter, this will be the last "side chapter" of 2020. These next few chapters are...interesting and fun and they WILL torture you. I'm looking forward to some fan reactions~ :3
But, yes! Please leave a review, especially for this story.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUBY!" The group cheered as Yang presented her sister with an extra special chocolate chip cookie in a mug with a candle in the middle.
Ruby looked up from her book and gasped. "Oh my gosh, cookie in a mug-"
"If it counts for anything, I made it," Doppler bragged.
"...we let you push the buttons on the microwave, dude," Ben spat.
"Still! I made it!" he said, folding his arms.
Ruby rolled her eyes as Yang handed her the mug and spoon. "Well, thank you! This means a lot to me."
"We also decided to throw a little Halloween get together tonight," Ceres announced with a grin. "They let us have the gala room and everything."
"How'd you manage that?" Kevin asked.
Weiss smirked, flipping her ponytail (and smacking Rook, Min, and Kylie in the face by accident). "I pulled a few strings."
"We both did," Blake interjected. "It took some convincing, but we're having a mini movie marathon/party."
"It is important you wear a costume," Rook added. "You would look foolish being the only normal one in a crowd of costumed faces."
"Oooooh~!" Ruby gushed. "You guys! You didn't have to do that!"
"Hey, you're 17. You can finally watch rated R movies without an adult nearby." Kylie grinned. "You ready to see Ripley fuck up some Xenomorphs?"
"Abso-fucking-lutely," Ruby declared.
"Hey, Ben," Min joked. "Can-"
"No, I can't turn into a Xenomorph. Nor can I turn into a Gallifreyan, a Kryptonian, a Super Sayian, an Irken, or a Pokemon. Or a Yoshi." Ben said exasperatedly. "Believe me, I've tried."
Min pouted, disheartened. But that didn't last long. "Hey Kevin, can you turn into a Xenomorph?"
"Maybe? I dunno." Kevin shrugged as the group dispersed to prepare for the evening. Ruby happily dug into her cookie while Ben stayed back.
"So, you got a costume ready for tonight?" Ruby asked, her mouth covered in chocolate.
Ben chuckled. "I can't tell you that. It's a surprise."
"Awww, what?" she huffed. "I don't even get a little hint?"
"Oh, fine." He gave her a grin. "It's gonna make me look cool as hell."
Ben adjusted his sweatband and looked in the mirror. He was right- this costume made him look cool as hell.
Ben's costume consisted of a yellow and black jacket with buttons going down the front. Around his head was a prominent sweatband that had a sticker with the word "SOUL" on it, and a circular logo featuring a red-lipped mouth bearing pointed fangs surrounded with the letters 'E-A-T.' He wore maroon pants and yellow and black sneakers with a pattern on the soles resembling teeth.
Ben had fully embraced the role of Soul Evans. He had been a long time fan of Soul Eater- it had been one of his first animes, in fact. The concept of turning into weapons really spoke to him, a kid that could turn into aliens.
"Right, gotta get into character," Ben muttered, trying to think of some cool lines. "...uh, 'If we die, we die cool.'"
"So, I guess we're all immortal then?" Ceres mused, startling Ben. He spun around to see Ceres... wearing a scarily accurate costume of Samus Aran's suit. Ben's jaw dropped to the floor.
"Oh, you like?" she asked. "Kevin introduced the game to me. Gotta admit, didn't think Samus would be a girl. Made this suit in a few days. This one was actually a challenge, compared to making Ari and Lev's costumes."
"What are they going as?" Ben asked as the door swung open. Ari entered the room dressed as Alucard from the Hellsing series. "...ah."
Ari pointed one of her guns (accurate to the show) at Ben. "I'm a dog, and you're dog food."
Ben blinked. "You realize I'm taller than you, right?"
Ari cocked her gun. "Dog food."
He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'm gonna go down and help Ruby set up."
Her eyes lit up. "Oh, dude, you are gonna love her costume."
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, hey, a cool guy like you shouldn't ask questions." Ceres smirked. "You should know answers immediately."
Ben slapped his forehead. "Of course! How could I forget the first rule of being cool?"
Ben got a few looks for his weird costume, but a cool guy like him just shook it off. Except deep inside, he felt totally embarrassed, especially when others WEREN'T in costume (at least not yet, Ben hoped), but still...he had to embrace that Soul role to heart.
Ben finally arrived at the gala room- a few weeks prior, his life had seriously changed because of this place.
He got pregnant.
...and he also hooked up with Ruby, but the pregnancy thing was VERY unexpected, honestly.
But nothing could prepare him for-
Ben opened the door to see Ruby dressed in a typical schoolgirl outfit consisting of: a white blouse with a yellow sweater vest, a green striped tie, a red plaid skirt, and black boots with white buckles. Seemed pretty normal for a Halloween costume, right?
Well, add in a black trench coat, her hair done up in pigtails, and white gloves, and that gave Ben a very different reaction than an onlooker or outsider.
Ruby had dressed up as Maka Albarn. Maka Ruby was setting up some party favors at the table, when she turned around and saw Soul Ben.
They stared at each other for a few moments.
"...so, should I turn into a scythe now or do I just use Upgrade to possess Crescent Rose?" Ben asked.
Ruby giggled. "Good response, Soul."
"So, Maka-" Ben sauntered forward. "I can't tell. Is it your birthday, or my-" He paused, noticing something. And then he turned bright red and looked away.
"What's wrong, Soul?" Ruby teased. "I thought cool guys didn't get embarrassed."
"T-they don't!" Ben said, starting to sweat. "Uh, Ruby, about your costume..."
She tilted her head, smiling mischievously. "Yeah? What of it?"
"Okay, this is going to sound weird, but are you using those cosplay boobs you showed me once-"
Ruby burst out laughing, forcing him to stop. "Dude, what do you think the corset on my outfit is for? Aesthetic?" she teased. "I bind so I can attain a more aerodynamic state."
Ben dared another peek (holy crap his girlfriend was stacked) and stuttered out,
So.. you mean…"
"Yep," Ruby said, sticking out her tongue.
He immediately shifted back to his cool guy persona. "Nice. So, as I was saying, I can't tell, is it your birthday, or my lucky da-"
"What are you two doing?" Min's voice rang out. Her sudden presence sent the two into a panic, so what did Ruby do?
RUBY CHOP!
Ben was sent sprawling to the floor while his girlfriend panicked above him.
"OHMIGOSHOHMIGOSHOHMI-"
Min lifted up the mask to her Catwoman costume. "Whoospie~ Did I interrupt something?~"
Min's Catwoman costume was...interesting. It looked like a cross between Michelle Pfeiffer's costume from the Batman Returns movie and the 2003 animated series costume.
Ben scowled as he got back up. "I swear, you should've dressed up as Blair. Would've made this painfully interrupted moment even more in character," he said, rubbing the back of his head.
Min grinned. "Hey, I detect two people flirting in public? It's my civil duty to fuck around with it."
"Since when does Catwoman care about laws?" Ruby asked.
"Since he showed up in my life," Min sighed, gesturing behind her. Kevin walked into the room dressed in a full Batman costume, perfectly recreated from the 90s animated TV show. Ben and Ruby's jaw dropped to the floor.
"What?" Kevin grinned, flipping his cape for dramatic effect. "Robert Pattinson makes it work. I can make it work just as well as he does."
Min hugged her boyfriend. "See? Who can resist this charm?"
"...I can think of a few people," Ben whispered, thinking of all those girls that turned Kevin down when they were 'picking up chicks' at the mall that one time.
"So, how accurate is the costume, Kevin?" Ruby asked, "I may steal parts of it if you ditch it..."
Kevin thought about it. "Well, I got the grappling hook online for a steal, and Ceres gave me some coupons to buy some cool knives... though Lev helped with making some pretty cool Batarangs. Check this out." He pulled out a scarily accurate Batarang and threw it... only for it to crash through a window… and onto a car if the loud honking noise was any indication.
"...that's never happened to Batman before, maybe," Min said. "Hope that wasn't a teacher's car."
(Back in the student parking lot, Cardin Winchester, dressed as a zombie, felt dead inside looking at the Batarang dug into his windshield.)
"Still, I get points for costume accuracy. And I don't look like a total weeb," Kevin teased, poking Ben's chest. "You get this off Milanoo, buddy?"
Ben scoffed. "No! ...I got it off of ezcosplay."
"Still a weeb site."
Blake's Wonder Woman costume was pretty badass (Ruby never realized how toned she honestly was and the fact Yang couldn't stop drooling said a lot), Rook's Mr. Rogers costume suited him, and Lev's Edward Elric cosplay was top notch (and looked like it cost a fortune, but Ruby wouldn't judge), but team CFVY's costumes took the cake; Fox was dressed as Sokka, Yatsuhashi as a Shinigami, Velvet as a cute witch, and Coco-
Well, her costume was a total eyecatcher- she was dressed as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Ruby had to avert her gaze to avoid staring at Coco's unapologetic and deep cleavage.
"Great party, Ruby!" She smiled. "Your costume is super cute."
"Y-your costume is also quite..." Ruby was red in the face. "...deep."
Coco smirked. "Yeah, I know. Velvet took a lot of pictures. So, how old are you now?"
"I'm 17," Ruby declared proudly. "And now I can watch R-rated movies without shame...and rub it in Ben's face."
"Hm? Why's that?"
She gave an evil grin. "Cuz I'M the older one now."
Coco raised her sunglasses. "You? You're older?"
"Yeah, Ben's a December baby. I've been on this Earth longer than he has, and I'm absolutely gonna flex superiority."
Coco laughed. "He probably hates being reminded."
Ben didn't want to say she was right, especially since he'd been eavesdropping from behind.
Kylie (dressed as Uraraka Ochako, and YES, the costume cost a fortune but self care is important) looked at the DVD player and rubbed her chin.
"So, what's the problem?" Weiss (dressed as Snow White) asked.
Kylie shrugged. "Hell if I know. Thought it'd be playing if we set up the projector and everything..."
"So, now what?" Yang asked, posing to show off her Captain Marvel costume.
"Well, we could tell scary stories to pass the time. Just until the DVD player is up and running," Coco suggested.
"...you know what?" Ruby said. "I'm all for it. I have a great story."
Ceres arched an eyebrow. "Wait, really?"
"Hey, it's the perfect night to tell this one. There was one story my mom once told me and Yang when we didn't listen to her warnings about...something. I dunno if it stood out to me because she told it...or because of the nightmares I had because of it," Ruby explained.
"Probably the nightmares. Let's hear it!" Ben said, pulling up a chair. Everyone else got situated as well.
"Now, before we begin," Ruby said slowly, "are you sure you wanna hear this? 'Cause I couldn't sleep for, like, a week when I heard it."
Kevin scoffed. "Come on. It can't be that bad."
Min took note of Ruby's evil smirk.
"Well, don't say I didn't warn you." She cleared her throat. "This is the story of the Grimm Child. And like with other fairy tales, it's a warning. So listen closely," she said, her voice low and mature and so very unlike her. It set everyone on edge.
"Poppy and Oak were playing near the forest's age, a place their parents had forbade them from entering. Poppy was egging her younger brother to go inside the woods and prove their parent's odd fears wrong. Oak would not budge, because he too feared their parent's words- there was mention of a strange threat looming within those woods," Ruby went on. "Back then, people hadn't come up with a word for Grimm, which made the threat of them even more horrifying. Oak feared that the creatures of the unknown would terrorize him if he stepped foot inside..."
Ben wasn't the only one already unsettled, was he?
"It wasn't until Poppy started to call him names did Oak react. He finally agreed to go into the forest, to get Poppy to stop...and for them both to go home. He wanted to go home more than anything," Ruby said. "Poppy told him to go 10 paces into the woods, where it was already pretty dark- a few steps further, and he would've been in complete darkness. Not even a beam of light could penetrate this domain."
Kylie nudged Weiss. "Starting to see why the parents kept them away from it."
"But Poppy, scamp that she was, felt Oak needed an 'incentive' to go inside. So, she darted into the forest and hid herself. She laughed to herself as she heard Oak cry out and bawl her name- 'what a coward,' she thought." Ruby paused. "And then the crying stopped. For some reason, the hair on the back of Poppy's neck stood up, unconsciously alerting her that something was wrong."
Ben felt a chill run down his spine.
"The shadows around Poppy seemed...closer than they were moments ago. In a bout of fear she got up and ran out of the forest. She hid her hands in her pocket to avoid showing her brother that they were shaking. She egged her brother on, telling him there was nothing to be afraid of. Oak refused, so Poppy did the unthinkable-"
Ben's thoughts raced to the most awful conclusion-
"She told that boy she wouldn't be his sister anymore."
...he imagined something much worse, but that was also pretty bad.
"Oak feared that scenario, so he reluctantly agreed to her wishes. He slowly entered the forest- Poppy waited outside patiently, as she expected to hear her brother scream...but he never did," Ruby continued. "Instead, she waited...and waited...and waited. The forest remained silent. Worry and regret filled her mind, and she decided to walk into the forest once more. However, the shadows she once journeyed into were different. She walked further and further into the forest, wondering where her brother was...and she nearly tripped over him."
Ben's mind immediately jumped to the worst possible scenario: DEAD KID, DEAD KID, DEAD KID-
"Her brother was huddled on the ground in a ball. Like a coward. She wanted to yell at him, but instead helped him up and told him she was sorry...and it was time to go home," Ruby told them.
Ben let out a sigh of relief.
"...but there was something off about the boy. His skin, cold to the touch. His eyes, now featuring dark circles underneath them. His face, pale as the bones of the unnamed monsters..." Ruby went on. "Poppy hurried her brother back to the house and up into their room, so that their parents could avoid seeing him. Poppy's brain rationalized that he was scared so badly that the poor boy couldn't utter a word. She put her brother to bed, went to eat dinner with her family, and went to sleep as well. She was thankful, honestly- her parents would never know that they disobeyed their orders."
Ben shivered. These types of 'they'll never find out' stories never end well.
"It was late at night when Poppy woke up," Ruby continued, her voice going even more quiet. They all had to lean in to hear her. "Something possessed her to check on Oak. She went over to his bed, and saw that her brother was missing. She got concerned and went to go get her parents...only to see their door was already ajar. Poppy, now worried, went into the room..." Ruby paused; everyone hung on her word. "...and was met with a horrifying site. Her parents were sitting up in bed, their skin pale and their eyes...lifeless. She didn't have to approach them to know they were already cold to the touch."
Ben was thoroughly freaked the fuck out right now.
"Poppy SCREAMED- her parents were dead, so she ran to her neighbor's house...and found a similar scene in their kitchen. Her friend's parents were lifeless, lying on the ground. She ran to her friend's room, and found her brother there...except, he had changed. His hair had gone as white as snow-" Ruby stopped as Weiss shot her a look. "Look, it was the only description I could think of. I swear."
"White as a ghost. White as porcelain. White as-"
"You're taking me out of the spooky mood!" she whined.
Weiss rolled her eyes. "Alright, fine. Continue."
Ruby got back into her creepy mood. "His hair was white as snow, and red veins were creeping up his neck...but the eyes...his eyes, they were different from his parents. The eyes were now black like an abyss. Poppy ran from house to house, and found a similar scene in each one- dead parents, a child missing, and a child found. She quickly realized that she was now...in a ghost town."
It dawned on Ben why he found this story so creepy.
Ghostfreak. This was the sort of Machiavellian plot he would create.
Ben shivered at the thought.
"Poppy knew she needed to run, and find the last missing child- maybe they were lucky. Maybe they got out, and she just needed to find them and get help-" Ruby continued. "So she ran back to her house, and went to find her suitcase to pack some clothes for the road...but...as she reached under her bed..."
Ben tensed.
"...she touched something cold."
He held his breath.
"She didn't have to look to know what she was grabbing," Ruby said. "She just knew she'd found the last child missing...and that's when...a Chill ran down her spine."
Ben shivered, as did everyone else.
"It was then that she realized what had happened. She ran over to her mirror, and the last thing she saw...was her own black eyes, her pale skin and hair and her new red veins creeping up her neck...Poppy was already dead."
Silence.
A screeching noise filled the room, making everyone (including Ruby) scream. Everyone looked over to Kylie, who had gotten the projector up and running. "There we go!" she beamed, before she felt everyone's hateful glare.
"...did I miss something?" she asked, having tuned out the entire story.
"DAMN IT KYLIE!" Kevin yelled.
"W-well," Velvet shivered. "Uh...great...great story, Ruby...let's go watch the movie now."
"Can we shift it to something more tame?" Yang asked hopefully. "Like Charlie Brown? I wanna see that kid hype up the Great Pumpkin and fail."
"I'll be sending you the bill for my therapy," Blake grumbled, fixing her Wonder Woman tiara.
"How dead were the bodies?" Min asked, having missed the entire 'scare' factor of the story.
Ruby shrugged. "Pretty dead?"
"That works for me~" she said, and Ruby just shook her head. She looked over to Ben, who was still shivering.
"What's wrong, cool guy?" Ruby teased gently.
"...what the fuck, Rue?" Ben said quietly. "What was that story?"
"That's a story about a Chill Grimm. They're similar to Giests," she explained.
"I don't think I'll be sleeping tonight," Ben said coolly. "Or ever again."
Ruby rolled her eyes. "Okay, here's some facts- Chill Grimm aren't common. They're like, rarest of the rare. Second- they can't kill an entire town, let alone handle a complex being as a human. Third- they most certainly aren't intelligent. And four...there's no way a human alive could match the description of the Chill Victim like in the story."
"...why include that last one?"
"My mom mentioned it to me," Ruby said. "I never knew why she did. Maybe it's because she knew I'd have nightmares about the victims."
"Well, either way, I'm still horrified," Ben said. "This is going to bother me all night."
Ruby made a humming noise, and then pecked Ben on the cheek. He blushed, and she grinned cheekily.
"Nothing, huh?" Ruby teased.
"Shut it, you," he grumbled, while his girlfriend just laughed.
The door creaked open. Summer Rose flinched as she heard the distinct sounds of Salem's heels. She stared down at the blinded woman apathetically.
"...today is your daughter's birthday, correct?" Salem asked.
Summer was silent.
"...you don't have to respond, Summer. I was just being polite. I'm not trying to make conversation," she said calmly. "I know everything about you, Summer. I especially know your daughters well. I know how scared they were when you told them the story of the Grimm Child...did you know I inspired that story? My appearance was used for an extra horror factor. In a way, every person knows my face, without knowing me. And believe me, the Chill Grimm I produce are worse than that watered down story."
Silence.
"Of course, you must've figured that out from Ozpin's loose description. I find it cute you tried to hide my existence from your daughters. It's only inevitable that they find out about me soon..." Salem grinned. "I almost considered taking them out early..."
Summer flinched upon hearing that. "Don't...you dare lay a finger on my girls..." she rasped.
"Oh, Summer...I considered it," Salem said quietly. "I was tempted to send you marching home, appearing to your daughters as a ghost. They would've been confused at first, but then they'll rush to hug you..."
Summer felt cold hands on her face.
"And they'd feel a Chill run down their spine."
She wanted to scream.
Salem laughed to herself. "But I figured you would somehow break free. I know the willpower of a silver eyed warrior far exceeds the willpower of any other Hunter. So, I decided to just...kill them myselves. When the time comes, of course. When Ozpin decides to fire his useless bullets at me."
Salem sighed. "Well, I suppose I must be going now. I have a lot to prepare for. That Tennyson boy is proving to be a bigger thorn in our sides."
Tennyson? Summer thought. Our sides?
"Yes..." a voice rasped. "Indeed he is. But...the Festival will change all of that..."
Summer felt even more terror run through her- who the hell said that?
"Yes, and we must prepare everything." Salem grinned. "Goodbye, Summer..." She walked out and slowly closed the door. "...and Happy Halloween."
Only when the door was completely shut did Summer finally start to cry.