Meanwhile, Weiss had decided to take Petra's supposed "Reason" for all the trails into her own hands and went for a walk on one of them. She actually began to enjoy it for a brief period, it was nice to just take in the fresh night air and be away from a potential fight. But as she made her way along, she noticed a fork in the road. One trail was a loop back to the mansion, the other had a sign blocking it saying "Trail Closed: Do Not Enter".
"Well isn't that suspicious." Said Weiss, rolling her eyes.
Weiss naturally took the closed trail, in hopes that it might lead to some answers. But as she made her way along… The air grew cold, so cold in fact that Weiss could see her breath. This spooked her so much that she drew Myrtenaster, spun around, and checked over her shoulder. Not a soul in sight. She continued her journey, still a little shaken up… But if it wasn't for her being distracted by her funny feeling, she might have noticed that there was a pit trap right in front of her. The sticks and moss used to cover it up couldn't handle her weight and she plunged right into the abyss below.
"WOOOAAAHHH!" She shrieked. She tumbled, hit a few rocks, and eventually landed butt-first at the bottom.
"Ow… Shi-That… Smarts…" She tried to recover herself, luckily she wasn't that badly injured by the fall, but it was then she noticed that the pit led into a cave right in front of her. She could have just climbed back up the hole, but given they were trying to get to the bottom of this mystery, she decided to go in and investigate. As she made her way through, a TERRIBLE smell hung in the air. Weiss had to plug her nose.
"Where is that smell coming from?..." She wondered.
Weiss held her breath, trying to avoid taking in the awful stench, and slowly proceeded. She used a glyph to create a lantern to guide her way through the darkness. But as she got further, one of the first things she noticed… Was a skeleton right in front of her.
"H-WHA?!" She screamed, and stumbled back in shock. But upon getting a closer look… She noticed that the skeleton had a collar, and she recognized the pattern on it.
"Chuvappu… You poor thing, how did you get down here?..."
Her question was soon interrupted when she heard something fall over behind him… It turned out to be another skeleton, much to Weiss's shock. She lit up another lantern with her glyph and what was revealed in the light… Horrified her. What she saw was PILES of human bones! It was like a mountain! There were so many that it almost went up to the top of the cave! Weiss completely forgot about the bad smell and uncovered her nose. It was too much. She let out the biggest blood-curdling scream you could ever imagine. The fact that they were human bones was bad enough, but what was worse was these bones looked like they belonged to young children! No way were any of them older than Ruby or Oscar! She wanted to get out of there, but the only way out was back the way she came. She ran back and created more Glyphs in the air so that she could jump on each one and get out of the pit as quickly as she could. She slipped when she got close to the top, and did her best to climb the rest of the way. When she finally made it back up, she crawled onto the trail, and had to do some fast breathing to catch herself. She couldn't believe what she had just seen. She didn't get a chance to count, but she was certain that there were hundreds of dead children in that cavern. There was worse to come, approaching her was Petra, carrying Chloe's corpse over her shoulder. Once she put two and two together, Petra dropped the body, and kicked Weiss in the face, causing her to black out.
When Weiss woke up, she found that she was back on the patio and tied up to a chair. Myrtenaster was gone too! Petra must have taken it from her while she was unconscious. No surprise, her head also hurt really badly.
She then heard Petra's voice in front of her, "Just like a Schnee to stick your nose where it doesn't belong..."
"Did you kill them?!" Confronted Weiss.
"Just like a Schnee to be smart too…" Said Petra, with a hint of sarcasm.
"Y-Y-You…" Said Weiss quivering, "... You sick FUCK! What would motivate you to do such a sickening thing?!"
"Patience!" Said Petra, "I'm sure your precious friends want to know the answer too, so why don't we wait for them to come back?" It was at that moment they heard loud footsteps coming towards them. "Speak of the devil…" She smirked.
The large man, with Ruby, Blake, Yang, and Oscar in his arms, entered the patio, and released them to show Petra.
"Well done, Twink!" Smiled Petra, "I knew I could count on you to catch the others."
Yang blinked, "... Wait, you call this guy Twink?!"
"But of course…" Said Petra, raising an eyebrow. "That is his name… What, you think it doesn't suit him? Well what do you think he should be called instead, Donovan?"
Blake then stepped forward, "Shut up, Petra. We know you've been kidnapping these kids, we know you're a lot older than you appear to be…" She then drew out her pistol and aimed it at Petra, "So come clean. Now."
"Well your friend Weiss already knows…" Said Petra, nodding at her. "But since I guess I have nothing to lose… I'll tell the four of you too."
"Well get on with it!" Said Ruby.
Petra then scowled, and gave her and Oscar a look. "You know something?... I was once just like the two of you, a regular teenage girl who didn't want to grow up… Little did I know that it takes a lot, and I mean a lot, to stay immortal..."
"Cut to the chase." Interrupted Blake.
"Oh, for the love of... You said it yourself pussycat, I'm a lot older than I look, don't you want to know how I still look this young? Hell, it's been so long that I've actually forgotten how old I really am, ha! Well, it's all thanks to my best friend, my crocodile…"
"Your… Crocodile?" Blake then questioned.
"Yes, my crocodile." She answered. Petra then grabbed her necklace with the glass crocodile, and held it up, being sure to make a circle around the patio so that each of them could get a good look at it. Ruby then realized that this was why Petra seemed so skittish when she tried to touch it earlier.
"This crocodile has a special gift." Explained Petra, "This is how I stay immortal, this is how I preserve my appearance. All I have to do is feed it."
"... 'Feed it'?" Asked Weiss.
"... Well, not literally." Said Petra, rolling her eyes again. "But all those skeletons you saw down there, and that brat Chloe I was carrying? I had to kill them in order to maintain my power. Thank goodness my other friend, Stabblington, makes the job easy." She then patted her sword, indicating that that was what she called "Stabblington".
Oscar's eyes widened when she mentioned killing Chloe, but Ruby spoke next.
"So you lied to me when you said that the sword is for fighting off Grimm, huh?" She asked, "And to all of these kids about 'Not having to grow up'?"
"What do you mean I 'lied' about the latter, Little Red?!" Scoffed Petra, "I kept my promise that they wouldn't grow up! I just didn't specify what I meant by it… Anyway, here's how the power works. When I kill a lost boy or a girl, this crocodile consumes their souls. And depending on how old that boy or girl was when they died, the number of their age gets added to mine, thereby increasing my lifespan. Pretty simple, isn't it?"
"So…" Said Yang in fury, "... You admit that you murder children just so you can increase your lifespan?! How can you do something that fucked up and live with yourself?!"
"Forever, blondie." Laughed Petra, "It's how immortality works! It always comes with a price. Just like how Salem's immortality came at the price of watching the death of the human race, and…" She looked directly at Oscar, "... Just like how Ozpin's immortality comes at the price of having to change his body every so often. But me? I think eliminating a few snotballs once in a while isn't that big of a sacrifice in order to retain my beauty."
"Beauty is pretty subjective…" Muttered Weiss.
"You shut up!" Snapped Petra. "You're lucky I can't use this spell on you, that's why I didn't kill you when I had the chance to!"
Weiss was confused, "What do you mean you 'Can't use it on me'?"
"Because the spell only works on children, you idiot! If I killed an adult, it would have the opposite effect. So if I killed you and the lovebirds, that… Would subtract 60 years from my lifespan, and I'd rather not take that risk."
"Is that why you have Twink?..." Asked Yang, "So that he can take care of us?"
"I mean, I could let him do that!" Said Petra, "His semblance is superhuman strength, so I bet he could take the three of you down with ease."
"We could call our friends for help, you know…" Interjected Blake.
"How are you going to do that without reception?" Chuckled Petra, "We're in the middle of desert you know, did you really think Scroll reception was my top priority? Oh don't worry, normally I don't let people go, but since y'all are so emotional about this, perhaps we could make a deal? If you three are interested, of course!"
"Not like we have much of a choice…" Muttered Weiss.
"Alright, ladies. Here's my offer to you three. I will release Weiss, and then you three can go home! No strings attached, and you three can go on and live ha-a-a-a-ppy lives! Until you all grow old, lose your pretty faces, and are stuffed in coffins... But that's only on two conditions. One: You three keep your mouths shut about what you now know about me. My immortality is sacred, and the last thing I want is to be the target of a manhunt. Two: You leave Little Red and Oz here… And I will take care of the res-"
Petra couldn't even finish that last word without Yang blasting a fireball in her direction, which she dodged. She looked back at her in shock.
"Kiss… My… Ass…" Said Yang, her eyes had turned red.
"… Alright then. Twink, kill them." Said Petra, and he punched both Blake and Yang, sending them flying. Then Petra pulled out her sword with her right hand. The fight was on.
Ruby and Oscar dueled with Petra while Blake and Yang tried to fight back against Twink. Yang was repeatedly trying to blast fireballs at Twink, but they only seemed to anger him. Blake was about to pull out her pistol and shoot him when he suddenly grabbed the table, and flipped it in their direction! They were caught off guard, it knocked them back and crashed them into the railing behind them. Yang was able to catch herself but Blake almost fell off the cliff, luckily Yang was able to grab her hand.
"Honey, honey! Don't look down!" She called.
"Easier said than done!" Said Blake, shivering in fear.
"-And stop shaking too! I can't hold you if you shake!" Added Yang.
Blake tried to calm down and eventually reached her other hand up for Yang to take, soon she was able to pull Blake back up to the floor and they were safe… Or so they thought. As soon as Yang let go of Blake, Twink grabbed her by the neck and started to strangle her. Blake retaliated by attempting to bite Twink's arm, and while he did scream, he wouldn't let go of Yang.
Meanwhile Ruby kept swinging Crescent Rose at Petra but she kept clashing back with "Stabblington". Though Oscar did smack Petra's leg with his staff.
"OWW! FUCK!" She screamed in pain, "YOU LITTLE SHIT-" She swung "Stabblington" at him, but he clashed it with his staff.
"Go free Weiss!" Oscar shouted to Ruby, "I'll try to hold her off!"
"Got it!" Agreed Ruby, and when she had the chance to, she ran over to Weiss. Then she took one swing with Crescent Rose and cut the ropes.
"Thanks Ruby!" Sighed Weiss in relief, then they noticed that Petra was trying to fly away, with Oscar giving chase. "Okay, you go after her, I'm going to find Myrtenaster!"
"Got it!" Said Ruby, and Petal Bursted after Petra.
But just as Weiss was about to take off, she looked back and noticed that now Twink had grabbed Blake by the neck with his other hand and was attempting to strangle both of them. Weiss didn't want to leave them behind.
"Go, go!" Said Blake, barely able to let out her breath.
But Weiss wouldn't. She grabbed the chair that she had been tied to moments earlier, snuck up behind Twink, and SMASHED him in the back of the head with it! This finally had an effect on him, he released Blake and Yang and they fell to the ground, quickly catching their breath. But he was angry. Twink turned his attention to Weiss, clenched his fists, and punched her in the face. She went flying CRASHED through the wall of the house!
"Weiss, no!" Cried Blake, as Twink chased after her.
"Come on," Said Yang, "We gotta help Ruby and Oscar!"
Both girls quickly climbed onto the roof and looked out into the sky. They could see that Petra was attempting to fly away to dodge Ruby and Oscar's attacks, which worked on Oscar, but not on Ruby. Ruby was frequently using her Petal Burst to catch up and swing at Petra. It was very difficult to hit her in the sky though.
"I have an idea…" Said Blake, and took out her grappling hook. Once Petra got close enough, she fired, and it latched onto Petra's leg.
"GOT HER!" She shouted, and reeled her in.
"What the?!-" Cried Petra once she realized what was happening.
Blake pulled Petra right onto the roof where she and Yang were standing, both wasting no time swinging punches at her, Yang especially. Eventually Yang jumped up and took a punch down at Petra so hard that she crashed through the roof and landed on the floor. The two girls looked down and could see that Petra was getting back up, then Ruby flew towards her, and wrapped Crescent Rose's Scythe around Petra's neck.
"Any last words?" She asked.
"Yes…" Said Petra… "To die would be an awfully big adventure..."
"... Huh?" This confused Ruby for a moment, which was long enough for Petra to do something that would soon haunt her and Yang… She flipped the sharp end of her sword in Ruby's direction, and stabbed her right in the stomach, causing her to scream.
"... For you, that is…" Petra finished, turning around. Then she twisted her sword, pulled it out, and stabbed Ruby's knee, causing her to fall to the ground. Petra laughed like a demon while all poor Ruby could do was cough and wince in pain in response!
"Awww, I'm so sorry I had to end it like this, especially after all you and your friends have been through, but I did promise you therapy, didn't I?" Taunted Petra, then she aimed her sword at Ruby's head. "I'm simply putting you out of your misery-"
"RUBY!" Shrieked Yang, she then launched her mechanical arm at Petra, which hit her in the head and knocked her off the patio. She and Blake then jumped down and quickly tended to Ruby. Yang was far more worried about Ruby than where her arm went.
"Ruby, sis, stay with me! You can do this, don't die on me!" She turned to Blake, "Blake! Come on, find something to wrap her wound!"
"Okay, okay… Let's see… Let's see…"
"Y-Yang…" Wheezed Ruby, "It hurts…"
"I know…" Said Yang in tears, "Come on Blake, think of something!"
Blake couldn't find anything else, so… She did something crazy and took off her white jacket. Then they rolled up Ruby's shirt to where the stab wound was and wrapped Blake's jacket tightly around it. Then she ripped off her jacket's sleeves and wrapped them around Ruby's stabbed knee.
"Okay… That should slow down the bleeding…" Sighed Blake.
"It's going to be okay sis! Just hang on, stay awake! I know it hurts, I know it hurts!" Pleaded Yang, but Ruby just kept moaning in pain and coughing.
Meanwhile, inside the mansion, Weiss had finally recovered from the crash. She then noticed what looked like a toy chest nearby and Myrtenaster was sitting on top of it!
"Boy are you a sight for sore eyes!…" She said in relief, and then grabbed it. But just as she was about to put it back in her sword holder, she heard a roar. It was Twink charging at her! She quickly used some glyphs to knock him back, and launch herself far enough up in the air to be out of his reach. Twink didn't see her at first, so she took this opportunity to lunge towards him feet-first. She let out a battle cry as she kicked him in the face, while he went flying back, crashed through a door and fell down a flight of stairs. As Weiss followed, she could see that he had landed in the basement where the pool was. She knew she had to act fast as he was getting back up.
"Oh no you don't!" She said as she used an ice glyph to freeze him in a block of ice, but it did no good. He broke through the ice quite easily, and just before she was about to take another attack, he grabbed the end of Myrtenaster and bent it, much to Weiss's horror.
"No!... No n-" But before she could fully process what he had done, Twink grabbed her head and lifted her up. Weiss then could feel… Immense pain, she groaned and let out small screams. Twink's hands were getting closer together, and that's when Weiss realized… He wasn't just trying to strangle her, he was trying to crush her skull! She had to think fast. The only parts of his body that she figured were vulnerable enough for her to have an effective strike back were… His eyes. So she stuck her thumbs into them, and he screamed in pain. He couldn't see! He stumbled back and fell into the pool, making a big splash. Weiss prayed that Myrtenaster could still work, so she used yellow dust to create lightning, and aimed it at the pool. It was jittery, but the effect caused the lightning… To actually behave like lightning in water. Twink let out a blood-curdling scream as the combination essentially electrocuted him to death.
"Sorry it had to end this way, big guy…" She sighed, and made her way back outside.
To be continued...
This is definitely the darkest chapter of the story. Petra's "True color" personality was heavily influenced by Pennywise the Clown from IT, along with the age-old urban legend that Peter Pan actually kills the Lost Boys when they get too old to be in Neverland. As for the story itself, we are now approaching the endgame, stay tuned!