Here we go again.

REAPER IN RED

Chapter 18

Days at Beacon had become a lull for Team RWBY. I slept next to Yang those first few nights, letting her cuddle with me like she remembered us doing during her youth. It became a common sight that week following the situation at the docks, to have one of my teammates crying out in the middle of the night or break down in tears during class. It was why Ozpin offered our team the rest of the week off. I still went to class. I had to. It was my fault that they were all like this.

My fault.

I did what I could for them. When they refused to eat, I forced them to. Coffee for Weiss, tea for Blake and hot chocolate for Yang every morning. A second one of each right before bed. I took rigorous notes in classes I shared with them and spent the weening hours of the night copying them meticulously into each of their notebooks. When one of them twisted and turned in their fitful sleep, or called out, I was by their side, holding their hand and gently stroking their hair. I barely slept anyways. If they needed me, even a little, I would move the world itself to help them.

When things were truly bad and Blake or Weiss shouted out a name, I changed into my Reaper form, keeping myself hidden as I let my closeness and presence calm them down. I did the same for Yang too. My power seemed to be working now.

And in those few hours of sleep I managed, I woke up with dry tears on my cheeks and redness around my eyes. I had done this to them. I had brought Penny along. I didn't find out what Penny was, that night. I couldn't find Weiss in that city. I let Weiss run away from us. I yelled at Weiss.

My fault.

Sun had been absent those days. Weiss told me he was staying in Beacon, waiting for the rest of his teammates to arrive in the coming days, but I hadn't seen him since that night. No sight of him around the school nor in any of the classes. I couldn't do anything to even try and help him. I wished I could. I did this to him too.

My fault.

Ozpin's voice brought me out of my stupor. "Combat History 101 often looks back through history, focusing on tactics utilized by huntsmen and huntresses of years long gone by. I have discussed with you all about how teams of two, four and eight have combated large numbers of Grimm as well as some Salemites of the higher order, such as vampires and witches. There is a reason this course is provided only to leaders in their first year, as well as all those among us whom have chosen it for their second year."

The headmaster took a slow sip from his mug, remaining silent along with the rest of the class.

"You all have seen the local news. One among us here today was there to experience it firsthand. As such, Professor Port has agreed to join me today to discuss some things not often covered during the first or even second years of study here. It is imperative that you pay attention. Ask questions if and when you have them. Professor."

The headmaster gestured for Professor port to take center stage, which he did, but not with his usual happy-go-lucky bouncing steps.

"I do tell a great many stories in my classes, young students, about my brilliance and strength and ingenuity in combat against the greatest of Grimm and Salemites. One time, -excuse me headmaster-" He allowed himself a breath to calm down. "But, rarely do I truly introduce myself. I am quite a bit older than the lot of you. Many times older if I do say so myself! But in my youth, I sat in these very halls. I gained my license as a professional huntsmen and went on many grand adventures as you all have heard and will continue to hear. But, it is not for the many Grimm nor lower Salemites I have finished, that had earned me a place teaching at this fine academy. In my youth and into my middling years, I had fought against many a skin-crawler. My fellow Professor, Oobleck, and I had put together a book on the topic of that particular higher order Salemite, during my first years of teaching."

He gestured to a second year raising is hand. I couldn't remember his name nor place his face on any particular team. "What's so special about the book?"

"Why, it tells of all that I had learned while combating such a monster. The first visual records of what it looks like when a skin-crawler takes possession of a new body. As well as some basic calculations, for which I had much help in analyzing, which predicted the number of months a skin-crawler had been living inside a particular body based on its speech patterns and certain other defining characteristics. Ms. Rose, may I ask you to come up beside me? I would like to ask you some questions regarding the speech of the skin-crawler you fought. If you feel uncomfortable, please stay seated. Do not fret if you are nervous, facing such a beast at such an age is a remarkable accomplishment."

Yes. Accomplishment. I had led a skin-crawler straight to my team.

My fault.

I looked around the class. Jaune was there, giving me a nervous glance which told me he would respect whatever decision I made. Others were looking at me curiously. There were so many second years. And those from third and fourth. More than usual for this class. Maybe it got around what this class was going to be about. It definitely did not among the first years. I don't think I would have showed up if I knew what was going to happen this lecture.

Slowly, I rose from my seat, my chair squeaking loudly against the tiled floor and silence of the room. My steps were loud as well, as I walked towards the professor and headmaster. Headmaster Ozpin gave me a small smile and a nod of support. I gulped back my fear and took a seat at the front of the room across from Professor Port.

"My dear. If at any time you wish to stop, do not hesitate to do so. I understand that I am asking you to share such memories, but it is for an important reason." The professor's huge mustache curled upwards, as if he was smiling underneath it.

I nodded and took a deep breath. My voice came out shaky and quieter than I wanted it to be. "H-her name was Penny. I bumped into her while walking through Vale with my teammates. We thought she was a little strange. Her sentences weren't co-complete and she repeated phrases and greetings. She also talked as if she wasn't Penny. But, sometimes she did. Y-Yang, my sister, noticed she wasn't blinking."

"First and third person difficulties, phrase repetition." The professor repeated, letting the class jot down the words in their notebooks. "Continue, my dear."

I nodded. "We met again at night... also in Vale," I lied. It wouldn't be good to share how a higher order Salemite had not only been in Beacon, but got inside without notice. I had to tell someone. But... maybe just the headmaster. Safer that way.

"She didn't say much. Just hello and goodbye. There... there..." I let out a shuddering breath. That's what Weiss did when she was scared to talk about Reaper-me to the police. I felt the headmaster's hand on my shoulder, showing his support. "There was blood on her hand. I didn't know what it was from, but she was an odd person. Maybe it was red paint? Or strawberry jam? Or anything else? Who has blood on their hands? Heh heh."

"What was she like then?"

"Aside from the hand, more normal. She said hello when I saw her and goodbye when she left. No repetition."

"Lack of repetition and congruent speech patterns. The skin-crawler most likely fed, judging by the blood."

"Then when we saw her again, it was the night of the attack. She was a bit more normal, sort of. At first she spoke slowly. Then when I asked her questions, she answered me. Said she was combat ready?"

I looked between the professor and headmaster for any recognition of the phrase.

"There is a good chance that miss Penny commonly used such a phrase during her lifetime. Skin-crawlers are known to pick on such phrases to give them an air of familiarity." The headmaster mentioned.

"Then we were at the docks. And the attack happened. And then I... the Reaper showed up."

"Thank you miss Rose, please take your seat." As I did so, the professor went to the black board to jot down the notes he had mentioned.

"First, miss Rose noticed lack of blinking, improper speech patterns and speaking in first and third person. Then there was most likely a feeding, after which its speech improved greatly. Judging by the first interaction, we know that the Salemite most likely had Penny's body for at minimum a year. If the body was fresh, there would be no confusion in language. And the lack of blinking tells a similar story. Blinking often stops at around the fifteen and eighteen month mark. After a feeding, the voice and mannerisms improved, but not completely. These are telltale signs of body decay. Penny had most likely died at minimum fifteen months ago. At most three years."

The professor looked around the classroom, ensuring everyone was paying attention to what he was about to say next. "Students, it is important to know that Skin Crawlers do not share the body with their hosts. It is graphic to be sure, but these Salemites feed on the body's internals, claiming the space for their own. If you run into this Salemite still in its human form, it is best to kill it quickly. The actual person is already dead. No matter what they say or emotions they show. It is the Skin Crawler making those faces."

"Professor?" I raised my hand, "before Penny... before the skin-crawler's arm attacked, Penny's voice got higher and she was muttering something. Like a conversation with her father?"

"What did she say, try to be as exact as possible." The professor stared at me. even headmaster Ozpin seemed to get more serious.

"I don't remember all of it. Just that she said her name was Penny Polendina and she is-was sixteen years old. She was excited to go to school in Atlas? Atlas Academy? Her father was letting her go. And then she said she wasn't home anymore."

The headmaster sighed and shook his head. "I... I have a call to make to General Ironwood. Please excuse me."

He left without another word, all eyes following him out the door.

"Miss Rose most likely heard a snippet of miss Penny's final conversation. She died at the age of sixteen. That was most likely between fifteen months and three years ago. Were I to have more information, particularly snippets of conversation recorded, this amount could be narrowed down further, but from my best guess, I would place control over the body between one and a half and two years. Though that is purely my opinion. Class, skin-crawlers do indeed roam the wilderness of Remnant, but so too do they inhabit the kingdoms and towns themselves. It is by luck that we know they are few in number and how to properly identify them. Attacks of skin-crawlers in the kingdoms are not ordinary, but make no mistake, they are not un-ordinary either. All kingdoms have rules in place and teams of huntsmen on standby which deal with threats such as those, which I am sure miss Rose can attest to."

"What is of note, is the sighting of a Grim Reaper in Vale. While we know for certain that Reapers lurk all across the kingdom, they often attack from the shadows, without being seen. They tend to choose weaker prey, those of old age or those that are sick or on the verge of death. But, with the sighting of a Reaper in broad daylight -so to speak- it paints a picture that they may soon change their tactics and methods of attack."

I sank low in my seat. What did I do?

"The last documented sighting of a Reaper inside Vale happened many years ago. Actually it happened when our dear headmaster was sitting where you currently do now."

I sank even lower, a blush emerging on my face. Oh Salem, why me?

"We now must be more vigilant. These next few weeks during this class, professor Ozpin and I will focus mainly on Grim Reapers and skin-crawlers. While these topics are often discussed in your later years of studies, it seems prudent to keep you all informed now. Make no mistake, the skin-crawler that attacked the docks was most definitely a young one in an old body. It was a weak one to deal with. And as I have stated before to all of you, even I do not go up against Reapers. Just because you feel confident in your abilities as students here at Beacon Academy, does not mean you are ready to handle the highest of the Higher Order. With that, class is dismissed. If you are in my regular class, make sure to have your homework completed and..."

The professor continued to talk, telling everyone to do their homework and to prepare for whatever new stories he had to tell. I wasn't listening, nor did I particularly care at the moment. I had bought myself another week of full human senses, but it might have cost me everything. I chastised myself for my impulsiveness. I should have waited. I still had time. I had only lost my ability to sense heat! Salem, damn me. Why did I have to be so brash. So.. so... stupid. And now I might have unintentionally put the entire kingdom on high alert.

I scarred my team for life and now I most likely ruined my future chances of sneaking into Vale and Reaping. It's all my fault.

I needed help. No, I needed protection. I needed to become stronger.

No more waiting around or getting sidetracked by useless human drama. I needed a territory and I needed it now.

The headmaster's office was my final stop for the day. He needed to know. I needed to know how. Out of everything that had happened during that time, it was the one thing that truly scared me. I had used my magic that night. I know I did. Even if I didn't, Penny was there. No, she was there and she murdered someone without me knowing about it. I should have known. I should have felt something.

Shouldn't I?

"Miss Rose?" I heard Ozpin call from inside his office, just as my fist was hovering in front of the door.

"Yes, sir." I squeaked in reply. Opening up the door, I saw him, sitting behind his desk, like he usually did.

Something was off about him though. His hair was a little messier and his glasses were resting on the desk instead of on his nose. He was leaning forward, allowing his chin to rest in his hands. He was tired.

"I must apologize for my current state. I had to have a hard conversation with a close friend and colleague of mine. The man happened to be the godfather of miss Polendina. Apparently the girl had run away from home quite a time ago and he had been looking for her ever since"

I nodded. I didn't know what I could do. Well, not in this form at least. Would it be a mercy if I made him forget her? Would it be a mercy if I changed his memories of the situation? No, maybe not. Penny would still be dead and she had still been inhabited by a skin-crawler for a long time.

Long before I met her.

Another pang in my chest as I remembered Weiss breaking down on the bullhead. Of Yang attacking in a rage, against me in order to protect me. Of Blake who was doing everything she could to hold in her pain to take care of the two of them. Even if I knew she was taking it just as hard as they were.

My fault.

All my fault.

"What can I do for you?" He asked, breaking me from my downward spiral of thoughts.

"Oh, umm, I lied during class today and I wanted you to know about it." I couldn't look him in the eyes.

"It is alright to feel nervous and it is alright to lie about something you don't feel comfortable with speaking about. We all have our secrets. Yours and mine may be large in the grand scheme of things, but that doesn't make all secrets bad. Or unneeded."

"You know?" I blurted out. Headmaster Ozpin smiled for the first time since I arrived in his office and took a sip from his mug.

"What do I know?" The headmaster spoke from behind his drink.

I shook my head. Now wasn't the time. "I didn't meet Penny the second time in Vale. She was here. In Beacon. In-in my dormitory. Her hand was covered in blood and she was in Beacon. H-has.. has anybody been found dead at Beacon recently?"

The headmaster made no sound and I was in no mood to interrupt the silence which hung between us. I was hoping he had an answer. He HAD to have an answer for me. If it happened on the other side of campus, or in another building, and happened before I used my shadows then maybe it would be alright. And that would be a very, very hard maybe. I should know when people were dying. It was my thing. My whole flubbering purpose in life. It was literally what I lived for.

Find those dying, Reap their souls. Help them pass from this world to the next. Rinse and repeat. I knew I couldn't reach everyone and I could force myself to keep from changing or even searching for a time, but I still usually knew. And this not knowing?

I think I now understood the fear that the rest of my team faced when facing off against the skin-crawler and Reaper-me.

"I truly wish I could tell you there has been a death on campus. Miss Ruby Rose, everyone is accounted for. But I fear this is the worst case."

And there be the end of the stupidly named "Spoopy Arc". Why did I call it the Spoopy Arc? Because I came up with the idea in October and I was enjoying the Halloween spirit and wanted to try writing something somewhat creepy. Tell me how I did! I really need the practice... Anyways, what does that mean for Ozpin's fears about the lack of a body? Not too much since it's only a young skin-crawler and those don't really scare our cloaked hero. Why would she make a big deal about something like that? Ruby has her own much more important fears to deal with.

Spoilers: Most of these questions will be answered next chapter and it will be completely anticlimactic. Also, thank you all for helping this fic reach the fabled 300+ followers!

Sm0keyPanda - Glad you found it disturbing. And psycho-Penny is best Penny

Alucard45 - As explained briefly in this chapter, the Skin Crawler wears the body as a meat suit, controlling it as if the body was (and now you will see where the idea for using Penny came from) a robot. And yes, Reapers are awesome! While I don't say it outright, in Cinder's chapter, she does revert to human form to talk with Ruby (as said when she removed the hood of her cloak). For your temperature question, the answer is yes.

Dragonqueen1993 - I haven't seen FMA so I'm not quite sure what they look like! But I'm glad you liked it.

Blessings of Babylon - While I knew killing Penny off would have some push-back and shock value, she really wouldn't have ever been that important of a character. I could have had her pop in from time to time just so you remember that she's there, or I could use her death as a means to terrify our main cast and have them actually be effected by the world around them, thus adding to long-term character development.

lasereye27 - It's totally the superman effect.

JackTheSpades - Happy you enjoyed seeing Ruby Reap again. Fear responses are fun to play around with. :)

chinaluv - Super intense!

FN75 - Ya, plenty went on last chapter and a lot this chapter. Hopefully this one clears up some stuff, but stay tuned for more info about all the Salemites.