King: I'm a mad man... But, I like to have fun with these. And this was fun. Got me to look back into this and find out the next part of the series is coming out this October~! Hope you enjoy~ Side note: Seriously, go watch the original on YouTube.
Inspiration: Mystery Skulls Animated - Ghost by MysteryBen27
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King made no attempt to appear, so the screen decided to start the next round of a realm.
The world started to form as a night sky, a faint sound of music carried through the world.
Yang grinned, "Alright. It's either another musical or a campfire pit. Place your bets~"
Tai lightly punched Yang's shoulders, "No gambling, Yang."
"Fine. No money. Winners get the satisfaction of being right." She said that as if it was a mechanical response built up over years of her life. Which it was. Having Qrow as an uncle necessitated this kind of reaction.
Qrow, in turn, chuckled, "Since when did you become a stick in the mud, Tai?"
Tai rolled his eyes, "Since I became a dad. No offence Qrow, but I don't want my kids growing up to be like you."
"None taken. If I had a kid, I wouldn't want them to be like me, either."
The music started to swell as the camera panned down to a van driving down a wooded road.
'Cause the world might do me in…
The screen moved to show the inside of the van from the dashboard; with Fox behind the wheel, Coco in the passenger seat, and a larger breed version of Zwei (i.e. not a Corgi). All three seemed to focus on a core color scheme. Fox was dressed in a puffy vest that matched his hair color with a white shirt underneath. One interesting factor was Fox's possession of a robotic left arm. Coco was dressed in a coffee colored sweater with a cream-colored scarf and a pair of small, gold-tinted sunglasses resting above her nose. Zwei, in this incarnation, also had a small pair of rounded glasses.
It's alright cause I'm with friends.
Coco grinned, "So, a music video?"
Velvet shrugged, "That's a first."
"Does leave to question where Arc is, though."
Velvet planned to try to use this version to get Coco back for teasing her. Give her a taste of her own medicine. "You two seem awfully cozy in this. There something you're not telling me Coco~?"
Coco chuckled at Velvet's attempt, "Nice try, Vel. I'm not as susceptible to the teasing treatment."
Velvet groaned. Her attempt failed.
Ruby had a different focus, going starry eyed, "Zwei looks so awesome!"
Blake and Kali, however, could not agree. Both took to backing into their chairs, as if to avoid the canine on screen. Kali didn't like dogs, that was no secret. As for Blake… She's seen the damage that thing can do as a stubby corgi. She didn't want to begin to imagine the hell it would unleash as a larger dog. She also didn't like dogs. Living the feline stereotypes, I guess…
Weiss, who was very much a dog person, was internally gushing over how adorable Zwei was. The little glasses too! So adorable~! But she had to keep some level of composure here and stayed silent.
As the music continued, they all started to notice that the heads of all involved, including Zwei, were bobbing to the music at all times.
Cause I'm giving up again, it doesn't matter.
The screen moved to show the various readers inside the van get 'shocked' by a strange golden energy, causing the van to shut down. Eyes turned to Fox, who was supposed to be the team's mechanic, who could only offer a nervous smile. As the van slowed to stop, the three found themselves in front of an old mansion with a golden light shining from within. A few of the windows were boarded up and cracked.
Tai laughed a little, "This kind of reminds me of that old cartoon series. Can't remember its name for the life of me, the 'meddling kids' one."
Qrow nodded, "I could see that."
Ruby turned to her father, "What happens in the show?"
Tai thought for the exact words to use, "It was an episodic series where a group of teens and their dog went around solving mysteries, usually in supposedly haunted locations. It always turned out to be some guy in a mask."
And I'm feeling like a ghost.
The camera panned in as the doors to the mansion opened up with a golden light. The screen then transitioned to show the three entering the mansion, looks of fear and concern across their faces. The doors behind them slammed shut, leaving them in darkness.
And it's what I hate the most.
Their eyes popped open pair by pair as a golden fire ball traveled across the screen. As the song continued, the fire lit a nearby candle that had no wick. Then the candle next to it lit up. The scene switched to the other side of the room as the process repeated.
And this time (this time… this time…)
With each beat of the bass, another candle would light. After a while, a chandelier was alight with golden flames, lighting the room.
This time I might just disappear!
Velvet was shaking a little, "I don't think this one's a guy in a mask."
Coco rolled her eyes, "That's not really all that impressive. Anyone can set up a trick like that if they tried hard enough. My grandfather had a haunted house back when to scare the local kids with the same tricks."
On screen, Coco was a little more impressed. She was starry eyed seeing, what could be, a real paranormal activity. Zwei and Fox, however, had the appropriate response, both sporting looks of fear. The camera spun to show a suit of armor, a golden eye snapping into form within the helmet. Another spin showed a series of paintings getting a similar effect as their eyes snapped to glow in gold.
The screen snapped back to the interior to show a trio of golden ghosts with purple hearts singing the lyrics.
Oh woah oh oh! This I might just dis-
Oh woah oh oh!
The ghosts took on a more intimidating visage as they continued, thoroughly scaring all three into running off full tilt.
This time I might just disappear!
Nora frowned, "You know… these lyrics are kind of sad for an upbeat song like this…"
Ren nodded in response, "Likely a purposeful juxtaposition to really hammer in the mood."
The three were running along down a hallway, the two humans adopting two very different, almost iconic, running styles.
Tai slammed his fist onto his chair's armrest, "Okay! Now it really reminds me of that show! Damn it! What was it called?"
Yang decided to bust her dad's chops, "They always say the mind is the first thing to go~"
"Quiet you."
As the group kept running, the camera sped forward to show a suit of armor ready itself for their approach, a golden eye glowing from underneath. It took a swipe as Fox dove underneath, Coco leapt over, and Zwei dragged by through the middle, his head seemingly lopped off.
Ruby started to cry seeing that, "ZWEI! NO!"
Weiss went stiff, unable to move in shock.
As the three slid onto the ground, Coco and Fox freaked out seeing the headless Zwei. After a second, though, his head popped back up from his collar.
Ruby's tears shifted to tears of joy, "HE'S OKAY!"
Weiss sighed in relief.
The paintings around them started to vocalize the song like the ghosts had. And, similar to the ghosts, they lurched forward with more intimidating forms. The three piled toward one another in fear, Coco holding up Fox who, in turn, had Zwei over his shoulders. A rope descended from the ceiling and one of the paintings reached out to pull the cording, revealing a trap door beneath the trio. Said trio then went wide-eyed, looking toward the screen. They fell in a set of color coordinated puffs of smoke.
From there, the trio began to descend as though they'd entered Wonderland, complete with warped, pink checkerboard pattern behind them and various objects floating around them. At one point, the trio were met with a set of mirrors. As they passed, each showed something odd. Fox's mirror, which was behind him, showed his back, but was missing his mechanical arm. Coco turned toward her mirror to see her face devoid of her eyes. When Zwei looked into the glass, it shattered instantly.
Velvet turned to her partner, "Do you think that was important somehow?"
Coco shrugged, "No idea. But I have to say… It's kind of creepy seeing me without my eyes. What does it mean?"
Ren thought for a moment, "If we infer from Fox's mirror that it takes away what you don't really have anymore, it could mean one of two things. The first is that your eyes in this are artificial, like Fox's arm. While this is possible in our reality, it's next to unheard of given the price tag and materials. This leaves the metaphorical option stating that you are blind to something."
Ruby spun around in her chair, clasping her hands atop the back, "Then what about Zwei?"
Ren just shrugged, not really having anything to work with.
After a moment, the three began to separate as Fox fell faster than the other two. When he landed, he was face to face with an ornate coffin, black as obsidian with a golden skull etching complete with thorny vines stretching out to the sides of the box. The coffin was also bobbing to the music.
Try to hear me then I'm done. Cause I might just say this once.
The camera pulled in to show the lid move to the side and reveal a skeletal being within. His jawless skull was bobbing in rhythm as his eye sockets moved as he emoted. It pulled back and down slightly to show his torso. He wore a black suit with a golden tie and white collared shirt. On his left side, just over where his heart should be, was a golden heart beating in time with the song. The lower half of his suit's jacket had three rib-like protrusions on either side. He reached up a gloved hand over the heart, his 'eyes' showing a sorrow within.
Seen this play out in my dreams, it doesn't matter.
The skeleton looked back toward Fox, 'eyes' filled with anger, as he floated down from his coffin.
Time for givin' up the ghost.
Yang and Tai snickered, seeing this as a potential pun given the risen dead.
The skeleton pointed an accusatory finger toward Fox in a manner that looked rather familiar.
Nora grinned, "OBJECTION!"
Fuck, it's you I hate the most!
The screen moved to show Fox's terrified expression as he pointed to himself, as if to confirm the ghost's hate was targeted at him.
And there's no guarantee, it doesn't matter…
With each bass strike, the picture swapped between Fox and the ghost, the (somehow) closed eye sockets of the skull getting progressively tighter as it went on.
This time I might just disappear!
The ghost's eye snapped open, revealing a piercing ocean blue iris formed by magic.
Nora jumped onto her chair and held her arms outward, "WAIT! Jaune is the ghost?!"
Pyrrha, and most of the audience, just blinked in surprise. "Huh… Wait! Why is he mad at Fox?"
Each strike of the bass set off one of four sconces around him to erupt with golden fire. With all four alight, the screen pulled in to his skull as he moved it to the side, golden fire flowing over his head to form a familiar head of blonde hair, just made of fire.
Salem giggled, "Ghost or not, it does look rather interesting."
Coco nodded, "Nice style and theme. Actually… it gives me an idea. I need to see if I can tailor a suit like that. Question is, who do I torture – I mean measure! – for it~?"
Nora leaned forward to see the fashionista around her friends, "Why not Jaune? Since, you know… he's kind of the one wearing it in this reality."
Coco crossed her arms and started to think it over. "That might work. I could probably get something ready for you too, Velvet~ Give you two a matching set~"
Velvet blushed at the idea. Pyrrha felt her eye twitch for a moment. Salem just found it all quite humorous.
This time I might just dis-
Fox ran off in a panic. As he ran through the halls, he turned to see if he got away somehow. His panic only got worse seeing Jaune flying after him with golden fire burning along the floor behind him.
This time I might just disappear!
Cut to the kitchen where Coco and Zwei were creating giant sandwiches and were about to dig in when Fox ran through. Confused, they turned to see what was going on, saw the ghostly Jaune, and ran off after Fox in puffs of smoke. The screen caught up to Jaune who tore through the sandwiches and got covered in various meats, cheeses, and condiments.
This got a laugh out of a few of the viewers.
The golden ghosts returned, peaking out form six doorways in a hall.
This time I might just dis-
The ghosts returned to their rooms and then the obligatory hallway of doors chase scene began. When the trio got spooked by Jaune during the chase, they retreated and a massive number of copies followed up the chase, clearly meant as a gag on the moment, as the screen pulled forward to the door at the end of the hallway. It opened to show Jaune chasing the trio by a painting, which Zwei stops in front of. The painting showed a night not too long ago as Fox and Coco's van rolled through a forest area.
This time, however, when the screen snapped to show the interior, it showed Jaune behind the wheel, Coco in the middle, Zwei in the passenger seat, and Fox, with both his arms intact, in the back leaning on the upper seats.
This time I might just disappear!
Coco tapped her chin in thought, "So… Fox and I knew Arc previously. Next question is, how did he die that would make him so mad at Fox?"
Velvet blinked. Then again. And a third time. All as if to really confirm what she was seeing. "Coco… I think Fox is a third wheel…"
Coco raised an eyebrow and looked back up to the screen, taking in the moment. "Okay. I can kind of see that. But I don't really get the why."
"Coco… Fox is the third wheel. I think it's implying you and Jaune were together."
Coco waved it off. But she knew these worlds were weird like that. And… she had to admit, while Arc was a mess at times, he could clean up well. Especially with her help. Food for thought, I guess.
The van pulled up to a supposedly haunted cave, this week's target as a mystery solving group. As they entered, it showed them splitting up at a fork: Fox and Jaune going left and Coco and Zwei going right. Fox and Jaune's path led to a cliff overlooking a pit of stalagmites. Below them, Coco could be seen looking out of her pathway at the same stalagmites from ground level. Zwei, however, was behind Fox. The screen returned to focus on Fox, his arm beginning to turn green. It traveled up his limb and began to surround his left eye, causing it to turn a sickly green with black sclera. Before he knew what was going on, before he could even begin to understand what was happening, his arm was possessed, a demonic form latching onto his anger and jealousy. His arm raised, and he pushed Jaune off the cliffside.
Nora slammed her fist into her chair, "I'll break his legs!"
Ren tried to calm her down, but it was rather difficult. Jaune wasn't just their leader. He was their friend and practically like family. Seeing him die like that was just… difficult.
Pyrrha, Coco, and Velvet all had reactions akin to shock more than anything. Pyrrha's eyes fell in sadness, "Well… that explains why he's so mad at Fox."
Velvet tried to pass it off as best she could, "But… he was possessed!"
Coco shook her head, "I don't think he knows that."
Jaune hit the spikes below and the golden heart from before floated up, beating to the beat.
This time I might just disappear!
The heart was surrounded by golden fire that rose up beside the form of Ghost Jaune. It continued its rise to flow into Coco's eyes. It was Jaune's first act as a spirit: to take away her memories of him and his death, of everything they've done together. She didn't deserve the heartache of seeing him impaled right in front of her.
Qrow put his drink down for a moment, "That explains the blind thing from before."
Coco grimaced, "I… don't know if that's a kindness or just cruel."
Ozpin nodded, "Though spared of the heartache, she would have lost every good memory they'd shared… It is quite the conundrum."
The camera continued up to show Fox in a state of anguish. His left arm was still possessed, and it was trying to get at the rest of him. His right eye, which remained blank, cried in fear and sorrow. A swiping motion followed, showing a foxlike creature with six tails holding said arm in its jaws. The screen pulled away, showing a silhouette of Zwei in front of the painting with the fox, revealing the dog and the fox both had gleaming red eyes and the same pair of glasses.
Kali was blanking, "That dog is a demon…"
Blake nodded rapidly, fully agreeing with the sentiment. Even more so seeing as it was an actual demon in this world!
Fox was cornered, no where left to run. As Jaune charged forward, Coco jumped between them, hoping to protect her friend. When no attack came, she hesitantly opened her eye to see that Jaune had stopped his attack. He floated at her level and the heart began to move toward her. Fox, however, saw this as an opportunity to run. He grabbed Coco's arm and made a break for the door. Coco turned back, seeing the ghostly version of Jaune reaching out toward her. She didn't remember anything of that night or who he was, but something told her she knew him.
Seeing Coco torn away from him again, Jaune's golden heart fell to the ground, turning a cold blue and cracking on impact with the ground. From there, his fiery hair started to become a larger flame. His anger finally exploded in a torrent of golden fire, following the trio as they made their escape.
This time I might just disappear!
Fox was able to get Coco back into the van and drive off, away from the mansion. The song started to wind down, showing Jaune standing by the window looking out as the van drove away. He held the heart in his hand and pressed down with his thumb to reveal it to be a locket. Inside was a tender moment between Jaune and Coco back when he was alive. His arms were wrapped over her shoulders as her hands reached up to meet his. The screen moved back to show the version of Jaune from when he was alive, his eyes obscured, as a single tear started to flow. After a moment, he began to fade from existence. The last shot of the video showed the van driving off as the mansion itself began to fade along with its occupant.
Coco slumped into her chair, "Holy…"
The room was silent, no one having a word to be said after something like that. Too many emotions swarmed in their minds to think.