Protective Nightmare
“Do you know how hard I worked to wear you down?” The cat asked as it began to knead and none too gently dig into Ruby in an attempt to wear her like a suit.
“What…what is this?” The cat said, looking horrified for a moment as Ruby’s eyes snapped open, now a strange mix of silver and red swirls as she grabbed the cat by the neck and effortlessly pulled it off of her.
“Apologies cat, but there’s only room in this body for one passenger, and I’ve been waiting far too long for my turn,” Ruby said, flipping to her feet in one smooth motion.
“I do suppose I have to thank you. We waited so long, and thanks to you, this place, and her precious teammates we finally got what we wanted. How to reward you?” Ruby said as she ignored Neo’s strange look and considered the cat.
“You could…”
“A quick death. I agree,” Ruby said cheerfully before she snapped the creature's neck letting it fall limply to the ground before it was bisected by the scythe that appeared in Ruby’s hands seemingly out of nowhere.
It would probably be back later, or maybe it wouldn’t. If it was smart it’d never bother them again.
“Now what to do with you?” Ruby asked merrily as she eyed Neo who appeared more wary of the girl than moments before.
Ruby then eyed the still body of Little on the ground and frowned. She reached down and gently picked it up with far more care than Neo would have expected based on her reaction to the cat.
“You…did this,” Ruby accused looking at Neo as if reminding herself of a fact she should have already known.
“Get up little one,” Ruby said gently, poking the limp mouse in her hand.
“It won’t…it’s gone? I do not like this feeling,” Ruby said speaking to herself before she gently placed Little in her pouch making sure to leave a small bit unzipped for air for the small creature.
“If you were going to try and save your life this would be the time,” Ruby said darkly, her scythe unfolding as she began walking toward Neo her eyes far more red than silver at the moment.
Neo frowned and pointed toward her red caped nemesis as her clones assumed their previous forms and attacked Ruby with both word and weapon.
Only this time Ruby appeared to not care, at all as she easily cut down the visages of her former teacher and friends hardly even bothering to stop and holding eye contact with Neo all the while.
“This way!” Jaune screamed as he pointed toward where they’d finally managed to track Ruby.
The rest of the team blinked as they saw Ruby holding Neo with one hand, the shorter girl’s body hanging limply as she struggled to pry Ruby’s hand from her throat, her precious parasol lying abandoned several feet away and out of reach.
“Ruby!” Yang yelled and then flinched when Ruby turned to face them, all smiles, her eyes still a mix of red and silver.
“Yang,” Ruby said pleasantly, no trace of her earlier anger present. As if it was merely a normal day and she wasn’t slowly choking someone to death with one hand.
“You found Neo,” Jaune said and Ruby nodded without saying a word before looking at the struggling woman whose face was starting to slowly turn from an angry red to purple and blue around her lips as she slowly lost her struggle to breathe.
“Come on Ruby. You need to let her go before you accidentally kill her,” Blake said although she froze when her team leader’s eyes turned to face her.
“No. I think I should...get a better grip,” Ruby said as her fingers tightened imperceptibly although Neo certainly noticed.
“I don’t know what she did to you, but this isn’t you!” Blake said as Ruby dropped the smile and looked annoyed.
“You don’t know me, Blake,” Ruby said with a scoff as Blake flinched.
“What do you mean? Of course she knows you! She’s Blake,” Yang said.
“She’s our teammate, Ruby,” Weiss said simply as she continued to look at Ruby strangely who returned the gaze before flicking her eyes back to her sister.
“Really, Yang? Ok I’ll play this game. How many conversations have we actually had in the entire time we’ve known each other, Blake? And I don’t mean you complaining about missing Yang, or mission related stuff? Can you give me an answer?” Ruby asked, sounding curious.
Blake flinched when Ruby held up a single finger.
“One. We had one talk, just a few sentences that wasn’t about you mooning about my sister, or you needing my help with something. Face it, you don’t know anything about me,” Ruby said dismissing her entirely.
“What’s wrong with you?” Yang asked, stepping in front of Blake gaining Ruby’s ire.
“Yes, you should protect Blake. That’s all you seem to do now. Are you even your own person anymore?” Ruby asked bitterly.
“What are you talking about?” Yang demanded eyes flickering from lilac to red.
“I remember you used to care. We did things together, played, trained, and now? Now all you do is related to Blake. Do you think Blake would like this Ruby? Sorry Ruby, I'm going to train with Blake! I just need her here with me! ” Ruby imitated Yang’s voice to mock her.
“Earlier you let me yell at Weiss, but as soon as I turned to Blake you stepped in. Face it, she’s basically your entire world at this point. No room for that clumsy sister of yours when you can have ‘Blake’ instead right? Some sister,” Ruby spat in her direction.
“That’s bullshit and you know it,” Yang ground out although she couldn’t deny it completely at least since arriving here her focus had been mostly on Blake, but that didn't’ mean she didn’t care.
“Come on, Ruby. I know you’re upset, and I’m sorry about yelling at you earlier. I was wrong,” Jaune said before he was bowled over as Ruby had thrown Neo faster than he could react and knocked him over.
“There you go. You ‘saved’ someone. Congrats, now shut up,” Ruby said, sounding bored.
“Ruby,” Weiss said, stepping forward and everyone noticed how Ruby’s eyes were drawn to her.
“Weiss.”
“Did you want to yell at me as well?” Weiss asked as she rubbed her nose for a moment.
“We…I don’t want to, but I mean I could,” Ruby admitted.
“I thought we’d seen the last of those,” Weiss admitted as Ruby smirked.
“I knew you’d figure it out,” Ruby said proudly, which Weiss thought odd based on…well everything.
“You’re…different than mine, or Blake’s,” Weiss finally said at length as she saw black veins begin to grow across the back of Ruby’s hands.
“What are you talking about?” Yang asked as she came to stand next to Weiss causing Ruby to frown and take a step back.
“Remember back during initiation when Jaune and I got infected with a nightmare Grimm? I always thought it strange nothing happened to Ruby, but now…”
Yang’s face went white in horror as she looked at Ruby standing there waving her fingers and smirking.
“I don’t understand. If that’s the case why is it acting like this? Why isn’t she asleep?” Yang asked.
“Ever After is a weird place,” Nightmare Ruby said with a shrug. “Think of me as a Waking Nightmare I suppose. I’ve been along for the ride the entire time.”
“You’re certainly smarter than the usual Grimm we kill,” Yang commented, slamming her hands together as the Nightmare rolled its eyes at her.
“So all we have to do is beat you out of her,” Jaune said after setting Neo to the side and drawing his shield.
“If you can, but that won’t make my words any less true will it?” Nightmare Ruby asked with a smirk as she batted aside a shot from Blake.
“Ruby would never-” Weiss said before she stopped and appeared to think about it.
“This is why you’re my favorite,” Ruby praised with a nod.
“What do you mean?” Yang growled as she looked at Weiss for answers.
“Isn’t it obvious? At least Weiss tries sometimes. The rest of you might want to ignore it, but the only reason I know or feel these things is because she does. Your beloved sister is crying out, screaming in pain, for help and you all... Did…Nothing!” Ruby said brightly.
“You spent the time holding hands, or making stupid puns, couldn’t spare a single thought for your sister who lost a dear friend. Oh no, far too busy trying to trade spit with that one,” Ruby said bitterly as she pointed to Blake.
“That’s not to say you’re off the hook either princess, as much as we’d like that. Oh no, have to ignore your partner.
Make one half hearted attempt and then ditch her every chance you get. Can’t stay and make sure Ruby is ok with an assassin after her, have to go third wheel because of nose hairs,” Ruby mocked Weiss who flinched at the truth in the words.
“Then again it’s not the first time you’ve done it. You even went to the movies with that one,” Ruby said, thumbing toward Jaune. “And what’s more you made sure to take advantage of Ruby being ready to help you and wait on you hand and foot didn’t you?” Ruby asked harshly as Weiss flinched once more.
“Crying about leaving places in ashes while not realizing your partner was crumbling herself. Talking about how mature that one was,” Ruby said bitterly.
“Why do you care?” Jaune asked as he readied himself for a fight.
Ruby, or the Grimm in her body laughed. “It’s obvious isn’t it? ” Ruby asked tantalizingly.
“Y…you’re lying” Weiss said after a moment before its face twisted and suddenly what was undeniably Ruby was speaking to them.
“I knew you’d never care about a stupid kid like me...that I wasn’t really… precious to you,” Ruby said and before Weiss could even think to formulate a response to that, the Grimm was back in control.
“But why do you care?” Jaune insisted. “You’re a Grimm shouldn’t you be glad about it?”
“I told you Ever After was a unique place, and we’ve been inside her for so long...we've grown strangely fond of this one," the nightmare admitted as it patted Ruby's chest.
“Yeah right. You just want us to let our guard down so you can take us out easier,” Yang said as she set herself into a crouch.
“You’re dumber than you look if you think I need your guard down. Didn’t you learn anything from fighting Weiss’s?” Nightmare Ruby asked and ignored Yang’s bristling.
“We’re not in a dream so you’re not a godlike being here!” Blake insisted as the nightmare rolled its eyes as the veins traveled up its arms.
“You are more than welcome to test that assumption at your convenience,” Nightmare Ruby said, throwing open her arms wide and inviting the attempt.
Yang shot forward, her arm cocked back and eyes red. She buried her fist into Ruby’s,or rather the Grimm’s face and sent her flying back into the wall of the room.
To her shock however the Grimm wearing her sister’s face walked calmly back out seemingly not having been hurt at all as it walked up to her. Not even a flicker of her aura was seen.
“How?” Yang asked before she was sent tumbling backward as the flat side of Ruby’s scythe slammed into her stomach.
“I told you, didn't I? Ever After is a strange place. In fact I’d almost say it’s one big dream,” Nightmare Ruby taunted with a smirk as a set of gunshots rang out.
“I appreciate the directness,” Nightmare Ruby said, holding both bullets between her fingers, negligently tossing them back on the floor and winking at Blake.
“What do you want?” Weiss asked her hand on Myrtenaster but still not having drawn it yet.
Nightmare Ruby flinched clearly not having expected the question. “To be happy...to be free,” they finally replied at length.
“What makes a Grimm happy?” Jaune asked rudely.
“What makes Ruby happy?” Nightmare Ruby countered as she spun her scythe in a complicated motion they struggled to follow and laughed.
“You don’t know how much she’s been holding back, do you? Oh this feels good,” The Grimm said as they made a few more practice slices in the air.
“We can make sure she’s never hurt again. No sisters abandoning us to moon after teammates that don’t even speak with us, or friends who blame us for everything, and…no one to break our hearts,” The Grimm finished sadly looking at Weiss.
“Ruby…”
“She’s…just trying to trick us,” Yang said to the group, unwilling to entertain the idea otherwise.
“She’s…they’re not,” Weiss said with certainty.
“How do you know?” Blake asked as she readied Gambol Shroud.
“She’s hurt. They’re hurt,” Weiss said. “I can feel it. You all can.”
“It’s a damn Grimm Weiss,” Yang said, eyes blazing once more.
“Maybe, but it really seems to care about your sister, and she was right, wasn't she? We all hurt Ruby without realizing it. We can’t undo that. We’ve all let her down…terribly,” Weiss said.
“Then we’ll make it up to her by beating that Grimm out of her!” Jaune said as he sprinted toward his possessed friend who looked amused at him as he swung the remains of his sword right at her.
“Oh no. You got me,” Nightmare Ruby mocked looking at the sword that was stopped an inch from her chest with her bare hand.
“How many people is it that you’ve killed or died because of you now? I've lost count. Don’t worry I told her what happened to Penny for you. I figured it out earlier,” the nightmare winked at Jaune before she batted him to the side where he was caught by Roman of all people.
He saw and traded a nod with Neo who was now back on her feet and looked pissed.
“Because this’ll go so much better for you this time,” Nightmare Ruby mocked Neo who growled before she smirked and with a snap of her fingers her clones all turned into variations of Weiss.
The Grimm merely frowned but its lack of words meant more than what it didn’t say.
“Well that’s something at least,” Yang said as a clone of Weiss went to stand by every other member of the team as the Grimm backed up and frowned.
“Not as much as you might hope,” Nightmare Ruby said. “Unlike the rest of you I know my partner and seeing all these fakes is just pissing me off.”
“You’re one to talk,” Yang said before she felt herself bodily flung across the room barely managing to be caught by Blake before she hit the wall.
The Grimm stood in the space previously occupied by Yang foot extended looking bored.
“I know her better than you do, clearly. Let’s get this over with. I have places to be,” Nightmare Ruby sighed settling into her, or rather Ruby’s preferred combat stance as the others readied themselves too beat the Grimm out of their friend, save for Weiss, who stood in the same place and kept looking at Ruby in such a strange way the Grimm actively avoided eye contact with her after a short moment.
“Well who’s first?” Nightmare Ruby asked as she held the scythe behind her with one hand, and made a ‘come at me’ gesture with her now free hand.
There was a short period of silence before Blake, and Yang sprang forward and the battle began.