The Conquerors bloodline

"Exactly why am I being dragged along?" Weiss huffed as she alongside the rest of her team hiked across the cliffside on a one stop trip to the Professors cantilever. Lead of course by an excitable Ruby, as ever.

"Because. There's a cute baby and I want to see it." Ruby sparkled.

"It's a baby Ruby. If you want to see one you might as well get yourself a boyfriend and make one yourself… oh wait. I doubt weapons could get you pregnant." She said, ignoring the ominous crack of Yang's knuckles and the death stare the yellow sister was sending her.

"You don't know that." Ruby puffed up her cheeks and as a gust of wind swept up from the cliff quickly pushed down her skirt before it could hike up.

"Ruby. I know for a fact that a sword, will not get you pregnant."

"Maybe a meat one." Yang cackled from the side and stalled Weiss' mind. Lasting only seconds before the princess flared crimson.

"Yang!" she bellowed.

"I don't think meat would make for a very good weapon Yang. I think I'd only end up feeding the grimm. Not killing them."

Yang could only stare dumbly at her younger sister. When her lips curled up and her head shook, she stepped close, hooked an arm aorund Ruby's shoulder and sighed. "One day Ruby. One day you'll be old enough to understand grownup puns."

Ruby looked up to Yang, a single brow raised and innocence to her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean. I'm plenty grown up! I'm already eighteen!"

"Ruby…" Yang sighed and glanced over her shoulder to Blake who was blankly staring out over the emerald forest. "You turn eighteen in a month."

"Twenty two days. Come on, I'm basically eighteen already. I'm old enough to get your puns."

"Really?" chuckling, Yang released Ruby and turned her full attention to her sister. "Then tell me dear sister. Exactly what was I being punfully funny about?"

Ruby mulled it for a second but bobbed her head and spoke, "penises."

In a millisecond, Yang could hear a crack in her mind and her expression turned shocked, much like the other two girls surrounding them. "W-what?"

"Penises. Willies. Junk in the front trunk. Meat swords. I might be a bit dull but I'm not completely out there. I know about the sex."

"No-but-how do you-"

"You left porn on a few years ago. It was funny at first not really interesting though. Oh! There was also this time when Jett brought a dirty magazine to signal and we just flipped through it in the break… Yang?"

Yang's arms hung limply at her side while her lilac eyes were glazed and lost. Mouth hung wide as well. Ruby waved a hand over her sisters face but Yang simply did not respond.

"Yang? Hello? You there?" still nothing. Ruby looked to her partner and her sisters partner, "I think I broke her."

"I can see that." Weiss sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Honestly. How did she not expect you to know what sex is?"

Ruby shrugged, "dunno. Yang's always been pretty protective when it comes to sexy times. I mean, It's not like I haven't heard her masturbate before."

Weiss in turn gaped and flushed but yet still, Yang was undauntedly frozen in place. "I do not need to know any of this Ruby. Not a single bit."

"You asked."

"No. I asked how she didn't expect-you know what. I just, I can't be bothered to deal with this. Let's just get get this over with already."

"What about Yang?" Ruby asked.

"Just leave her. She'll catch up." For the first time, Blake spoke, already taking slow strides past her partner and further down the cliff face. Weiss soon following suit.

Unsure of whether to stay or go now, Ruby looked to Yang and mulled the thought. Eventually coming to the conclusion that Blake was right.

Before she left though, Ruby stepped close and for quick assurance looked do the ways to the backs of Blake and Weiss. A mischeivous smirk raising on her lips.

***

Without the rest of the class and come the setting sun, Professor Evans' cantilver classroom had taken on a forboding atmosphere. The statues of gold floating off to the sides within their indents, their horrible shapes lit only by faint torchlight casted shadows that accentuated their more unnerving features. For the floating brain it showed off the array of tendrils and for the eye ball it was all those finely sculpted veins that crossed the vitreous.

"Brrr…" Weiss shivered, goosebumps crawling along her skin as the door creaked to a shut behind them. "This place feels colder than Atlas in winter."

Ruby puffed a breath and saw no smoke, "I think it's just you. I find it's quite warm actually." Skipping down the steps, Ruby cupped her hands around her mouth and let out, "echo!"

'Echo'

'Echo'

'Echo'

The girl giggled foolishly to herself.

"Taco!" she called.

'Taco'

'Taco'

'Taco'

"Ruby, for the-"

"Weiss is snooty!"

"Hey!"

'Weiss is snooty'

'Weiss is snooty'

'Weiss is snooty'

"Ruby, I am not snooty!"

'Yes you are'

'Yes you are'

'Yes you are'

The girls all paused. Weiss hadn't moved her gaze from Ruby and she definitely didn't see the girl say anything. She turned and looked over her shoulder towards Blake who was staring off at the multieyed worm statue. She didn't look to have done it either.

"That… was you wasn't it?" Hopeful, Weiss focused to Ruby but quickly turned her head back when the languid Yang pushed herself into the room. Still agape and lost in her thoughts, neither realizing nor comprehending the numerous dark squigles painted across her face.

Even her team—for as much as she trusted them—kept silent or just didn't acknowledge the malformation of her pretty face.

"Um, n-no. I thought it was you."

"You were looking at me. I didn't say that."

"And you were looking at me and I defininetely didn't say it. So it has to be Blake or Yang."

"Wasn't me." Blake muttered loud enough for her echo to reverberate to them.

There were only two options left to the girls, and it certainly couldn't have been Yang. She wasn't even in the room by then. Ruby and Weiss met the others eyes, their cheeks paling an equal shade of white.

"This… ghosts don't exist. Right?"

"Of-of course not. Don't be ridiculous Ruby. It's just a play on sound. Your echo just reverberated in a weird way and made that noise." Weiss crossed her arms and nodded her head in a manner Ruby could only guess was made in an attempt to assure herself.

As the girls shared a gulping noise, Blake echoed from the side. "I think I found the door!" she dug her hand into a little crook by the eye and pressed in a small hidden button. Throughout their time since entering the room, her nose had been flaring, following the professors potent scent that left her lower half uncomfortable, and using that trail tracked him to his secret tunnel.

The moment the button pressed one of the statue creaked loudly, wailing like a banshee as it scraped open. In response to the noise Ruby and Weiss ended up huddling close to eachother, staring fearfully at the dark, foreboding tunnel revealed to them.

"Ruby," Weiss creaked, "can we just, like. Come back tomorrow?"

"Yeah, yeah, I vote we go back to our room and order some crappy pizza and watch a cheesy movie as team building!"

Blake rolled her eyes, scoffing at the cowardly nature of the two girls. "Ruby. You have been wanting to see the baby since the professor mentioned her. Are you really letting a little noise scare you?" Blake was already settled in the door way, peering into the darkness and saw how utterly empty it was. The walls were made of stone brick so firmly packed together she doubted even the strongest of earthquake could shake it.

When Ruby eyed past her, she though only saw the pitchest of blacks and paled even further.

"Sh-she'll be here tomorrow."

"And the day after that." Weiss added in post.

"Oh please you two. And here I thought you were the reasonable one Weiss." Scoffing, Blake trekked into the abyss and was soon devoured by the darkness, never to be seen again.

Except when she turned back to see if the rest of her team was following. At that point her golden eyes shimmed with a dull glow in the darkness. When she saw not a single one of the three on her heel the two shimmering orbs rolled and spun, fading away alongside the hollow clicking of Blake's heels against the stone paving of the tunnel.

"I'd say its reasonable to be scared of ghosts." Ruby mouthed and once more met her partners gaze. They nodded then sighed, and soon were following suit.

When Yang joined them past the aperture, they were suddenly brought to a freeze as behind them the hidden door creaked and thunked shut. Quickly Ruby bolted towards it and tried to open it but couldn't.

"Ruby."

"Yes Weiss?"

"Please tell me the door did not just close behind us."

"The door did not just close behind us."

"Perfect." Weiss threw back her head and in turn, silent screams filled the tunnel.