#tw grimmification

Tyrian threw Ruby to the ground in front of Salem, grinning and laughing. “I’ve brought her to you, just like you asked.” 

Salem stood up and walked over to Ruby, frowning when she noticed a wound oozing purple venom on her side. “I thought I told you I needed her alive.” 

“A-and she is alive! But that Qrow showed up and she got in the way. But dont worry, that little birdy is going to be gone.” 

“And so will she, thanks to you.” Salem sighed and started walking off. “Hazel, bring her to my chambers for me. I need to prepare for her.” 

Hazel paused for a moment and looked towards the girl, hearing her groans of pain. “We… arent going to kill her?” 

“No, we’re not. I wanted to use her to help keep young Cinder under control, but seeing as she’s already on her way to leaving this world, I need to act now if I want to make sure she’s… usable.” 

Hazel nodded and picked Ruby up, making sure to be careful with her wound. “Yes, Salem.” 

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Yang growled as she slammed her fist into another sabyr. It had been months since she had last seen Ruby, and seeing that whale up in the sky was just taunting her. Even now, Ruby could be so close, but was still so far away.

“Yang! Watch out!” 

Yang turned around at the sound of Jaune’s voice, just in time to slam another grimm to the ground. Once she was certain the grimm was gone, she focused her gaze back to the whale in the sky. 

Ren put away his weapons and sighed. “We should get moving again.” 

Jaune nodded, putting his own sword and shield away. “Ren’s right. We still have a few more homes to get to and then we need to get everyone to the crater-” 

“This is all just a waste of time.” 

Jaune sighed and looked over to Yang, her eyes still red from what he told her a few weeks back. “I know you think that, but we have to look at the bigger picture-” 

“My sister is still out there and its all your fault she isnt here!” Yang turned to glare at Jaune, pointing to the whale. “For all we know, she could be right there, on that whale! We should be going in and helping her-” 

“And then what? We get up there, and then what? If you havent noticed, Salem’s here. Ironwood is no longer giving us any assistance, and we still dont have a way up into that thing yet.” Jaune slowly walked over to Yang, putting a hand on her shoulder. “I want to rescue her too, but right now, I dont think we can.” 

Yang pushed Jaune away and started heading back to her hoverbike. “Then I’ll go save her myself.” 

“But that’s not a-” 

Jaune was immediately cut off by the sound of a loud howl from behind. 

Oscar paused as he brought his cane to the ready, looking around. “What… was that?” 

Jaune readied his shield, keeping his eyes peeled. “I’m not sure but we need to-” 

A large, hound like grimm rushed into him, slamming him into a nearby building. In a split second, the grimm doubled around and rushed straight at Oscar. Yang rushed in the way and slammed her fist into it, getting pushed back as the strange grimm veered off course, slamming into a building. 

Yang stayed in front of Oscar, eyeing the grimm. “I wont let another teammate-” she stopped mid sentence  as the dust cleared, dropping her guard as she stared at the grimm. “N-no…” 

As the dust settled, the grimm started walking closer, pieces of it oozing back into place around the body inside of it. Blank, silver eyes stared back at Yang as a familiar voice grumbled through. “G-give me… the boy…” 

Jaune and Ren both froze as they heard the voice, finally seeing the grimm itself starting to reform, catching a glimpse of black hair before it disappeared into the ooze. Jaune slowly put his shield back up, still shaken. “Did… did that grimm just talk?” 

“That’s not a grimm.” Yang’s eyes went back to their normal lilac as she slowly walked up to the grimm. “Ruby? Is that you?” 

The grimm stared at Yang for a moment before switching it’s gaze back to Oscar. It started running at him once again, pushing Yang over and slamming into Oscar, knocking him down and throwing him about until his aura broke. 

Yang, Jaune, and Ren could only watch, still not quite believing what they were seeing. For weeks, they had assumed the worst, and here Ruby was, no more than a grimm. Yang was the first to act again, rushing to the grimm to save Oscar. She was not about to let another teammate get taken away from her. 

The grimm picked Oscar up and held him up in front of it. It snarled as it watched Yang stop mid punch, using an open hand to slam Yang away again. “Boy… mine…” The grimm started howling in pain as two wings shot out from it’s back. 

Jaune started running after the grimm as it started flying into the air, using his sword to swipe at it’s foot. The grimm howled as the sword got stuck, giving Jaune a brief moment to grab ahold just before dropping back down to the ground. He looked up, watching the grimm fly off. “Oscar!” 

Roman sighed as he sat in his cell, or at least what passed for a cell right now. Sure, there were bars and a door, but it looked more like a castle dungeon to him. Not that he knew what many of those looked like, but he’s read the stories and seen the pictures of the kingdoms of old and the castles that used to be set up. Either way, from the feel of the air and how old everything looked, he knew he wasnt in Vale anymore. 

A chill ran down his spine as he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. A shadow was visible from the dim candlelight as the figure moved closer. “I take it I finally get to meet my captor?” 

“I’ve heard a bit about you, Roman Torchwick.” Salem slowly walked around the corner, eyes cold as she stared at Roman while walking closer to him. “Unfortunately, you have not lived up to my expectations. I’ll never know what Cinder saw in you.” 

“So *you’re* the one in charge, not her. That explains-” his sentence was cut short as his arm started to burn, a tattoo he never noticed started to glow red. 

Salem rolled her eyes as Roman yelled in pain. “Cinder may have been done with you, but I’m not. I have… big plans for you.” 

Roman’s screams of pain started to die down as the tattoo quit glowing, dropping him to his hands and knees as he panted. “A-and what... could you want from me... that Cinder didnt? I already did everything she asked for. I stole all that dust, I worked with those animals, and I helped destroy Beacon just before getting eaten and brought here by a griffon!” 

“I need Ruby Rose brought to me, alive.” 

“If I knew where she was, I could bring her right here. But you’ll have to let me go.” 

Salem smirked. “Let you go? That might be the best idea you’ve had.” 

“About time-” Roman felt a few hands grab him and slam him down into the ground. “I thought you were going to let me go!” 

“I will, after I make a few improvements. After all, I still need to make sure this is perfected.” Salem walked closer to Roman, forming a purple ball in her hand before kneeling down and shoving it into his back. 

Roman’s eyes widened as he yelled in pain once more, his body feeling cold as ice. He watched in horror as his skin started to turn black like a grimms and bone started protruding from his skin. “What are you doing to me?!” 

“The same thing I plan to do with Ruby.” Salem started walking off, letting the grimm arms holding Roman go. “And you will bring her to me.” 

Roman slowly started to get up, dropping back down to his knees as his skin started becoming a black goop, engulfing the rest of him. “N-no! You have to let me go!” His yells were muffled as the goop started covering his face, bone starting to harden into a beak. Wings broke free from the goop on his back, drying off to show feathers black as night. 

Cinder at one point meets several of her predecessors, locked away, now turned into Grimm. Other abused children who she took in made apprentices of with promises to make them feel better only to morph them into Grimmanoids.

Cinder paused for a moment as she heard a whisper outside her door. With all the others either dead, away on missions, or turned traitor, the castle itself was quiet. Quiet enough that whispers seemed to carry through the hallways from other rooms. Rooms that Cinder never knew about. Rooms like the one Cinder found herself outside of now: a large, ornate door that seemed out of place to the crumbling castle. 

The whispering grew louder as Cinder walked inside, making sure to be careful. Broken bones, glass, and dust littered the floor, each step cracking a bone or breaking a shard of glass. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something move. “Who’s there?” 

The whispering stopped, the room going silent. Whoever or whatever was here now knew Cinder was around and was determined to keep out of view. After a moment of silence, a voice cut through the air. “So… you’re her new… project.” 

“I’m no one’s project!” Cinder looked around the room, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. “I’m here of my own choice! To gain the freedom I deserve.” 

“Ah yes! Yes! Another one to add to the collection!” A second voice rang out from the other side of the room. “Empty promises to an empty child!” 

Cinder glared and lit up the room with a fireball. “Show yourselves!” 

Over at the far side of the room, five figures emerged from the shadows, each one with a different grimm part. One had wings like a nevermore, another claws from a beowolf. One had a tail like a deathstalker, the smallest figure had tusks and bone-like plating similar to the boarbatusk. The last figure who emerged seemed to be the most human, almost like Salem. Red and black eyes pierced into Cinder’s soul, pale skin with black veins, fangs that resembled the king taijitu. He spoke with a soft whisper. “As I said, her new project.” 

Cinder looked over at each figure, still standing her ground. “And as I said: I’m no one’s project.” 

“Denial! Denial! New blood is in denial!” The figure with tusks waddled over to Cinder, grinning as he looked over the grimm arm. “Process has begun! No turning back now!” 

The one with wings rolled her eyes and pulled the tusked one away from Cinder. “Excuse him. It’s… been a while since we’ve seen anyone that Salem has brought on as an… apprentice.” 

Cinder scoffed for a moment. “And you expect me to believe that you were all once her followers?” 

“Something like that.” The clawed one walked over to Cinder, sniffing her a bit. “You’re different though. Seems Salem doesnt know what to do with you. At least, not yet.” 

“Hush now. The fun is to see how Salem disposes of her like she did the rest of us.” The figure who resembled Salem walked over to Cinder and bowed in front of her. “She will eventually try, no matter what she promised you.” 

Cinder quickly created a sword of fire, bringing it to his neck. “You dont know Salem like I do! She’ll never get rid of me!” 

“Oh, and I’m sure she promised you freedom, power, to never feel pain again. Dont look so shocked, she promised it to all of us. And just like us, she’ll eventually run out of use for you.” 

The figure with the deathstalker tail grinned a bit, walking around Cinder and pausing at the grimm arm. “Seems she’s already well acquainted with Salem’s… gift.” 

Cinder looked confused. “Salem’s gift?” 

“Take a look around you, we’ve all had her “gift”. She promises power only to change you into… this.” The fanged figure motioned to themself, his form starting to change to be more grimm-like. HIs voice grew coarse as he started to become a grimm snake. “And soon, you’ll join us too.” 

Cinder took a step back as the other figures started to change as well, becoming more like the grimm they had traits of. “N-no! I wont become like you! She needs me!” 

The boarbatusk hybrid slowly walked to her, laughing. “She doesnt need you, she’s just using you! She has all the time in the world to make her plans work! You’re insignificant to her!” 

Cinder walked over to a cage, placing a clawed hand on the bars. Inside the cage was who she had thought her rival was, now turned into a grimm-like hound. Cinder spoke to the new grimm, her voice sounding coarse, echoing with each word. “Look at you in that cage. What exactly is this now? A prison? But I only wonder, is it you who’s caught-” she looked at her own reflection, a large, drake-like wing attached to her back with bone plating on her shoulders and joints, little trace of the human she once was still visible though the grimm flesh. “-or is it me? Maybe it’s both, or neither.” 

The hound looked in Cinder’s direction, growling at her, almost as if it still understood the human-grimm hybrid. With a deep voice, it spoke a single word. “Leave.” 

“Not until you answer something for me, my little rose.” Cinder slowly opened the cage, her human eye glowing with the power of the maidens as her left arm burned in a hellish fire. “Are you proud of yourself? Sacrificing yourself to save your friends only to end up like this. What were you hoping to accomplish? All you’ve managed to do is delay the inevitable for your friends.” Cinder paused for a moment, bringing the fire from her arm to a single claw, holding it in front of Ruby. “Why?” 

The hound snarled at Cinder, uttering a single word answer. “Hope.” 

Cinder frowned and swiped at Ruby, her claws piercing the grimm flesh and burning it with a foul stench following in the air. “Lies! Why did you come back?! You were dead! You could’ve left us all alone! Instead, you came back and threw yourself at Salem! I was supposed to kill-” her words were cut short as her body writhed in pain, a screech escaped her lips as pain flared through her body. 

“You were never to do any such thing.” Salem’s footsteps echoed through the castled as she walked closer to the cage, looking over her new hound. “Ruby was always needed alive so I could finish my project. And what a wonderful pet she’s become.” 

The hound slowly moved closer to Salem, staying hesitant to her new master.

Salem smirked and gently placed a hand on Ruby’s head, holding a crown in front of her. “Now, you have one last task. Bring me the one who last wore this. I need to know what she saw.” 

The hound obediently sniffed the crown, hesitating for a moment as it recognized a scent. For a moment, it seemed to freeze up, not wanting to obey Salem.

Salem frowned closed her hand, watching as the hound whined in pain as it fell to the ground. “You will do well to obey me. Something my old pawn had never figured out.” Her eyes shifted to Cinder, looking at the girl panting on the ground. “So I offer you both one last chance. Whoever brings me the one who wore this crown last shall be rewarded. And the one who doesnt…” She started walking away, not bothering to finish her threat. She knew her pawns would do as they were told, unwilling to displease her for fear of their punishment. 

Cinder slowly stood up as she looked at the hound, jealousy rushing through her mind. “I will kill each and every one of your friends until I find the one that Salem desires. And I’ll make sure you see the aftermath.”