The Bird and the Garden 3: The Final Adventure

Chapter 50: The Dollhouse

Ruby cracked a small, confident smile, her eyes gleaming with happiness. She spun her scissors around her finger, the dolls marching in front of her and forming a formation. The adventurers gulped as the possessed toys continued forward, surrounding them completely. There had to have been at the very least over three hundred of them. It was as if Ruby had brought her entire collection.

"Th... These dolls," Pyrrha whispered. "They look... A-almost alive... They're moving too fluidly to be controlled..."

Ruby clapped her hands together, her grin growing into a smile. "You've figured it out. Congratulations," she applauded. "I am sure Yin's noticed it by now... The hair, the skin... It's all real. Perfectly preserved by my Blessing. So many awful people, turned into precious, innocent dollies. Can you guess who's next? The first of you I'll turn?"

They didn't need to guess. The dolls lunged forward, running underneath Sasha's legs. They were going to attack Yin. The healer drew his katana, swinging at the first. But he was very quickly outnumbered, the dolls pulling at his legs.

"Don't move, Yin!"

The healer shrieked when Vao's axe came dangerously close to the back of his head, smashing the doll that was about to stab his throat with a small sword. Sasha's greatsword swung, matching the rhythm of Chuck's halberd as the two fought off their own dolls, Ruby snapping her fingers.

Over two dozen of the dolls scurried towards her, stacking on top of each other to form a chair so she could sit down and relax. She played with her scissors, watching closely, analyzing their fighting styles.

Ozpin's sword was pulled from his hand, the dolls pushing the knight to the ground. Salem sprinted forward, throwing her weight on top of him, crushing the marble and porcelain to pieces. The knight muttered his thanks, kicking another one away from Pyrrha.

Jasper gripped onto Yin's shoulder tightly as his katana moved through the air, shattering tiny limbs and bodies to pieces. "Th-there's too many of them!" She cried into his ear. The healer knew she was right. He glanced at his sister-in-law, his heart sinking.

The dolls had managed to reach Verde's broom, jerking the witch off balance. At this rate, they were going to die without Ruby even involving herself. They needed to do something, before this became their quickest and last fight. "V-Vao! Magic! Use your magic!"

"Okay!"

Light brightened the halls, matched with the Darkness that cast long shadows. His katana beginning to glow and Vao's axe shrouding in shadow, they used every ounce of what they had.

In an instant, the dolls were blown to pieces. They were far too fragile to survive an attack like that. Even Ruby's chair crumbled to ceramic pieces, leaving the High Priestess to nearly fall to the ground. With a sigh, she stood up.

"... You are that eager, hm? Very well. I'll entertain you. You and me, Yin. Dolls, take care of the rest of the trash."

There couldn't seriously have been more dolls. But when the adventurers looked up, their hearts sank. Thousands more clung to the ceiling, tiny marble eyes peering at them from the doors that led out of the halls. Just how many people had Ruby killed?

They didn't get to think about it for long. Yin raised his katana, blocking her scissors. The others were yelling out as they fought the dolls, sweat rolling down their backs. Ruby pushed against Yin, overpowering him in strength. From her nose, a thin trail of Blood trickled past her lips.

"I've waited... Oh, how I've waited, Yin," she whispered. "The day I can take your Soul to My Lord."

CLANG, CLANG CLANG CLANG!