Blake Belladonna in Slenderman 

The air was still as the young cat Faunus made her way along the woodland path. The glow of the holographic screen illuminated the black cat ears jutting out of the black hair running down the shoulder of the Faunus.

“Are you sure you don’t need any help, Blake?” the message read as it popped on her screen.

Blake shook her head, typing a reply, thinking aloud, “It’s just a quick search and rescue. If I need any help, you’ll be the first to know Yang.”

She lowered her Scroll, feeling the path starting to climb upwards with the crunching of gravel accompanying her steps. The dark roof of the large cabin came into view the further she hiked up the incline, with the entire wooden structure coming into full view as the path levelled out. The faint flicker of orange caught her attention amongst the darkness that lay beyond the window. 

In the distance, a fox screamed, and an owl hooted over the creaking of the tree branches as the wind picked up slightly. Blake ignored the shadows of the branches stretching across the front of the cabin, like long bony fingers under the moonlight; her attention more focused on the mission report she had downloaded back at Beacon Academy.

“Four teenagers last seen heading towards the Avenue Hill Woods. The person who reported them missing for over five hours suspects they are in the old logger cabin but can’t get there themselves due to high Grimm activity.”

Blake glanced over her shoulders at the thick, vast darkness of the Avenue forest behind the faint glimmer of the moonlight breaking through the darkness in brief ripples, “I haven’t encountered any Grimm recently,” she muttered, “So much for high Grimm activity.”

Cautiously she moved towards the cabin, keeping all four ears peeled for any sound. Her right fingers twitched as her left hand grabbed the doorknob, turning it slightly. Then, gently, she pushed forwards, the door creaking in response.

“Anyone home?” she called out, stepping into the darkness.

She moved towards the wall, using her natural trait of night vision to find the light switch, a faint hum filling the room as her fingers turned the dimmer switch drawing the light up to sweep away the darkness. Blake stared around the room, tucking her Scroll into her trouser pocket. Then, finally, she stopped, raising an eyebrow at the sight of the furniture piled up around a red pentagram on the lounge floor. Red wax dripped from the burning candles that sat on the points of the pentagram, and the strong scent of jasmine and cherry wafted through the air as she approached the scattered papers on the pentagram.

“Anyone here? I’m a Huntress from Beacon!” she called out, making her way towards the stairs, “Come on guys, a lot of people are worried about you. Time to come out of hiding and return home.”

The stairs creaked under her weight as she made her way up to the top floor of the cabin. Blake jumped at the muffled scream echoing around the corridor, her eyes widening as a pair of tree branches erupted from a wall, the dark bark stretching up and crashing through the ceiling. Black and pink fabric hung from the bare branches. A torn piece with jagged lettering of “Fuck Society.” dropped from one of the branches. 

“What the hell is going on here?” Blake asked aloud. 

Quickly, she pulled out her weapon, gripping the katana and sheath tightly in her hands as a tall, slender creature stepped through the hole in the wall, branch-like limbs protruding from its back. Black ichor dripped from the suit as it turned to face her; its pale faceless features surprised the Faunus.

“Is that a Grimm!” Blake exclaimed, taking in its humanoid appearance. 

The Grimm stayed silent, slowly advancing towards the Faunus. Could it see her? With no eyes, it seemed impossible to detect her, but then again, Grimm, with no eyes, could sense and prey on the negative emotions that formed within humans and Faunus. The creature held up a hand keeping its fingers close together whilst bark spikes grew from its fingertips.

Dozens of spikes fired out towards the Faunus, slicing through a shadowy clone of Blake as the Faunus leapt down the stairs. Some spikes struck at her trouser pockets, shattering the screen of her Scroll. The destroyed Scroll flew from her pocket as she rolled up to the front door. A loud splintering explosion rang out, the cabin rocking from the shockwave created by the creature bursting through the upper wall. Chunks of wood knocked the candles over, the flames licking at the furniture and papers, setting them alight.

As it stepped into the lounge, the branch limbs extended with more growing to support the Grimm. Blake gritted her teeth, transforming her katana into its pistol mode, firing off several shots, the bullets impacting a thick wall of bark erupting through the floorboards. As Blake reloaded, the bark wall split into several tendrils, flying towards the Faunus alongside a large tree trunk catching her off guard and sending her crashing through the door.

Blake grunted, her purple Aura shimmering as she rolled violently across the ground, splinters of wood showering her coat and the earth.

“Okay, so that’s how you wanna play,” Blake stated, reforming her weapon back into its katana form as she stood up, “Then let’s play!”

She lunged forwards, dodging bark spears that impacted the ground. Blake cried out, propelling herself at the creature, slashing her blades to cut through the branch limbs that shot towards her. As she neared the beast, drawing her weapons back for a slash at its throat, only to be greeted with a strong pillar erupting out of the ground. The pillar curved at an angle, slamming into her chest and hurling through the air. Blake tightened her grip, focusing on adjusting her body to land on her feet; that would have been easy had it not been for a second pillar slamming into her back, throwing her to the ground.

The Grimm extended a hand forwards, its branch limbs flying outwards towards Blake, stabbing into the lower portions of her coat just as she rolled out of the way. A loud tearing of fabric filled her ears as a faint tugging sensation jerked at her body as her jacket was ripped away from her body. Rolling to a kneeling position, Blake raised her pistol, firing off a few shots, her eyes widening as the Grimm disappeared, sinking into the ground.

Blake stared at the four branch-like limbs still pinning her coattails to the ground, the rattling of her gun drifting, breaking the silence that surrounded her. Her hands gripped her weapon tightly as she tried to steady herself.

She jumped at the sound of a fox calling out in the distance, her eyes scanning the darkness that seemed to engulf and block her night vision from spotting anything. Blake bit her lip, weighing up the options in her mind.

“Either run and risk this Grimm getting loose in the city or stand and fight this Grimm single-handedly with no backup.” Blake shook her head, “Best to get back to the academy and come back with extra Huntsmen; there’s no way I can take this thing on my own.”

Blake sighed, sheathing her weapon and placing it on her magnetic backpack before quickly sprinting off into the darkness keeping her eyes and ears peeled for anything that could indicate the Grimm stalking her. A faint rushing of water drifted through the still night air, making her stop briefly.

“That’s the Sumire stream. It runs down to the canals by Vale; if I follow that, I won’t get lost,” Blake said, grinning as she followed the sound of the flowing water.

After a few minutes, she could make out the glimmer of the moonlight reflecting on the surface; a sly yet triumphant smile crossed her face as she jumped over the long slope, landing on the embankment next to the stream. Her mind focused on her current plan, but the thought of what that Grimm's capabilities were, lingered in her mind.

Multiple roots grew silently out of the ground nearby, knotting together just as she started to walk along the embankment. The bark creaked and splintered slightly as her foot struck it, knocking her off balance with a thud and a sharp cry. Blake fell forwards, coughing and spluttering trying to remove the dirt that had made its way into her mouth following her trip.

She grumbled as she stood up, brushing the dust from her clothes, thankful for her Aura still being up to protect her from serious injury. Her cat ears twitched at the sound of water rapidly erupting near her. Blake jumped back, drawing her weapons, cutting through the branch-like limbs that closed in on her.

The slender humanoid Grimm didn’t even react to its severed limbs as it stepped out of the stream on its eight branch legs protruding from its back, suspending its body off the ground. Its pale blank face glistened under the moonlight like the black suit as it raised a hand towards the Faunus. Blake grunted, rapidly striking and dodging as multiple branches erupted from the ground aiming for her. A shadowy clone of Blake stood there as she deployed it to take the hit of a dozen branches that crashed into the ground.

“Got to get out of here,” she muttered.

She moved around the branches, cutting a few of them with her weapons. The creature’s head turned as Blake jumped over a few attacking limbs, heading for the open space. The creature raised a hand without a sound, sprouting a large branch-like wall that creaked whilst the pieces of wood knotted into twists as the wall rose higher. 

“Dammit,” Blake grunted, landing before the wall. She bent her knees, preparing to launch herself over the wall, but as she pushed off, she felt something binding her legs together.

Glancing down, she shrieked, swiftly hacking with her weapons at the mass of endless roots that were coiling like snakes around her legs. Wooden daggers erupted from the ground cutting through the air, impacting Blake's Aura, stinging like angry hornets. Bark creaked as wooden tendrils shot out the wall, stabbing at the Huntress’ Aura.

Blake winced at the groaning, snapping bark as the tendrils twisted into whips that lashed about violently. Then, with one final slash, the roots groaned as she cut through them, rapidly jumping away from the tendrils. The ground shook as more walls rose, creating a large box around her; Blake grunted and cried out, lunging through the air toward the creature. Her eyes widened in disbelief as the beast drew vast wings made from bark, folding them to shield itself. 

A startled yelp filled the air as the wings suddenly jerked outwards, slapping Blake hard, sending her crashing into a wall, her purple Aura flickering as she grunted in pain. Gritting her teeth, Blake configured her weapon into its pistol, rapidly squeezing the trigger. Bullets pinged into the hard bark of the wings as the creature shielded itself; a faint click sounded out, signalling that the clip was empty. 

Blake quickly reloaded with a Dust clip, but a cluster of branches erupted from the ground as she began to fire off a mix of Lightning and Fire Dust bullets. The metal of her gun cracked as they impaled it; Blake shrieked as an explosion of orange erupted from her pistol as one branch struck a Dust bullet. She clutched at her hand, feeling the fading burn of her hand as her purple Aura shimmered whilst healing the wound.

She gripped her cleaver, cutting at more tendrils intent on killing her but being down to just one weapon wasn’t enough as tendrils and spikes struck her in the back. A startled shriek left her mouth as a long whip snatched at her left arm, coiling tightly from wrist to elbow. She swung towards the gripping tendril, yelping as another grabbed her right arm, squeezing until her weapon fell from her hand.

Bark creaked and groaned as more tendrils coiled around her chest and legs, applying pressure to Blake’s body and Aura. Finally, one coiled around her neck as the tendrils pulled violently, threatening to dislocate her arms and legs. Her Aura flashed until it fizzled, particles showering the ground as a violent snap of her ribs sounded out. Blake screamed in at the sheer burn of pain within her chest; the tendrils loosened, releasing the hold of her, her body slumping onto the ground as she coughed, clutching at her chest.

She stumbled, stretching her hand towards her cleaver sheath, biting her lip against the unbearable pain. The Grimm drew back a tendril, launching it outwards, the tip aiming towards the purple boot covering the Faunus’ foot. Tears fell from Blake’s eyes as her scream sent crows flying from the forest, crunching burning pain flared through her right foot, spreading up her leg. She glanced down with a horrified look as she stared at the tendril penetrating her boots and foot, blood staining the skin and purple fabric.

“Can’t…pull free,” Blake grunted, reaching for her leg.

The feeling from her foot was slowly fading as the tendril withdrew from her foot, the bloodstained bark glistening under the moonlight. She winced, finding it weird trying to put weight on her injured, numb foot, swatting at the lingering tendrils with her cleaver. The tendrils snatched at her like vicious snakes, with four wrapping around her cleaver, ripping it from her grasp whilst two tendrils slashed at her, cutting deeply into her right arm.

Blake hissed, clutching her arm as blood seeped from the jagged, scissoring cuts. A searing burn spread throughout her arm, preceded by pins and needles. Her eyes widened as a thick, dark brown substance slithered across the cuts, sealing them. 

“That’s not scabbing,” she muttered, picking at the substance, feeling the rough bark texture.

She screamed, staggering back slightly, finding her injured foot was heavy and resisting to move with her, nearly tripping her up. Her eyes remained locked on her arm as the substance spread outwards in all directions coating her right forearm; she whimpered, finding it becoming heavier and numb. 

“What’s happening?” she asked aloud.

Her fingers straightened as bark slithered up them. Blake squinted and strained, trying to flex her, only succeeding in moving them an inch before they were snapped back into their straight position. She stared at her fingers and hand lengthening and broadening, bark crunching and cracking as bark slithered up her arm. Blake’s head shot towards the Grimm, calmly standing there unaffected by the sound of bark expanding as the transforming Faunus’s arm grew larger.

“I got to get…..ARGH!” Blake cried out, screaming at the loud snap as her arm straightened; her eyes stared at the fading definition of her elbow. Blake glanced over to her left arm, grunting as it was straightened outwards. Bark crept across her swelling arm whilst her fingers creaked. The seams of her boots strained around her feet as they expanded, hidden by the confines of her shoes, her toes sunk into her feet whilst dark bark spread over her skin.

Blake strained, gritting her teeth, trying to move her arms as her body started to rock, becoming unbalanced. Her boot heels sunk into the ground cracks forming from the growing weight of her growing feet. As her boots tore, Blake yelped, feeling the sharp poke of several tendrils pushing against her back, propping her up whilst her feet grew towards each, starting to fuse at her ankles. Bark crunched and fractured, chunks and flakes of bark littering the ground as her feet continued to fuse, the bark reshaped with the forming growth. 

“What’s happening to me?” Blake groaned, hearing the loud cracking of the bark.

Long roots grew out of the barky mass, thickening and lengthening whilst they burrowed into the ground, cutting through the soil with ease as they moved deeper into the ground, anchoring her. Blake glanced down as the tendrils withdrew, eyeing the expanding mass attached to the bottom of her legs, scanning over the roots spread around the outer portions.

“Have I been planted? I can’t feel my feet,” she muttered, tears trickling down her face as the realisation of what she was looking at was once her feet crept into her mind.

The feeling slowly disappeared from her legs, bark slowly creeping out of her skin, all the while her trousers and ruined boots tightened around the deforming legs. Her belt strained, protesting as her hips widened; cracks formed in the white leather as the belt pulled against the belt loops. The seams of her trousers and boots tore around her growing legs; her bouncy bubble butt cheeks sank into the tops of her thighs. Finally, her belt snapped in unison, with her underwear tearing in half; the ruined fabrics falling to the ground alongside her boots and trousers.

The loud creaking and splintering of bark filled her ears as her legs pulled together, steadily fusing. Her crotch disappeared as the bark expanded, the lower half of her body rounding out into a portion of her trunk. Blake grunted, a pressure building up in her chest and back whilst bark patches grew across the skin. Her breasts sunk between large slithers of bark as her top tightened; Blake let out strained wheezes, tears leaking from her eyes; drawing air into her body seemed to be getting harder with every inch that her chest pushed outwards.

Her cat ears twitched at the sound of heartbeat echoing across her body, the beats getting slower and heavier. Tears formed across her crop, the fabric protesting against her expanding upper body, the signature curves of the upper trunk slowly forming with the ominous creaking of bark accompanying it. Her top fell from her body with a final series of rips, but her focus wasn’t on losing her top. Instead, she was zeroing in on the deafening silence surrounding her, the creaking of her bark abruptly disappearing as it sealed over her human and cat ears. All four ears elongated into branches mirroring the dozens sprouting from her scalp, each bending off in different directions as small branches grew from them.

Her voice disappeared as her neck expanded into the top portion of her trunk, bark sprouting out as it seeped from her face. Blake’s hair uprooted from her scalp, fluttering down to the ground, resting around her roots. Darkness filled her world as bark coated her eyes, sealing her lids shut. The Grimm moved cautiously forwards as the Faunus’ skull popped and cracked, reshaping into the tip of the tree, the identity steadily fading with her nose and mouth sinking into the bark.

The Grimm shot out its limbs, latching onto the tree before it, a black aura surrounding its limbs and the tree. Blake could only let out muffled screams in her head as bark snapped and splintered across the tree as it slowly grew; its branches thickened and lengthened more; all the while, new branches erupted from the top of the trunk and branches. Finally, the creature grew a few more limbs, grabbing the weapons of the Huntress and stabbing them into the tree's trunk as Blake felt her consciousness slipping away. Its head tilted upwards, staring at the large tree towering over it, the bark darkening, seemingly decaying slightly as the creature withdrew its limbs. 

Silence fell over the area as the Grimm sank into the ground, turning its head towards the sound of people approaching in the process. A blonde-haired girl led a white-haired girl and a girl with crimson highlights in her black hair into the area, the moonlight glinting off of their weapons as a faint scream of a fox drifted through the air. A few small roots grew from the ground, twitching in anticipation of the Grimm's new victims.

“To Be Continued?”