Seagulls call as a ship moves over peaceful blue waters. Passengers stroll across both the upper and mid decks.
Blake Belladonna rests her hands on the rail and stares out at the ocean. She blinks and looks over her right shoulder, somewhat startled. Two kids laugh over a joke. Blake almost smiles and turns to look back at the ocean. Standing near the front of the ship, Canary stares out into the sea.
"Traveling alone?" The captain of the ship says standing behind Blake.
Blake jumps and grips the hilt of Gambol Shroud. She halts her action when she sees the captain of the boat.
The Captain hold up his hands in a reassuring manner. "Now, now, no threat here. Just here to chat."
Blake hesitates before relaxing her posture with a roll of her eyes. "And why is that?" She asks.
The Captain lowers his arms and then twists to lean idly onto the rail.
"Well, not many people travel by boat on their own. It can be quite a lonely voyage. But I found those that do tend to have the more... interesting stories."
Blake turns away from the Captain. "Maybe it's just... better for some people to be alone... even if they're friends don't want them to be." Her head turns toward Canary who's walking towards the pair.
The two kids run behind Blake laughing and she gasps again, not expecting the noise behind her. She turns and blinks at them trying to reset her calm. Canary sighs watching her from his distance.
The captain laughs. "Maybe, but with your paranoia, I think a few friendly faces wouldn't hurt."
"Who says I'm paranoid?!"
"No one, dear, no one. I'll leave you be." The Captain turns and walks away, then stops. "But uh, fair warning: these trips can be awfully boring." The Captain continues on his way and Blake stares after him b3ford turning away.
"She's not alone, but she is a walking ball of angst." Canary says standing next to the captain who stops when he speaks.
"You're her friend?"
"One of them. Trust me, she's... thickskulled." Canary walks forwardOnce he's gone, she turns and looks at the ground for a few seconds before reaching up and undoing her bow.
She holds the ribbon out over the railing. "Won't be needing this." She mutters. Blake lets go and watches the ribbon swirl in the air once before landing on the water. Canary stands next to her and watches the ribbon floating away.
"Yeah, you won't need that where we're headed." Canary chuckles. Blake rolls her eyes and the pair walk away from the edge of the boat.
As they enter the interior of the ship, a hooded figure is shown to be watching from a distance.
Beside the ribbon on the ocean, the large scales of a sea creature are seen moving just above the surface. After they pass, the ribbon is gone.
Canary sighs after dealing with Blake in the morning he went to take a nap, when he awakens the day has already become dusk, and the boat continues its journey on the smooth water. There is still peaceful bird cry. Blake is once again on the middle deck looking out at the ocean. A Faunus couple walk behind her and she watches them, slightly less twitchy than before. Canary exits his room and sighs seeing her stare out into the ocean.
It's when she's about to leave that she senses she is being watched by someone on the upper deck. It's the hooded figure, and she immediately takes out Gambol Shroud.
"Who's there?!" She looks around, Canary leans against the wall watching her.
The hooded figure turns and runs for it, blonde hair somewhat visible beneath the hood. Blake stares up at the deck, no longer watching the ocean. She does not notice the dorsal fins of a giant sea creature momentarily surface. However, she feels the boat rocking on the wave it created and lets out a grunt as she tries to keep her balance.
Canary steps forward, and draws his sword. The creature's long-necked shadow looms over Blake as she turns around to face the water. Its shadow also falls on a member of the crew on duty in the crow's nest, who is looking up at it in horror.
"RED ALERT!!" The crew member shouts.
The alert immediately sounds. Two red lights next to a speaker pulse with the sound. The Captain and his First Mate come running out and look at the water from the upper deck, just above Blake. The Captain murmurs as the shadow falls over him.
"By the gods..."
The long-necked creature is revealed to be a large Sea Feilong. It has a pattern of glowing red lines along the scales of its neck, and its eyes glow yellow. The Grimm swings its head back and forth, roaring and spreading its short forearms outward.
The Captain turns and calling out to the ship. "All hands to battle stations!"
"Sir, we've never fought a Grimm this big!"
"We've never seen something this big! But we'll give 'er a fight nonetheless!"
Blake springs into action, running off the boat and into the air. She creates one of her clones to give her added upward momentum, flinging Gambol Shroud forward in its kusarigama form. Attached to the ribbon on her wrist, it embeds itself into the Grimm's neck.
Blake swings above the Grimm and shoots it in the back of its neck. It roars. Blake lands on the crow's nest while the Captain steers from the bridge.
Canary grins and snaps his fingers and suddenly the Feilong's arm twists backwards, the momentum pulling the entire grimm backwards.
The captain keeps the ship stabilized in the Grimm's wake and steps outside to get another look at it. Blake still shoots it while it arcs back into the water. The side of the ship opens up and the cannons come out.
Blake continues her assault on the sea creature, once again swinging and shooting. The ship's cannons fire but are mostly ineffective. Blake falls back onto the ship's deck, lands on her back, bounces, and quickly gets herself back onto her feet. She discovers that her left shoulder is hurt when she moves to stand.
"Careful black, don't get hurt." Canary places a hand on her shoulder.
"Hold steady men, it's not done with us yet! GET THE HEAVY CANNON LOADED!!" The captain orders, The First Mate changes from being nervous to battle-ready upon hearing this order.
The largest cannon on the ship rises up through a trapdoor on the deck, extends itself, and aims at the Grimm. The Grimm's dorsal fin splits apart and extra bone unfolds, revealing two wings. The Sea Feilong lets out a roar as it flies, its beating wings sending a gush of air at the ship. Blake cries out as she hangs on with her hurt left arm.
"Heavy cannon, OPEN FIRE!"
The heavy cannon shoots, but the Grimm easily evades it. It opens its mouth and an electric ball forms.
Blake readies to launch herself at it, but the hooded figure lands on her head and uses her as a launch pad.
"Hey!" She shouts. Canary grins and turns watches the person. The figure grunts and the cloak falls back, revealing Sun Wukong. Midair, he activates his energy clones. "Sun?!" She shouts.
"It's about time blondie!" Canary cheers.
Sun and his clones land on the Grimm's head. The two clones pull on the topmost tendrils of the head while Sun grabs its upper lip.
"Not today, pal! Canary! Now!"
Canary grins and snaps his fingers aiming at the head of the grim which forces it upwards. When the Sea Feilong releases its electric blast, it goes harmlessly into the air, rather than at the ship.
"What are you doing?!" Blake shouts.
From atop the enraged Grimm's snout, Sun answers her while holding onto the two tendrils his now-disappeared clones had grabbed. "Oh, uh, you know, just... hanging out!"
The Grimm manages to get a small electrical charge around Sun and he lets go, shouting as he falls.
"Whoa-oa!"
Blake gasps and immediately springs into action again. She jumps onto and off the railing, using Gambol Shroud's kusarigama form on the crow's nest to swing herself around and catch Sun midair. They land on nearby rocks, with her holding him bridal style.
Sun chuckles putting his hand to his heart. "My hero!"
"You're not supposed to be here! Canary wasn't supposed to be here!"
"Technically! I invited him!" Canary shouts from the ship.
"Yeah!? Well, it looks like you can use all the help you can get!"
"She really can!"
Blake glares at the two boys and then rolls her eyes. "Ugh." She drops Sun. "Just shut up and fight!"
She runs toward the ship in the water, where the Grimm is firing electric blasts at it. And being fended off by Canary the only second year around. Sun is on the ground, striking a pose on his side with his hand propping up his head.
"Yes, ma'am!"
On the ship, the Captain is steering while two of his crew are looking at displays.
"Starboard defenses are down, sir!"
"We still got the heavy cannon?"
"Aye, but it's moving too fast! We can't land a hit!" The second crew mate shouts.
"Argh. How about the engines?"
The First Mate turns back to the captain. "Fully functional, Captain!"
"Well alright, then!"
On the deck, Blake is preparing to counter a hit from the Grimm's electric blast, but Sun jumps in between with a laugh of triumph. He uses Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang to deflect it and lands on the heavy cannon, resting his staff on his shoulder with a crooked grin. Canary takes a deep breath his breath starting to mist in the air.
"Huntsmen!" The captain shouts. Canary, Sun, and Blake turn to the man who has come out onto the upper deck calling them. "If you can clip its wings and draw it out towards the bow, we could take it!"
Blake turns away from the Captain to look up at Sun.
"I mean, you're the one with the swords." Sun says. Blake groans as Canary chuckles
Sun spins his weapon back into a holstered position and runs toward the Grimm. "Now or never!" Sun activates three clones and jumps into the air. The first clone springs Blake upward to the second clone, which does the same. The third clone swings her up. Sun waits, laughing and opening up his arms, but then loses his smile in confusion.
"Huh?"
Blake, instead of heading toward him, directs herself above him and lands on his shoulders. They sink a few feet while he grunts and Blake leaps upward off of him. High above the Sea Feilong, she begins her descent, avoiding the electric blasts it shoots at her. She runs down its right wing, slicing through the thin membrane. She looks to the left membrane as a massive hole appears in it, Canary then collapses to a knee breathing heavily his finger still pointed at the wing.
Sun smirks as he waits for her on the rock she's readying to land on and catches her. The impact causes the rock surface to crack around them while he's left holding her bridal style. Blake smiles at him until he speaks.
"This is the part where you say it." He jokes.
Blake turns her head away. "Ugh."
The Grimm moves around them, causing the precarious rocky area to collapse. Blake is on the move again, leaving Sun behind.
"Okay, maybe later!" Sun keeps joking.
Sun jumps off the collapsing rock. The Sea Feilong flies after them, knocking rocks down as he goes. The Captain watches from the bridge through a spyglass before throwing a handle and increasing the boat's speed. It sails beside the destructive Grimm, keeping apace.
Sun continues to hop around, avoiding the Grimm's attacks until one more move puts him directly in front of its open mouth. Blake swings in on her ribbon and gets him out of reach. The Grimm prepares a blast to get them both in one shot when it is impaled by the bowsprit of the boat.
"Fire!"
The heavy cannon fires and hits the Grimm dead on. Its upper half is blasted to pieces, and it dies immediately. The Captain, the First Mate and Crew Member 02 all cheer. The cheer is upheld by the passengers on the ship who also join in with applause. Canary is helped up by Cindy who joins them her head uncovered to reveal a pair of horns. On their rock, Sun celebrates while Blake smiles and lowers her head in relief.
"Ha-ha!" Sun lifts his hand for a high five. "Up top!" Blake turns and glares at him. He wiggles his hand with a grin. "Eh?"
With a cry, Blake swings her arm around to slap him in the face. He rears back but the slap is blocked by Canary catching her hand,
"Down girl, you're like a wet cat being offered a towel."
She frowns and walks away. Canary speaks with Sun the pair avoiding Blake until nighttime on the middle deck of the ship. Blake is at the railing again, only this time facing sideways.
"Seriously, it was no big deal!" Sun says to two of the Faunus passengers. "Just enjoy the rest of your trip and everything will be cool! We got this!"
The two Faunus, a male with horns and a female with rabbit ears who we saw earlier, wave goodbye and turn away. Sun struts over to Blake. He glances back finding Canary entering a room tired and ready to sleep.
"You'd think they'd never seen a fight before." Sun says standing next to Blake.
"What are you doing here, Sun?"
"Diggin' the new outfit, by the way!" He points to her ears. "Never did like the bow."
Blake slaps his hand away. "Sun!"
"Geez!"
"Have you been following us?!"
Sun looking a touch abashed. "I saw you run off. The night Beacon Tower fell. Once we landed in Vale, you made sure everyone was okay. And then you just took off, without saying anything."
"I had to. You wouldn't understand."
"No, I get it! The moment you left, I knew exactly what you were doing!" Blake smiles at him, pleased at feeling understood. "You're going on a one-woman rampage against the White Fang!"
Blake's happy expression falls. She turns to him with a little bit in disbelief. "What?"
"You always felt like the Fang was your fight. They show up, trash your school, hurt your friends. It makes perfect sense! It also explains why Erin sent Canary and Cindy to find you.
"I can't believe you."
"But there's no way I'm letting you do this alone! It's an honorable approach, for sure, but you're going to need someone to watch your back. And that's where I come in!" Sun puts his arm around her. "Us Faunus got to stick together, after all. It's why Canary invited me onto the boat."
"You're wrong, Sun." She frowns, pushing him off. "You're so, so wrong." Blake turns her back on him and walks away.
"What are you...?"
"I'm not going anywhere near the White Fang. Not yet."
Sun:p raises a brow. "Seriously?"
"I need to sort some things out."
"Then why not do it with your team? Your friends?"
"You're one to talk! Assuming Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet aren't hiding below deck!"
"You really think I could get Neptune on the ocean? They flew back to Mistral! I told them I'd catch up! It's not the first time I left them to take a boat! So, if you're not going after the White Fang, where are you going?"
"Home, to Menagerie."
"Well, I'm coming with you. The Grimm are getting worse; you saw it yourself! And just because you're not going after the Fang doesn't mean they won't be coming for you! Besides, I'm... kind of already on the boat."
Blake sighs. "There's really no stopping you?"
"Nope! This is going to be great! Never been in Menagerie before! It'll be a regular journey to the east! Yeah, I like the sound of that."
The two turn hearing a chuckle, Canary stands there with Cindy, both join them.
"You invited Sun?" Blake asks Canary
"He was already following us, might as well buy him a ticket onto the boat."
"What did. He mean by Erin sending you?"
"Oh sent me to Menagerie, not after you, he wanted me to contact his folks, he plans to follow Rei & Sky to Mistral once he's recovered."
"So you're gonna talk to Mr. and Mrs. Eclipse then leave?"
"We'll after seeing your condition, probably not."
Chapter End.