Seagulls call as a ship moves over peaceful blue waters. A pan of the boat from bow to stern reveals... Passengers strolling 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.
Footsteps approach.
"Blake."
She turns and sees Trifa. She had a look of concern on her face. She than walked up to Blake and stood next to her.
"It is a very beautiful view here. I always liked the view when I am just little."
Blake than turned to her and spoke.
"Trifa...do you think that I can still reunite with our friends?"
Trifa than turns and spoke to her.
"Yes...I do believe that you can reunite again. However, it will take a long time. Months...maybe a couple of years to reunite. But you know what...when you reunite...you will not have to separate ever again."
Blake smiles a bit towards her, before 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.
Trifa than puts her hand on Blake's shoulder and spoke.
"Don't worry, Blake. It will come to pass us soon."
Blake smiles, before she turns and looks at the ground for a few seconds before reaching up and undoing her bow.
Blake: "Mmm."
She holds the ribbon out over the railing.
Blake: "Won't be needing this."
Blake lets go and watches the ribbon swirl in the air once before landing on the water. She turns and walks away. Trifa follows behind her.
As they passes inside, a hooded figure is shown to be watching her 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.
Underneath the Seas of the Dark Abyss itself...
Kage watch in the crystal ball, looking at all the events unfold. Here, Ruby's team heading to the direction of Haven. Switching, he goes to Sans, who is still helping some of the Mantle people, giving them regulators to help sustain and forever keep heat. And to Blake, who is now heading to to Menagerie. He than clutches onto his head, as memories of why he became like this began to appear. He eventually stopped thinking it. Thankfully, he was able to kill many of the Grimm here present, so that the people of Menagerie can now grow their village to fit. Still, he looks down, unhappy.
"What is the matter, Kage?"
Kairisei spoke out to Kage. Kage was caught by surprise, but than let out a really low sigh of unhappiness.
"It cannot help but feel terrible for working either Salem. She had freed Gaia, and now I am partially responsible for what has happened now. I have no idea how I can fix this."
He spoke to the God, sadly. Obviously, he had no idea that he was who he never thought he was. He never thought that he is Sans' older twin brother that he had been separated from. In fact, he never knew that he was fight for the wrong side all along. The god than spoke out to Kage, speaking out loud.
"Kage, What has happened was not your fault. Salem has erased your memories and made you the puppet that she wanted. And it is all because of what you were born with since that day. You cannot keep blaming yourself for what has happened now."
Kage than looks up, and than steps towards the god.
"Than...tell me. What can I do to make sure that are success is possible, and so that I could redeem myself for what I have done while with Salem?"
Kage spoke out to Kairisei. The god than spoke out to Kage.
"You May not be under control of Salem, but you will kept all of your abilities that she had granted to you, including the ability to manipulate the Regression cells inside of you. You can use it to take out the Grimm that get near them, or kill one of Salem's allies. You may also use your ability to manipulate the shadows themselves in order to aid them. What else you do...is all up to the choice that you yourself can make."
Kage than turns. He thinks very hard and deep to himself. He thought to himself 'Can I really do this? Can I really redeem myself for the grief I committed?' He looks at his hand, and than clenches it. He than thought of his twin. He remembers there time he stood up for him, he protected him, he sang with him, he played with him. He than looked at the Orb that had Blake appear. His eyes than shined brightly. He senses that a Grimm is coming from underneath her. One of Kage's abilities is that, unlike Sans, who had the ability to sense the Aura and differentiate between a human's aura and Faunus's aura, Kage can differentiate a specific type of Grimm that appears. And it turns out that the Grimm coming to Blake is one that attacks underwater. Kage than decides to act.
Back with Blake's Group...Travel Boat...
It is dusk, and the boat continues its journey on the smooth water. There is still peaceful bird cry, and 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.
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.
Blake: "Who's there?!"
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 wake it created and lets out a grunt as she tries to keep her balance.
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.
Crew Member 01: "RED ALERT!!"
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.
Captain: "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 calls out to everyone on deck.
Captain: "All hands to battle stations!"
First Mate: "Sir, we've never fought a Grimm this big!"
Captain: "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. Trifa, Leon, and Ilia all joined in on the fight together.
Ilia loaded her weapon with Ice Dust and wrapped it around the giant Sea Feilong. This caused the body of it to freeze at an extremely cold temperature. But the ice was not going to hold out much longer. The ice was beginning to crack, so Trifa reacted fast. She put lighting dust powder on her hands, and shot webbing into the aquatic Grimm, which completely caused it pain. Leon than turned into a feline-like creature and attack the giant Grimm.
Leon jumped and clawed at the mask, and shot a blast of energy from his feline mouth. This caused damage and made it so agitated that he swung his head and throws Leon hard onto the ground. The force of the impact forced Leon to change back.
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.
He 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. Ilia joins in and does the same with Fire dust. 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. Ilia and Trifa all came and helped her stand up.
Captain: "Hold steady men, it's not done with us yet! GET THE HEAVY CANNON LOADED!!"
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.
Captain: "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.
Blake: "Hey!"
The figure grunts and the cloak falls back, revealing Sun Wukong. Midair, he activates his energy clones.
BLIT: "Sun?!"
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.
Sun: Not today, pal!
When the Sea Feilong releases its electric blast, it goes harmlessly into the air, rather than at the ship.
Blake: "What are you doing?!"
From atop the enraged Grimm's snout, Sun answers her while holding onto the two tendrils his now-disappeared clones had grabbed.
Sun: "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.
Sun: "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 than puts his hand on his heart and does a dramatic voice.
"My hero- OW!!!"
Leon suddenly came and sucker punched Sun. Blake looked angry and spoke out to him.
Blake: "You're not supposed to be here!"
Sun: "Yeah!? Well, it looks like you can use all the help you can get!"
Blake glares at him and then rolls her eyes.
"Ugh! Just shut up and fight."
She spoke as she dropped him.
BLIT runs toward the ship in the water, where the Grimm is firing electric blasts at it. Sun is on the ground, striking a pose on his side with his hand propping up his head.
Sun: "Yes, ma'am!"
On the ship, the Captain is steering while two of his crew are looking at displays.
First Mate: "Starboard defenses are down, sir!"
Captain: "We still got the heavy cannon?"
Crew Member 02: "Aye, but it's moving too fast! We can't land a hit!"
Captain: "Argh. How about the engines?"
First Mate: "Fully functional, Captain!"
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.
Captain: "Huntsmen!"
Sun and BLIT turn to the man who has come out onto the upper deck calling them.
Captain: 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.
Sun: "I mean, you're the one with the swords."
Blake: "Ugh."
Trifa: "Sun...shut up."
Sun spins his weapon back into a holstered position and runs toward the Grimm.
Sun: "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.
Sun: "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. Trifa than used her webbing and grabbed onto the wings.
High above the Sea Feilong, Blake begins her descent, avoiding the electric blasts it shoots at her. Ilia than used her weapon and negated the electricity firing. She runs down its right wing, slicing through the thin membrane.
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.
Sun: "This is the part where you say it."
Blake than turns her head away in utter great annoyance
"Ugh."
Leon than punched him and help Blake stood up. The Grimm moves around them, causing the precarious rocky area to collapse. Blake is on the move again, leaving Sun behind.
Sun: "Okay, maybe later!"
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 something unexpected. It got imposed by some shadowy spoke. And it is coming from below the ocean, and had stabbed the Grimm into the heart. The captain took the chance and spoke out the order.
Captain: "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. On their rock, Sun celebrates while Blake smiles and lowers her head in relief.
Sun: "Ha-ha!"
Sun lifting his hand for a high five.
"Up top!"
Blake turns and glares at him.
Sun than wiggles his hand with a grin.
"Eh?"
With a cry, Blake swings her arm around to slap him in the face.
He rears back in slow-motion and the face of Sun has a red handprint.
Timeskip...
It is nighttime on the middle deck of the ship. Blake is at the railing again, only this time facing sideways. Her other friends are with Blake to.
Sun: "Seriously, it was no big deal!"
Sun is revealed to be talking to two of the Faunus passengers.
Sun: "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.
Sun: "You'd think they'd never seen a fight before."
Blake: "What are you doing here, Sun?"
Sun: "Diggin' the new outfit, by the way! Never did like the bow."
He spoke as he pointed at where the bow use to be. Blake slapped his hand away in immense annoyance.
Blake: "Sun!"
Sun: "Geez!"
Blake: "Have you been following me?!"
Ilia: "Or even better, how have you been following us?!"
Trifa: "That is what I would like to know as well"
Leon: "Agreed on that."
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.
Blake: I had to. You wouldn't understand.
Sun: No, I get it! The moment you left, I knew exactly what you were doing!
'Blake smiles at him, pleased at feeling understood.
Sun: You're going on a one-woman rampage against the White Fang!
Blake's happy expression falls.
"What?"
Leon: "are you serious right now?"
Sun: "You always felt like the Fang was your fight. They show up, trash your school, hurt your friends. It makes perfect sense!"
Blake: "I can't believe you."
Trifa: "I don't think any of us can believe that."
Sun: 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!"
He spoke as he puts an arm around Blake's shoulders.
Us Faunus got to stick together, after all.
Blake: "You're wrong, Sun."
Blake spoke and pushed him off of her.
"You're so, so wrong."
Blake turns her back on him and walks away.
Sun: "What are you..."
Blake: "We're not going anywhere near the White Fang. Not yet."
Sun: "Seriously?"
Blake: "I need to sort some things out."
Sun: "Then why not do it with your team? Your friends?"
Blake: "You're one to talk! Assuming Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet aren't hiding below deck!"
Sun: "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?"
Before Blake could speak, Ilia answers his question to Sun.
Ilia: "Home, to Menagerie. My parents are refuging with the Belladonnas.
Sun: 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.
Trifa: There's really no stopping you?
Sun: "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."
Leon and Ilia looked at one another, and Leon decided to mess with Sun's mind.
Leon: "Sun...it is not the East...it is the West."
Sun: "Oh, come on!!"