The Dante I am using is the version from Devil May Cry 5, if anyone was wondering.
Yang is sitting on a green couch in her home on Patch. She picks up the remote control to her left. With a click, the projected scene comes on, revealing a news segment from the VBC channel.
"With no end in sight. Try as they might, the local Huntsmen and Huntresses can't seem to get a hold of the situation at Beacon Academy" The Reporter said.
Yang clicks the remote. As the next reporter speaks "Though the fail safes have supported wireless communication within the kingdom, the loss of the CCT Tower continues to prevent contact with the outside world. Talks with Atlas officials regarding repairs have so far-"
Yang clicks again, cutting off the reporter and bringing up yet another news segment. A horned anchorman speaks "Vale council voted this week to continue to ban any air traffic that does not have a direct correlation with evacuation. The council has made it clear that they feel-"
Click.
Here she stops as a picture of Pyrrha is shown as the announcer speaks: "It has been confirmed that Haven's beloved Pyrrha Nikos was killed in the attack on Beacon, though her killer is currently unknown. What's even more mysterious is reports that Beacon's own shining star, Julius Rose, was also killed in the attack. However, those in the city are unable to find a body at the moment, putting those reports into question. For now, all we can truly confirm is that Julius Rose has somehow disappeared…"
Yang clicks again. Her eyes widen and she sits up.
Lisa Lavender is the next to speak "Multiple rumors continue to circulate as to who was behind the attacks at the Vytal Festival Tournament."
The screen shows anchor Lisa Lavender and the VNN logo. The caption below her reads: WHITE FANG MEMBER, ADAM TAURUS, PRESENT DURING BEACON GRIMM ATTACK.
Lisa Lavender continues "While no one knows for sure, officials have confirmed that high-ranking White Fang member, Adam Taurus was present for the attack. Any and all attempts to bring him into custody have been met with brutal force-"
Yang turns the news off. She sits there holding the remote, and a door clicks open "I'm home!".
Yang sets the remote down and leans her head backward on the couch, looking up at the newcomer that way "Hey, Dad".
Tai is carrying three boxes with two bags hanging from his forearms "Guess what came in today!".
The door shuts behind Tai as he walks into the living room.
"What?" Yang asked.
"I can't wait for you to try this" Tai walks into another room to unload, while on the couch Yang looks somewhat interested. Tai returns, carrying one long white box. He sets it on the coffee table in front of Yang, revealing the Kingdom of Atlas symbol on it. She looks at it and doesn't move "Well?".
"It's… for me?" Yang asked.
Tai nods "For you and you only".
Yang lifts the lid off the box to reveal a robotic right arm. Yang looks it over, somewhat wide-eyed while her father gushes. She blinks and her eyes droop a bit, revealing she's more distressed than pleased.
"Brand new, state of the art Atlas tech. You know, I thought I was gonna have to pull some strings, call in a few favors, but you earned this one all on your own, kiddo" Tai said.
Yang looks up "Huh?".
"Before I could even talk to him, General Ironwood already had one of his top scientists working on this, for you. He wanted me to tell you that you fought admirably. You should be proud of yourself" Tai looks up at her father but says nothing "Well? You going to try it on?".
"I uh… I'm not feeling too great right now. Maybe later?" Yang suggested.
Tai deflates a bit and puts his hand to the back of his neck as he sighs and considers how best to respond "Well, alright".
Yang gets up and walks up the stairs, Tai giving her an encouraging smile as she passes in front of him. She pauses partway up the steps, turning in his direction "Thanks, Dad".
Yang continues upstairs as a visibly disheartened Tai bows his head.
Yang goes to her room and places the case on her bed, still hesitant to try it; it reminded her too much of Julius and his own mechanical arm.
Later, Yang sweeps the porch, adept at it with one arm. She pauses to wipe her brow and sigh. Later she is getting mail out of the mailbox at the end of their driveway. Lastly, she's in the kitchen, rinsing a glass. As she lifts it out of the sink, it slips out of her fingers and she gasps.
When it hits the floor and breaks, it triggers a flashback. Against blackness there's a gray slash moving from upper left to bottom right and the red markings from Adam's mask glow while the sound of a sword loudly resonates. In the kitchen, Yang rears back with a cry.
She clings to the countertop and pants out of breath due to fright. Her fist comes down against the countertop, and Yang gets herself under control.
From the doorway, Tai watches with concern before turning away without saying a word.
…
It had taken him a solid five different teleporting attempts, but Julius finally was able to make his way to Patch and now was driving his motorcycle on the dirt path, heading for his home in the woods. He had only ever been there twice before, but, thankfully, the second time was more recent. As he drove along, he began to worry of what would happen; would they believe it was him? Would they still accept him? He had no way of knowing for sure at the moment; he needed to keep going.
Soon, he made it and stopped the bike next to the garage/shed next to the cabin, parking it next to the shed.
Dismounting, he then walked up to the door and raised his hand to knock, but then hesitated, still nervous of what would happen. He then took a deep breath to calm himself, then knocked on the door.
"I got it!" said a voice from inside, and a few moments later, the door opened to reveal Yang, who froze in shock the second she saw Julius.
Julius nervously smiled and waved: "Hey, Yang."
Yang stood still for a few moments, then suddenly shot forward, immediately hugging him.
"You're okay…" she whispered.
Julius slowly embraced his sister back: "Yeah, I am, sis."
Just then, he noticed something was off and pulled back, gasping as he saw Yang's missing arm.
"Oh my God…" he quietly said, "How…"
"I'm fine" Yang quickly replied, "It's nothing."
"Nothing?!" Julius asked, "You missing a whole freaking arm is NOTHING?"
"I just don't want to talk about it right now, okay?"
Julius put his hands up apologetically: "Alright then."
"Besides, you're missing one too" Yang said, pointing to what was left of his mechanical arm."
Julius shrugged: "Fair enough."
"Yang, who is it?" Taiyang's voice came from the other room as he walked over to see. He too stopped as he saw Julius at the door.
Julius gave a slight nod: "Hey, Dad."
Tai walked up and embraced his son, giving a warm smile: "You made it."
"Well, I couldn't stay gone too long, now can I?"
Tai chuckled as he pulled back: "I guess not. You look like you've been through a lot" he said, noticing Julius's worn clothes and torn jacket.
Julius shrugged: "Yeah, well, what else is new?"
Yang led Julius into the house and the two sat down on the couch to catch up on things while Tai went to go get Julius something to eat.
"Where's Ruby?" Julius first asked.
"Gone." Yang replied, "She left with Jaune, Nora, and Ren for Haven."
"Haven?"
Yang nodded: "They think that's going to be attacked next apparently."
"I've been hearing that too, actually. You think that's where we should go next?"
"Not yet. I still need to recover a bit cause…you know."
Julius nodded in understanding: "Yeah. Losing an arm sucks; don't let anyone tell you different."
Tai walked back into the room, placing a plate with a sandwich in front of Julius: "Here ya go."
"Oh heck yes. I haven't eaten in almost a day." Julius replied, promptly digging into the sandwich.
"So, what did happen back at Beacon?" Tai asked.
"Yeah, all the reports said you were either dead or missing." Yang added.
Julius held up a finger for pause while he finished chewing, then replied: "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
Yang leaned forward: "Try me."
Julius shrugged, then recounted what had happened when he had tried to save Pyrrha, only to get thrown off Beacon Tower by Cinder, though he made sure to leave out the part of Cinder being his other half-sister; he wasn't quite ready to share that yet. He also left out Roman and Neo as he recounted his recovering and escaping from Vale.
"Once I grabbed what I needed from my room, I got my bike, drove out of the city and then tried to teleport here, with obvious success."
Yang clenched her fist: "Oh, do I ever want to drive my fist into Cinder's face now. But I still don't understand, how do you recover from a fall like that?"
Julius deactivated his aura and brought out a knife: "Watch this."
He then proceeded to drag the knife across his face, opening a cut, but to Yang's amazement, it closed right back up without a trace of blood.
"That's insane" she finally said.
"It is indeed" Julius agreed, "But it's certainly been helpful in rough situation. My guess is that it becomes stronger the more hits I take and the more deadly the hits are."
"If that's true, you have to be practically invincible at this point." Yang said.
"Probably."
"Well, the good news is, you're here safe and sound" Tai said with a smile, "Though something tells me it won't be for long."
"Oh. I'll probably stay a few days; I could honestly use some R&R myself. But yes, if the next move is going to be at Haven, I need to be there to help push it back. Besides, someone's gotta keep an eye out on Ruby."
Tai shrugged in agreement: "Well, you two catch up, I gotta prepare the house for some friends of mine coming over tonight."
Julius nodded as Tai left the room, then turned back to Yang: "So, whatya want to do?"
Yang thought for a moment: "Well, we still have that board game you played with us last time you were here."
Julius leaned forward, a mischievous smile on his face: "Is that a challenge I sense?"
Yang got a similar smile: "If you're up for it."
Julius chuckled: "Alright, sis. Game on."
…
It was now 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, this time with Hector standing next to her. 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. Hector aims one of his rifles and demads: "Who's there?!".
The hooded figure turns and runs for it, blonde hair somewhat visible beneath the hood. Blake and Hector stare up at the deck, no longer watching the ocean. They do not notice the dorsal fins of a giant sea creature momentarily surface. However, they feel the boat rocking on the wake it created and Blake lets out a grunt as she tries to keep her balance.
The creature's long-necked shadow looms over Blake as she and Hector turn 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 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 calls out to the ship "All hands to battle stations!".
The First Mate spoke "Sir, we've never fought a Grimm this big!"
"We've never seen something this big! But we'll give 'er a fight nonetheless!" The Captain said.
Blake and Hector spring into action, running off the boat and into the air. Blake 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. Hector, using his enhanced strength, is able to jump onto the Grimm's head as it lowers to the level of the ship. Letting out an almost beastial cry, Hector deploys his arm blades and drives them into the creature's head; it doesn't kill the Grimm, but Hector does manage to stay on and continue slashing once he got his balance.
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 and Hector continues their 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. Hector manages to stay on, stabbing his tail into the creature's flesh to keep his balance.
"Hold steady men, it's not done with us yet! GET THE HEAVY CANNON LOADED!" The captain shouts and 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 dragon lets out a roar as it flies, its beating wings sending a gush of air at the ship. Hector cries out in surprise as it takes off, with him still on it.
"Heavy cannon, OPEN FIRE!" The captain shouts as the heavy cannon shoots, but the Grimm easily evades it, though hector struggles not to get caught in the same blasts.
"WATCHT IT!" he yells while the Grimm opens its mouth and an electric ball forms.
Blake readies to launch herself at it, but then blue energy shots hits it in the face. The shots did no noticeable damage, but it was enough to distract it.
Blake looked at who the shooter might be until someone jumps on her "Hey!".
The figure grunts, and the cloak falls back, revealing to be none other than Sun. Midair, he activates his energy clones.
"Sun?!" Blake shouts.
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!".
When the dragon releases its electric blast, it goes harmlessly into the air, rather than at the ship.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Hector demands as he makes his way up to behind Sun on the Grimm's head.
Sun answers 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 Hector and they let go, Sun shouting as he falls.
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 to catch Sun midair. She then successfully caught Sun and they land on nearby rocks, with Blake holding him bridal style. Hector manages to fall near a rock and lands safely on his feet, digging his arm blades into the rock to slow his fall.
Sun puts his hand to his heart "My hero!".
"You're not supposed to be here!" Blake said in anger.
"Yeah!? Well it looks like you can use all the help you can get!" Sun pointed out.
Blake glares at him and then rolls her eyes and drops him "Ugh. Just shut up and fight".
Blake runs toward the ship in the water, where the Grimm is firing electric blasts at the ship. Sun is on the ground, striking a pose on his side with his hand propping up his head.
"Yes, ma'am!" Sun said as he got up and followed her.
"Move your ass, monkey business!" Hector yelled, already a considerable distance in front of Sun.
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?" The captain asked.
"Aye, but it's moving too fast! We can't land a hit!" A crew member said.
"Argh. How about the engines?" The Captain asked
"Fully functional, Captain!" His first mate answered.
The Captain nods "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. Hector pulls out one of his rifles, and flicks up a scope on top of the barrel. Then, aiming at the creature's eye, fires and lands a direct hit, causing to Grimm to roar in pain as it's right eye is put out.
"Huntsmen!" 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!".
Hector nods: "You got it!"
Blake turns away from the Captain to look up at Sun. He shrugs "I mean, you're the one with the swords".
"Ugh" Blake said with an eye roll.
"She's not the only one" Hector interjected, holstering his rifle. Then, he rotates the handles to an upright position with a click, drawing out a pair of katanas.
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 and Hector 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.
Hector, instead of heading toward him, directs himself above him and lands on his shoulders. They sink a few feet while he grunts and Hector leaps upward off of him, Blake doing the exact same. High above the Sea Feilong, Hector dives right for the Grimm, avoiding the electric blasts it shoots at her. He then runs down its right wing, slicing through the thin membrane with his katanas. Blake heads for the left wing, slicing it with her own blade.
Sun smirks as he waits for them on the rock Hector lands on right next to him, while Sun manages to catch Blake. The impact causes the rock surface to crack around them as Sun continues to hold her bridal style.
"This is the part where you say it" he tells her. The Grimm moves around them, causing the precarious rocky area to collapse. Hector and Blake leap to another ledge, leaving Sun behind
"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 pace with it.
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. Hector, his katanas returned into their gun holsters, is now holding both rifles akimbo, firing both at the dragon. The Grimm prepares a blast to get all three of them in one shot when it is impaled by the bowsprit of the boat.
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 and Hector pumps his fist in victory.
"Ha-ha!" Sun lifts his hand for a high five "Up top!".
Blake turns and glares at him as 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 in slow-motion the sound of her hand making contact with his flesh is heard. Hector cringes; that definitely had to hurt.
It was now nighttime on the middle deck of the ship. Blake is at the railing again, only this time facing sideways. Hector is next to her, rubbing his sore arms.
Sun spoke "Seriously, it was no big deal! Just enjoy the rest of your trip and everything will be cool! We got this!".
The two Faunus he was speaking with, a male with horns and a female with rabbit ears, wave goodbye and turn away. Sun struts over to Blake and Hector "You'd think they'd never seen a fight before".
"What are you doing here, Sun?" Blake demanded.
"Diggin' the new outfit, by the way! Never did like the bow" Sun said as he points at Blake's ears.
Blake slaps his hand away "Sun!"
Sun backs of "Geez!".
"Have you been following me?!" Blake demanded.
Sun looks 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" Blake said.
"No, I get it! The moment you left, I knew exactly what you were doing!" Sun said and 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 "What?".
Hector facepalms, groaning in frustration.
"You always felt like the Fang was your fight. They show up, trash your school, hurt your friends. It makes perfect sense!" Sun said
Blake looked annoyed "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! Us Faunus got to stick together, after all".
"You're wrong, Sun. You're so, so wrong" Blake said as she turns her back on him and walks away.
Sun blinks "What are you..."
"I'm not going anywhere near the White Fang. Not yet" Blake said.
"Seriously?" Sun asked in surprise.
"I need to sort some things out" Blake said.
"Then why not do it with your team? Your friends?" Sun asked.
"You're one to talk! Assuming Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet aren't hiding below deck!" Blake snapped.
"Plus, that's not why she left." Hector spoke.
"Oh, and do YOU know why?" Sun replied.
"As a matter of fact, I do."
"Ok, then. Why?"
Hector lowered his head; it was hard for him to say this: "Julius…he's gone."
Sun calmed down, his eyes widening: "Oh. Blake, I'm sorry. I had no idea…"
"It's fine" Blake quickly replied a sorrowful look crossing her face, "You wouldn't have known. I was there when it happened; he died right in front of me, so I had to get away from there."
Sun rubbed the back of his head: "Damn. That really does suck. I'm sorry."
"We both lost him that night" Hector said, "Julius was the one who really showed me that humans aren't all bad. I owe a lot to him."
"Can we please just no talk about him!" Blake shouted in anger. Then turning back to Sun: "YOU still haven't answered my question: where exactly is YOUR team?!"
"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!" Sun defended.
"You idiot! I did not want you to follow me! You should have stayed in Vale where it's safe!" Blake snapped.
"Safe?! There is no such thing as safe! I thought Beacon was safe, and it was destroyed. I am no safer in Vale than I am here"
Sun calmed down a bit before he spoke again "So, if you're not going after the White Fang, where are you going?".
Blake answers "Home, to Menagerie".
"I am too." Hector added, "There's a few things I need to do there, though I didn't realize Blake was going the same way. But, since we are, I might as well tag along."
"Well, I'm coming with you too. 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" Sun said.
Hector sighed: "Yeah, Blake. Looks like we don't have much of a choice."
"There's really no stopping you?" Blake asked 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" Sun said.
"I wouldn't call anything "normal" anymore." Hector argued.
"Well it works" Sun said with a shrug.
"Yeah... it does" Blake said as she leans on the railing while watching the sea.
Let me know what you think so far!