We see Blake is on a ship, traveling to an unknown destination. She appears to be on edge as she looks around, only seeing a couple of giggling kids. "Traveling alone?" A voice asked, Blake gripping her sword in preparation for a fight. Only to see that it was the captain.
"Actually, no she's not!" Another voice from behind her said, causing her to wheel around and draw her sword in gun form. She was shocked, however, to see that it was...
"Nicolas?!" She said in shock and slight annoyance.
"Aww... I thought you'd be happier than that to see me..." He said, a little deflated.
She was a little flustered, trying to come up with an answer. "I mean... I'm happy to see you, but I was trying to get away from anyone I care about. So they don't get hurt." She said.
"Aww, babe. You know nothing can hurt me." He said, leaning in to try and kiss her, before they both looked back and glared at the captain, who still watched them.
"Now, now, no threat here. Just here to chat." The captain assured them
Blake hesitated before relaxing her posture with a roll of her eyes. "And why is that?" She asked.
The Captain lowered his arms and then twisted 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." He explained
Blake turned away from the Captain. "Maybe it's just… better for some people to be alone." She said.
Nicolas was about to say something to her, but the two kids from before ran behind Blake, laughing and causing her to gasp again, not expecting the noise behind her. She turned and blinked at them, trying to reset her calm.
The Captain laughed at this. "Maybe, but with your paranoia, I think a few friendly faces wouldn't hurt." He said.
"Who says I'm paranoid?!" Blake snapped.
Nicolas raised an eyebrow at her when she said this. "Really?" He asked.
The Captain kept laughing at this. "No one, dear, no one." He said.
"Keep laughing at her and you'll be paranoid when this boat sinks." Nicolas said with a glare.
The captain became nervous at this, backing away. "I'll leave you be." He said, turning and walking away, then stopped. "But uh, fair warning: these trips can be awfully boring." He warned.
"I brought crosswords!" Nicolas said, holding up a few books.
The Captain continued on his way and Blake stared after him. Once he's gone, she turned and looked at the ground for a few seconds before reaching up and undoing her bow. "Mmm." She let out a noise, holding the ribbon out over the railing. "Won't be needing this." She said, letting go and watching the ribbon swirl in the air once before landing on the water.
"Much better." Nicolas said, Blake smiling as they turned and walked away. As she passed inside, a hooded figure was shown to be watching her from a distance. Beside the ribbon on the ocean, the large scales of a sea creature were seen moving just above the surface. After they passed, the ribbon is gone.
The scene changed to Yang Xiao Long sitting on a green couch in her home on Patch. She looked at the stack of three books on her right and instead picked up the remote control to her left. With a click, the projected scene came on, revealing a news segment from the VBC channel.
Glynda Goodwitch was shown unsuccessfully piecing together a building. Across the bottom of the screen it read: BEACON INACCESSIBLE.
"...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 announced.
Yang clicked the remote. As the next reporter spoke, the large lettering across the screen were slowly revealed backward, from the perspective of someone facing Yang. It read: CCT Repairs "Underway". The subheading read: Atlas officials working on solution, but not optimistic. "...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—" Another reporter explained.
Yang clicked again, cutting off the reporter and bringing up yet another news segment. A horned anchorman spoke above the caption: Sending Citizens Home. The corner caption had the logo for VOX News. "...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—" He reported.
Yang clicked again. Her eyes widened and she sat up.
"Multiple rumors continue to circulate as to who was behind the attacks at the Vytal Festival Tournament." Lisa Lavender reported. The screen showed anchor Lisa Lavender and the VNN logo. The caption below her read: WHITE FANG MEMBER, ADAM TAURUS, PRESENT DURING BEACON GRIMM ATTACK. "While no one knows for sure, officials have confirmed that high-ranking White Fang member, Adam Taurus…" She continued to report, Adam's image appearin on the screen as his name was spoken. "...was present for the attack. Any and all attempts to bring him into custody have been met with brutal force—" She continued until Yang turned the news off. She sat there holding the remote, and a door clicked open.
"I'm home! We have company." Taiyang said.
Yang set the remote down and leaned her head backward on the couch, looking up at the newcomers that way.
"Hey, Dad." She said. Taiyang was shown upside-down at first, as he would appear to Yang, but the image promptly righted itself. He was carrying three boxes with two bags hanging from his forearms. Serena and Selene came in behind him, Serena carrying a long box under each arm while Selene held a box of similar size in front of her chest.
"Hey, Yang!" Serena said happily.
"It's great to see you again." Selene said with a smile.
Yang giggled at her two friends as they came in and set the boxes down in front of her. "Great to see you both, too." She said, giving each of them a one-armed hug.
"Hey, guess what came in today!" He said eagerly. The door shuts behind Taiyang as he walked into the living room.
"What?" She asked.
"I can't wait for you to try this." He said, eagerly.
He walked into another room to unload, while on the couch Yang looked somewhat interested. Taiyang returned, carrying one long white box. He set it on the coffee table in front of Yang, revealing the Kingdom of Atlas symbol on it. She looked at it and doesn't move.
"Well?" He asked.
"It's… for me?" She asked.
"For you and you only." He confirmed
Yang lifted the lid off the box to reveal a robotic right arm. Yang looked it over, somewhat wide-eyed while her father gushed. She blinked and her eyes drooped 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." He said proudly.
"Huh?" Yang asked, confused.
"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." He told her.
"Well, that's good. One more option." Serena said.
"What do you mean?" Yang asked.
"Well, like he said when he saw you last, Sai promised to get you the best arms he could, so he had the greatest weaponsmiths he knew to make you a few different arms." Serena said, lifting the top off the two boxes she carried in and Selene doing the same for the box she brought in.
The first was a sleek, stylish yellow arm with a small hatch just behind the wrist and strange round opening on the forearm the forearm. "The first one was made by my brother, Lance. It's made out of Bladenium, which is already borderline indestructible, but on the forearm, it also has an energy shield projector. And that hatch behind the wrist there is a built in shotgun to perfectly mirror the Ember Celica you lost. So basically, it's perfect offense AND defense." Serena explained, showing off its features.
The second one was a slightly bulkier and more muscular blackish-purple demonic arm with pointed fingertips and red spikes all over it. "The next one was built by the demon weaponsmith, Rodin, who made probably two thirds of Sai's arsenal. It doesn't have any long range capabilities, but it's ridiculously powerful. If you put this thing on, you might be as strong in that one arm as Damion was in both." Selene explained.
The final one was also a sleek robotic arm, mostly red with a little bit of gold thrown in. You should already be able to guess who made this. "And this was made by Tony Stark. Like most of his other Iron Man suits, it has a built in repulsor blaster, missiles and a machine gun in the wrist. And it's his strongest piece so far. This thing would rip through the Hulk Buster before it took so much as a dent." Serena finished.
Yang looked up at her father but says nothing. "Well? You going to try one of them on?" He asked.
"I uh… I'm not feeling too great right now. Maybe later?" She said.
"But, Yang... You have a chance to have 2 arms again. To be as good as you were before. Maybe even better." Serena said.
"I just don't want to right now, Serena... But thanks." She said.
Serena looked a little sad, but didn't want to push the issue. "Well, okay then... I guess I'll see you later, then." She said, starting to leave.
Taiyang also deflated a bit and put his hand to the back of his neck as he sighed and considered how best to respond. "Well, alright." He said.
Yang got up and walked up the stairs, Taiyang giving her an encouraging smile as she passed in front of him. She paused partway up the steps, turning in his direction. "Thanks, Dad. And you, two, Serena." She said as she continued upstairs as a visibly disheartened Taiyang bowed his head. Serena also gave her a small smile, before leaving.
Later, Yang swept the porch, adept at it with one arm. She paused to wipe her brow and sighed. The next scene showed her getting mail out of the mailbox at the end of their driveway. Lastly, she was in the kitchen, rinsing a glass. As she lifted it out of the sink, it slipped out of her fingers and she gasped. When it hit the floor and broke, it triggered a flashback. Against blackness there was 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 resonated. In the kitchen, Yang reared back with a cry. She clung to the counter top and panted, out of breath due to fright. Her fist came down against the counter top, and Yang got herself under control. From the doorway, Taiyang watched with concern before turning away without saying a word.
Selene, however, had stuck around and also been watching and she decided she had to say something. She walked up to Yang and put a hand on her shoulder. "Yang, this is your chance to get back on your feet and kick depression right in its face. You can go back out on your adventures, live that crazy life you've talked about. My brother wouldn't want you sitting around sulking all day. He'd want you out there, living life. Your life." She said. Yang looked back up at her, unsure of what to say at this.
It is dusk, and the boat continued its journey on the smooth water. There was still a peaceful bird cry, and Blake was once again on the middle deck looking out at the ocean. A Faunus couple walked behind her and she watched them, slightly less twitchy than before.
"Ah, young love. Just like us." Nicolas said.
"Nick... I'm happy to see you, but... I was really trying to be alone this time." She said. It was when she was about to leave that they sensed they were being watched by someone on the upper deck. It was the hooded figure, and they immediately took their weapons.
"Who's there?!" Blake demanded.
The hooded figure turned and ran for it, blonde hair somewhat visible beneath the hood. Blake stared up at the deck, no longer watching the ocean. She didn't notice the dorsal fins of a giant sea creature momentarily surface. Nicolas saw it, however. "I think there's a sea monster out there." He said.
"There's no sea monster, Nick." She said. However, she felt the boat rocking on the wake it created and let out a grunt as she tried to keep her balance.
The creature's long-necked shadow loomed over Nick and Blake as she turned around to face the water. Its shadow also fell on a member of the crew on duty in the crow's nest, who was looking up at it in horror.
"Sea monster!" Nick said in fear.
"RED ALERT!" The crew member shouted.
The alert immediately sounded. Two red lights next to a speaker pulsed with the sound. The Captain and his First Mate came running out and looked at the water from the upper deck, just above Blake and Nick. The Captain murmured as the shadow fell over him. "By the gods…" He said in disbelief.
The long-necked creature was revealed to be a large sea dragon Grimm. It had a pattern of glowing red lines along the scales of its neck, and its eyes glowed yellow. The Grimm swung its head back and forth, roaring and spreading its short forearms outward.
The Captain turned and called out to the ship. "All hands to battle stations!" He ordered.
"Sir, we've never fought a Grimm this big!" The first mate said worriedly.
"We've never seen something this big! But we'll give 'er a fight nonetheless!" The captain countered.
"Well, just because its a water Grimm doesn't make it any less weak to bullets, right?" Nick asked worriedly, before shooting it with his golf club/assault rifle.
Blake sprung into action, running off the boat and into the air. She created one of her clones to give her added upward momentum, flinging Gambol Shroud forward in its kusari-gama form. Attached to the ribbon on her wrist, it embedded itself into the Grimm's neck.
Blake swung above the Grimm and shot it in the back of its neck, to which it roared in pain. Blake landed on the crow's nest while the Captain steered from the bridge.
He kept the ship stabilized in the Grimm's wake and stepped outside to get another look at it. Blake and Nick still shot it while it arcs back into the water. The side of the ship opened up and the cannons come out.
Blake continued her assault on the sea creature, once again swinging and shooting. The ship's cannons fired but are mostly ineffective. Blake fell back onto the ship's deck, landed on her back, bounces, and quickly got herself back onto her feet. She discovered that her left shoulder was hurt when she moves to stand.
"Blake!" Nicolas said worriedly, before glaring up at the monster. "You son of a bitch!" He shouted, jumping up towards it, only for it to snapping its jaws down on him and trap him in its mouth, before violently and repeatedly chomping down on him. "Oh, god! Oh, no! This wasn't a good idea! Someone help me!" He screamed.
The captain was seen steering again. "Hold steady men, it's not done with us yet! GET THE HEAVY CANNON LOADED!" He ordered, the First Mate changed from being nervous to battle-ready upon hearing this order.
The largest cannon on the ship rose up through a trapdoor on the deck, extended itself, and aimed at the Grimm. The Grimm's dorsal fin split apart and extra bone unfolded, revealing two wings. The dragon let out a roar as it flies, dropping Nick in the process as its beating wings sent a gush of air at the ship. Blake cried out as she hung on with her hurt left arm.
"I used to like sea creatures! Like sea turtles... and regular turtles... Not sure how I feel about that anymore." Nick said as he desperately climbed back on the boat.
"Heavy cannon, OPEN FIRE!" The captain ordered again.
The heavy cannon shot, but the Grimm easily evaded it. It opened its mouth and an electric ball formed.
Blake readied to launch herself at it, but the hooded figure landed on her head and used her as a launch pad.
"Hey!" She snapped.
The figure grunted, and the cloak fell back, revealing Sun Wukong. Midair, he activates his energy clones.
"Sun?!" Blake and Nicolas asked in surprise... and slight annoyance in Nicolas' case, as Sun constantly 3rd wheeled them, preventing any romance.
Sun and his clones landed on the Grimm's head. The two clones pulled on the topmost tendrils of the head while Sun grabbed its upper lip. "Not today, pal!" He said, redirecting the blast. When the dragon released its electric blast, it went harmlessly into the air, rather than at the ship.
"What are you doing?!" Blake asked.
"Hopefully getting himself eaten." Nicolas said.
From atop the enraged Grimm's snout, Sun answered her while holding onto the two tendrils his now-disappeared clones had grabbed. "Oh, uh, you know, just… hanging out!" He joked. The Grimm managed to get a small electrical charge around Sun and he let go, shouting as he fell. "Whoa-oa!" He shouted as he fell.
"Oh, no, he's falling. Someone do something." Nicolas said sarcastically.
Blake gasped and immediately sprung into action again. She jumped onto and off the railing, using Gambol Shroud's kusari-gama form on the crow's nest to swing herself around and caught Sun midair. They landed on nearby rocks, with her holding him bridal style.
Sun put his hand to his heart. "My hero!" He said dreamily.
Nicolas glared at him back on the boat. "I'm gonna kill him. She never held me like that..." He said, dodging a bite from the dragon. "Hey, no biting!" He snapped, shooting at it.
"You're not supposed to be here!" She snapped at him.
"Yeah!? Well it looks like you can use all the help you can get!" He countered.
Blake glared at him and then rolled her eyes, dropping him. "Ugh. Just shut up and fight!"
She ran toward the ship in the water, where the Grimm was firing electric blasts at it. Sun was on the ground, striking a pose on his side with his hand propping up his head.
"Yes, ma'am!" Sun agreed.
On the ship, the Captain was steering while two of his crew were looking at displays.
"Starboard defenses are down, sir!" The first mate informed.
"We still got the heavy cannon?" The captain asked.
"Aye, but it's moving too fast! We can't land a hit!" Another crew member explained.
"Argh. How about the engines?" The captain growled.
"Fully functional, Captain!" The first mate informed.
"Well alright, then!" The captain said.
On the deck, Blake was preparing to counter a hit from the Grimm's electric blast, but Sun jumped in between with a laugh of triumph. He used Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang to deflect it and landed on the heavy cannon, resting his staff on his shoulder with a crooked grin.
"Show-off." Nick said, blasting him with the ray gun on his war hammer.
"Huntsmen!" The captain called.
Nicolas, Sun and Blake turned to the man who had 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!" He explained.
Blake turned away from the Captain and looked up at Sun. "I mean, you're the one with the swords." He said.
Nicolas nodded at it. "I mean, he has a point, I only have a hammer and a golf club." He said.
"Ugh." Blake groaned at this.
Sun spun his weapon back into a holstered position and ran toward the Grimm. "Now or never!" He said.
"I'll cover you!" Nicolas said, running to the left and shooting at the Grimm to draw its attention.
Sun activated three clones and jumps into the air. The first clone sprung Blake upward to the second clone, which did the same. The third clone swung her up. Sun waited, laughing and opening up his arms, but then lost his smile in confusion. "Huh?" He asked, confused.
Blake, instead of heading toward him, directed herself above him and landed on his shoulders. They sunk a few feet while he grunted and Blake leapt upward off of him. High above the sea dragon, she begun her descent, avoiding the electric blasts it shot at her. She ran down its right wing, slicing through the thin membrane.
Sun smirked as he waited for her on the rock she's readying to land on and caught her. The impact caused the rock surface to crack around them while he's left holding her bridal style. Blake smiled at him, until... "This is the part where you say it." He said.
"Ugh." Blake sighed, turning her head away.
Nick fired at Sun who ducked under the laser and glared at him. "Sorry! I think the sights are off on this thing!" He called.
The Grimm moved around them, causing the precarious rocky area to collapse. Blake was on the move again, leaving Sun behind.
"Okay, maybe later!" Sun said, jumping off the collapsing rock. The sea dragon Grimm flew after them, knocking rocks down as he went. The Captain watched from the bridge through a spyglass before throwing a handle and increasing the boat's speed. It sailed beside the destructive Grimm, keeping apace.
Sun continued to hop around, avoiding the Grimm's attacks until one more move put him directly in front of its open mouth. Blake swung in on her ribbon and got him out of reach. The Grimm prepared a blast to get them both in one shot when it was blasted in the back of the head by Nick's laser, then impaled by the bowsprit of the boat.
"Fire!" The captain ordered.
The heavy cannon fired and hit the Grimm dead on. Its upper half was blasted to pieces, and it died immediately. The Captain, the First Mate and the other crew Member all cheered. The cheer was upheld by the passengers on the ship who also joined in with applause. On their rock, Sun celebrated while Blake smiled and lowered her head in relief.
"Ha-ha!" Sun laughed triumphantly, lifting his hand for a high five. "Up top!" He said happily.
Blake turns and glared at him.
"Eh?" Sun kept trying, wiggling his hand.
"She's about to fuck him up." Nick said with a smirk as he watched.
With a cry, Blake swung her arm around to slap him in the face. He reared back in slow-motion and the screen went black to the sound of her hand making contact with his flesh.
It was nighttime on the middle deck of the ship. Blake was at the railing again, only this time facing sideways.
"Seriously, it was no big deal!" He assured a couple of Faunus passengers he was talking to. "Just enjoy the rest of your trip and everything will be cool! We got this!" He told them. The two Faunus, a male with horns and a female with rabbit ears who we saw earlier, waved goodbye and turned away. Sun strutted over to Blake.
"You'd think they'd never seen a fight before." He said.
"What are you doing here, Sun?" She asked.
"Diggin' the new outfit, by the way!" He complimented, pointing to her ears. "Never did like the bow." He added.
"Sun!" Blake snapped, slapping his hand away.
"Geez!" He said defensively.
"Her eyes are down here!" Nick snapped, pointing to them.
"Have you been following me?!" She demanded.
Sun looked a touch abashed at this. "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." She said.
"Yeah, we don't. That's why I came. I want to understand. And I want to be here with you." Nick said.
"No, I get it! The moment you left, I knew exactly what you were doing!" Sun explained.
Blake smiled at him, pleased at feeling understood. Nicolas, however, looked seriously annoyed. "I HIGHLY doubt you do." He said.
"You're going on a one-woman rampage against the White Fang!" He said
Blake's happy expression quickly fell. "What?" She asked in disbelief.
"You always felt like the Fang was your fight. They show up, trash your school, hurt your friends. It makes perfect sense!" He explained.
"They didn't even know she was there until they attacked, dummy." Nicolas said.
"I can't believe you." Blake said.
"But there's no way I'm letting you do this alone!" Sun said.
"She's not alone, I'm with her!" Nicolas said.
"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 continued, putting his arm around her. "Us Faunus got to stick together, after all." He said.
"Move your arm or lose it." Nicolas warned.
"You're wrong, Sun. You're so, so wrong." She said, pushing him away and turning her back on him, walking away.
"What are you..." Sun started.
"I'm not going anywhere near the White Fang. Not yet." She said.
"Seriously?" Both guys asked together.
"I need to sort some things out." She explained.
"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 countered, before looking at Nicolas. "And what about Sai and Draco? Are they stowed away somewhere?!" She demanded.
"I wanted to go with Sai, but he said I should stay with you. After he lost Pyrrha, he told us we should stay with the ones we care about and keep them safe." Nicolas explained.
"Yeah, what he said!" Sun started.
"She's mine. Care about someone else." He told her.
"Besides, 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?" Sun asked.
"Home, to Menagerie." She explained.
"Ooh, I've never been to Menagerie. Always wanted to." Nicolas said.
"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." He said.
"That's a pretty easy fix." Nicolas said, pulling his hands back as if he was preparing to push him.
"There's really no stopping you?" Blake asked.
"Let me try!" Nicolas pleaded, getting him closer to the edge.
"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 explained.
"Oh, I see what you did there." Nicolas said.
Inside Salem's meeting room, Cinder Fall and Salem sat alone at the table. Mercury and Emerald waited by the door. Cinder was breathing heavily with effort while Salem had her right hand casually held out. "Do you feel it? Don't fight it, girl. It can sense your trepidation. You must make it dread you." She explained.
A soft clicking sound made Cinder turn toward the door. All was blackness but for a slowly moving forward yellow glow. It was revealed to be inside a jellyfish-based Grimm with long red tentacles and a black and white body.
Emerald and Mercury reacted fearfully to it and pulled backward as it entered. It glided its way over to Salem at the head of the table. Once the Seer Grimm reached her side, she leaned closer to it. After a moment, she put her hands together.
"Cinder, I am going to ask you this one more time, and I expect a clear answer. Did you kill Ozpin?" She asked. Cinder held her arm out, about to call Emerald over to speak for her, Salem slammed both hands onto the table, eyes glowing as she spoke. "No!" She roared, Cinder lowering her arm. "I want to hear you say it." She said sternly.
Cinder rasped a few times first before speaking hoarsely. "Yes." She confirmed.
"Wonderful. If only you could've dealt with that demon as easily. But don't worry. Tyrian will defeat him and bring him to you enough." She said.
"The demon... Will die before that..." Cinder said.
"Oh, how so?" Salem asked.
"Back when we fought... and I stabbed my hand into his chest... I planted a Grimm bug into his heart in case he could manage to beat me. Now it sits there, clouding his mind with guilt and misery. It shouldn't be long now until he either kills himself or just lies down and dies like a dog." She explained.
Salem looked at her for a long moment. "Excellent." She said, before speaking to the Seer Grimm. "Reinforce our numbers at Beacon. The Relic is there." She ordered. The Seer Grimm glided away. At the door, Emerald and Mercury drew away from it just as they did before. Salem turned her head thoughtfully, looking in the direction away from Cinder and bringing her fingers to her chin."What are you planning?" She wondered.