Hello everyone, how are you doing? Uploading earlier this week, due to expected double shift at work tomorrow.
In this chapter and the next, we will be having a little world building (or at least my attempt at world building). I hope I manage to make it interesting enough that the lack of action will not bore you.
Again, thanks a lot to everyone who is still keeping up with the story! Hope you enjoy it!
December 13th, 85
North of Port Nanko, Kingdom of Mistral
The sound of the bullhead's engines was the first thing Weiss noticed as her eyes opened. She yawned- in a dignified manner- and rubbed her eyelids before getting up her makeshift bed.
She looked around the small plane's room. Blake and Yang were still sleeping in their own bedrolls, but Ruby's was empty. No surprise there, of course. Ruby and sleep had parted ways these last days.
The petite girl walked towards the small storage room- the only possible place her partner could be, since the pilot had banned her from entering the cockpit.
Before she would reach the door, however, it opened wide revealing… Weiss blinked a few times to make sure she actually had woken up and this was not some weird nightmare from the accumulated stress.
Ruby was wearing a long white suit, with a grey shirt below her tuxedo. A pair of dark sunglasses covered her dimmed silver eyes. In her hands she was holding a blonde wig that she had most likely been trying on.
"Hey Weiss! Good morning!" her demeanor was a good attempt at sounding as cheerful as usual, but anyone who knew Ruby Rose as well as Weiss Schnee could notice the strain behind her smile.
"This is a horrible disguise, Ruby" she announced after a few seconds. The red girl deflated "this is the only way to carry Crescent Rose and Thorn with me without drawing attention, Weiiis…" she whined.
Then she pointed towards the large fake cello case that rested on the wall behind her. The white girl scoffed "the whole point of a dress-up is to draw attention away, Ruby; not doing the opposite."
Her leader looked at her and then lowered her eyes "you are possibly right; but we have no other choice right now. Covert ops are Blake's specialty, not mine and we didn't have enough time. Besides, it will only be for a few hours until we get a boat and leave Nanko."
Weiss would usually retort, but she decided her friend had enough in her mind as it is; the whole undercover part of the mission was simply a last resort to not let anyone notice the famous team RWBY after all.
She concluded that probably it didn't matter if the brunette, soon-to-be-blonde, drew attention as long as nobody recognized her.
"Just let me do the talking when we arrive, ok?" Ruby winked at her, albeit less playfully than usual "you always do the talking anyway."
"Ladies, I wouldn't like to interrupt but…" the pilot's clear voice sounded from the intercom "we are landing at Nanko in less than an hour, you better wake up your teammates."
"Sure, thank you!" a chipper voice replied. It was followed by sounds of the young team leader trying to pull the bumblebee pair out of their comfort.
And then, groans. Followed by complains. And then the sound of girls arguing- followed by them changing clothes while a high pitched voice tried its best to convince them otherwise; that must have been the Schnee girl.
-o—
Nanko was a beautiful port city. Built in the lower part of a picturesque hillside, its most notable feature was a magnificent river that ran through it, separating it in two districts.
The North District, known as the Upper-class, was a mixture of traditional Mistralian houses with lots of modern buildings, hosting all local authorities and the local merchant and fishing guilds.
The South District, on the other hand, was located around the Nanko port. It was filled with small, humble houses hosting inns and providing shelter to the many fishermen and sailors.
These people had a rather simple way of living; work to earn lien and then spend them in food, drinks and music. They rarely mingled with the upper-class citizens, unless they were hired to work on some fancy ship.
It goes without saying at this point, that the sudden appearance of a pair of young and well dressed women in the middle of the port was a rather unusual sight.
"Excuse me…" the shorter one said as she approached the closest group of fishermen. Her clear and dignified voice stood out like a sore thumb.
She wore a long light blue pair of pants and low-heeled brown shoes. Her lithe form was covered by a white blouse decorated with flowers and a sleeveless brown vest on top of it.
The men turned around to look at her; she had a pretty face, with pale white skin and intelligent cyan eyes, framed by medium length chestnut hair. She had a backpack hanging from her shoulder and a blue umbrella in her left glove-covered arm.
She adjusted her glasses as her companion- a taller blonde girl wearing a white suit and shades- approached with a large cello case on her back.
"Can I ask you something please?" again, her voice was calm and mesmerizing; an air of superiority surrounded it, making her appearance further enchanting.
"What do you want lady?" the closest man replied, forcing a crooked smile. "I want to rent a boat and someone to take us out in the ocean." The men exchanged looks "where to?"
The blonde tipped the fedora covering her hair and replied instead. "South of the port, straight ahead for about a day."
The men all exchanged stares, eyes opening wide in fear and terror. "No way lass. There is no way you want to go there." The brunette whirled her umbrella "but this is exactly where we want to go."
"I don't know why you would even want to do that, but the answer is no." The man lowered his voice as he looked at them "these are evil waters, ladies. And I mean evil. There is no reason for you to go there."
The blonde stepped forward and lowered her shades, a pair of pleading gunmetal eyes staring the fishermen. "Please, I beg you, it is very important. We…have to get to these waters, please!"
As the men stared at her in pity, she continued "we can pay you as much as you want; we can even buy the boat and get ourselves there! Please, just help us!"
"That won't do, lady" another man replied. "In these waters, just behind the mist, lies Grimmwater Island. No one goes there and comes back alive after the massacre eleven years ago."
"We know that, but-" "And it becomes even worse, lady." At this point his voice had turned into barely a whisper. "Bad dreams seep out of this place; they infect the people."
"What bad dreams?" the other girl asked. "The curse of Grimmwater; it kills everyone who reaches it and the ones who get close but return, bring the curse with them." She scoffed "that's stupid."
The man gave off a wicked laughter "lots of us thought the same and got too close for comfort…we even prided us for returning. But the curse is in us; there is no rest now for the foolish who braved the bad waters… no sleep for us except for the one these provide."
He grabbed a bottle of alcohol and took a sip "what about old Waj?" When another guy asked, drawing both women's attention. "Oh, shut it Song!" The blonde, however, moved forward towards the guy.
"Who is this old Waj?" she asked, her voice slightly trembling. "Well he is a former fisherman and diver; he lives in the outskirts of the port. He has a boat that hasn't seen the ocean for about ten years."
The umbrella-wielding girl raised an eyebrow "you are the sixth group of people we ask, how come nobody mentioned him before?"
"He is a little crazy, that's why. Spent too much time fighting Grimm in his youth that he has slightly lost it. Most of us do not even mention him anymore."
The fedora-wearing girl exchanged looks with her companion, before she turned to the men once more "please tell us how to get to his house."
-o—
"That was tougher than I expected it to be" Ruby turned to Weiss as they both strode above the boardwalk, moving towards Waj Greene's house.
"I hope Blake and Yang had better luck than us." Weiss replied. "Yeah… it would be nice for once..."
Ruby's weak response did not escape Weiss, who pulled a strand of her wig away from her eye and stopped, grabbing her partner's shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Shades met reading glasses, before Ruby just looked away "there is nothing to say, Weiss… really. I am just… so worried right now."
Weiss grabbed Ruby's chin, raising her head to look her in the eye "of course you are, Ruby. No one denies that. You- what you have been doing for the last year is incredible."
"But not enough!" the outburst caught Weiss by surprise, making her step back as the taller girl lowered her head again, rubbing her eyes. She then looked around, glad to see nobody had bothered to even stare at them.
"Sorry…" she whispered. "Don't be; you have to get it out of your system at some point or you will burn out, Ruby" Weiss smiled at her.
"I know…but…" she bit her lip "after what we experienced in Yugure… I feel so…I don't want to burden you with this again…" Ruby hugged her shoulders, the oversized case rapidly swaying in her back.
"Since when you became such a pessimist, I wonder" her partner softly pressed her fingers into her shoulder. "It happens, you know… Uncle Qrow, Aunt Raven, Ozpin… Jaune…at some point I am simply tired of failing to protect the ones who matter…"
"You protected me." Ruby raised her head to see Weiss, her cyan eyes beaming at the younger girl. "And Yang and Blake. Ren and Nora. Sun, Neptune, team LEAD, Oscar. All of us are here because of you."
"Weiss…" "The reason we can live like this and be happy with each other is because of the many things you gave for us, so let us help you in return Ruby. Let us help you find happiness too. The world is much brighter when you smile."
A thin line formed in the redhead's lips, its edges slowly curving upwards to form an affectionate smile. "You took that quote from Yang, didn't you?"
"I have no idea what you are talking about."
"You are the second best sister ever, do you know that."
"Well" she replied with a haughty smirk "after some time, being just the best partner is simply not enough." "YuP" Ruby giggled "thanks, Weissy…I feel better already."
"Anything for you" the petite woman replied. "Let's go find Mr. Greene; I don't want to keep Blake and Yang waiting for too long." Ruby nodded "right behind you, second best sister." "You are such a dolt."
-o—
Waj Greene's home, or ran-down shack as Weiss described it, was a wooden, mold covered establishment at the edge of the port, far isolated from the other houses.
The air was smelly and filled with the stench of fish and salt, as both girls walked towards it along the half-destroyed plank. A small boat, kept in surprisingly good shape, was docked right behind it, the name "Poseidon" scribed on its bow.
"It does look well-preserved" Ruby said. "Unlike the rest of the place" Weiss added sniffing the air in disgust. "If you don't like it, feel free to go home…" a hoarse, heavy voice was heard from behind them.
Both huntresses let their eyes fall upon the man. Waj Greene, assuming this was him, was a tall man with broad shoulders and tanned skin, filled in wrinkles and scars.
His hair and beard were long and unkempt, its green color fading to white at the edge. Green eyes looked in mild disapproval at the girls through their deep sockets, as he tried his best to look threatening despite the bad state he seemed to be in.
"So who are you ladies?" he asked, slowly moving towards them. His way of walking was strange and Weiss looked down, seeing his left leg was not made of regular flesh but had a scaly, reptilian texture instead.
He wore no shoes, making visible his green clawed toes, connected together by a large membrane. The left leg was missing, a wooden stilt having taken its place.
Realizing she was probably being very rude staring like this, she snapped her attention back to the man exactly as Ruby replied to him. "We are looking for Mr. Waj Greene; are you him?"
The man groaned and Weiss added "this lady here is Becky and I am Willa. We are-" "-either huntresses, or soldiers. Judging from the lax attire, I would say the first" the man cut her off.
"So much for laying low" Ruby pouted. "Don't worry over this, lady. I was part of the Mistralian army for a few years back in my time; there are no way well-proportioned bodies such as yours are not trained for combat."
"Well, that saves us the explanation then. Mr. Greene" Weiss professionally announced "we would like to buy your boat." The man scratched his nose with a wrinkled arm "what for?"
"Confidential" Ruby tried her best to sound professional as she narrowed her eyes-behind the shades. "No then." He turned around and left, slowly entering his house before Ruby jumped in front of him.
"Sir, I know it sounds weird, but we really do need this boat!" Abandoning every single notion of professionalism, her high-pitched voice echoed inside the shack from the half-open door.
"Just tell us how much you want; it is not a problem for us." Ruby turned around "it isn't?" Weiss nodded "we will charge the Unit for it." Ruby gulped "you-know-who will kill us." "And it shall be worth it."
"If you are done blabbing" he groaned again "money is not the issue here." The silver-eyed girl tilted her head "then what-"
"You are huntresses, lady" he explained in a tired voice. "You need a boat for a mission obviously. And there is only one place you would need a boat to get to."
He pointed his finger across the sea. The fog permeating the area was thin, allowing the winter clouds to be clearly reflected on the surface of the ocean- except for the place Waj was pointing to.
A mass of clouds, like a heavy purple-blue curtain, was gathered in the middle of the ocean, completely cutting off a considerably large part of the sea from the girls' view.
No seagull seemed to be flying close to it and the few fishing boats spread all over the place seemed to go out of their way to avoid it. "You want to reach Grimmwater, don't you?" he spat the words.
"Yes" Weiss replied as the man shoved Ruby and entered the shack. "Then it's a no- I am not helping you get yourselves killed in that accursed land."
The white rose pair looked at each other- and entered the shack as well. The place's interior was as bad as the exterior, with pieces of junk and broken furniture spread all over the floor and next to the fireplace.
Mold seemed to be creeping everywhere and the half-patched windows barely allowed the dim winter light to enter the place. An impressive collection of alcohol was kept next to the barely-formed bed.
"Hey" he said, visibly annoyed "get out of my house before I call the police." The ex-heiress took her best pleading impression "we will, just please listen to us-" "This is amazing!"
Both Weiss and Waj looked at Ruby who was standing over the only clean square in the area. A large harpoon was on display on a desk, its blue metal tip filled with small holes accompanied by a heavy green handle with a transforming mechanism.
The man stared at her in awe as Ruby affectionately examined it "the materials are exceptionally durable and light. The mechanism allows it to transform into a pellet- using gun, my guess would be one that utilizes ice dust."
Ignoring the stares she got from both of them, she continued "the tip has been dulled by the overuse and there are residues of waterproof coating all over the handle. This…" she turned to the old man "is a huntsman's weapon. And one that has seen a lot in its life."
Weiss smirked as Waj Greene's shoulders fell "I told you I was part of the army, didn't I?" Ruby solemnly answered "you didn't tell us you were part of the Elite Sea Defense Huntsmen Unit of Mistral, however" she replied, removing her shades and wig.
"It is an honor to meet a fellow warrior, Mr. Greene." His eyes opened wide, barely reflected in the silver orbs staring at him. He let his gaze fall on the other woman.
"The honor is mine Ms. Rose and Ms. Schnee. I feel so stupid for not realizing it before." He sat down as Ruby handed him the harpoon. "Proteus had been the terror of the aquatic Grimm near the coast for at least 20 years."
"Was this when you lost your leg?" He sighed "yes, but this was not why I retired. It is a weird story, but directly involves Grimmwater, so I think it would be in your best interest to hear it. Are you hungry?"
"We wouldn't like to impose on your hospitality" Weiss objected. "Nonsense" he replied. "Fellow warriors are always welcome at my home. I hope you like eel soup."