So still got another out here, pretty cool huh? Also thank you all for letting me know that the same chapter was updated twice. Don't know if that was my fault or Fanfiction's fault or what. They've been having trouble with me for a little while... guess that's another relationship that isn't working out too well. Just a joke, let me know if anyone laughed.


[On the seas of southern Anima]

Seagulls call as a ship moved over peaceful blue waters. Passengers stroll across both the upper and mid decks going about their trip with smiling faces.

Blake Belladonna rested her hands on the rail and stared out at the ocean. She blinked and looked over her right shoulder, somewhat startled, by two kids laugh over a joke. Blake almost smiles and turned to look back at the ocean.

Footsteps approach her as she clears her throat, "Traveling alone?"

Blake jumped and gripped the hilt of Gambol Shroud. Halting her action when she sees the captain of the boat.

The Captain held up his hands in a reassuring manner, "Now, now, no threat here. Just here to chat."

Blake hesitated before relaxing her posture with a roll of her eyes, "And why is that?"

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."

"Maybe it's just... better for some people to be alone." Blake stated turning away from the Captain.

The two kids ran behind Blake laughing and forcing her to gasp again, not expecting the noise behind her. She turned and blinked at them trying to calm herself back down..

Captain couldn't help but let a laugh escape his lips, "Maybe, but with your paranoia, I think a few friendly faces wouldn't hurt."

"Who says I'm paranoid?!" Blake snapped in defense.

The Captain eased away as he tried to retake his words, "No one, dear, no one. I'll leave you be."

The Captain turned and walked away, then stopped to turn back to her, "But uh, fair warning: these trips can be awfully boring."

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.

"Hmmm." She held the ribbon out over the railing, "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 walked away as she passes by a hooded figure who appeared to be watching her from a distance. Beside the ribbon on the ocean, large scales of a sea creature are moving just above the surface. After they pass, the ribbon is gone.


[Back In Vale]

To see Yang Xiao Long sitting on a green couch in her home on Patch was an unusual sight after knowing who she was. 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 comes on, revealing a news segment from the VBC channel.

Glynda Goodwitch is shown unsuccessfully piecing together a building. Across the bottom of the screen, it reads: BEACON INACCESSIBLE.

The first reporter covering the issue spoke on the matter, "...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."

Yang clicked the remote. As the next reporter speaks, the large lettering across the screen are slowly revealed. It reads: CCT Repairs "Underway". The subheading reads: Atlas officials working on solution, but not optimistic.

The second reporter added their input on the situation, "...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 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 has the logo for VOX News.

Reporter number three covered another part of the situation, "...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—"

Yang clicked again, making her eyes widen and she sits up.

Lisa Lavender, the current news reporter addressed the issue "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, "While no one knows for sure, officials have confirmed that high-ranking White Fang member, Adam Taurus..."

Adam's image appeared on the screen at his name being spoken while Lisa Lavender kept speaking, "...was present for the attack. Any and all attempts to bring him into custody have been met with brutal force—"

Yang turned the news off as sits there holding the remote, and a door clicks open.

Taiyang Xiao Long, her father had arrived, "I'm home!"

Yang set the remote down and leaned her head backward on the couch, looking up at the newcomer that way, "Hey, Dad."

Taiyang who was upside-down as he would appear to Yang. He is carrying three boxes with two bags hanging from each of his forearms, "Guess what came in today!"

The door shuts behind Taiyang as he walks into the living room.

"What?" Yang wondered as he entered.

"I can't wait for you to try this." he said walking into another room to unload the cargo, while on the couch Yang looked somewhat interested. Taiyang returned from the other room, carrying one long white box very gently. He sets it on the coffee table in front of Yang, revealing the Kingdom of Atlas symbol on it. She looked at it and didn't move.

"Well?"

"It's... for me?"

"For you and you only."

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 droop a bit, revealing she's more distressed than pleased.

Taiyang smiled as he let his daughter take in the new device, "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."

Yang looked up trying to follow along, "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." Taiyang admitted. Yang could only look up at her father and say nothing, "Well? You going to try it on?"

"I uh... I'm not feeling too great right now. Maybe later?" Yang explained as dhe tried her best not to let her true feelings show.

Taiyang deflated a bit and put his hand to the back of his neck as he sighed and considered how best to respond, "Well, alright."

Yang got up and walked up the stairs, Taiyang gave her an encouraging smile as she passed in front of him. She paused partway up the steps, turning in his direction, "Thanks, Dad."

Yang continued upstairs as a visibly disheartened Taiyang bowed his head.

Later, Yang swept the porch, adept at it with one arm, she paused to wipe her brow and sigh. Next thing she did was go get her 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 gasps.

When it hit the floor and breaks, it triggered a flashback. Against the darkness in her mind, 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 clung to the countertop and pants, out of breath due to fright.

Her fist came down against the countertop, and Yang gets herself under control.

From the doorway, Taiyang watched with concern before turning away without saying a word.


[Back Out At Sea]

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 watched them, slightly less twitchy than before.

It's when she was about to leave that she sensed she was being watched by someone on the upper deck. A hooded figure, she immediately took out Gambol Shroud to prepare for combat, "Who's there?!"

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 does not notice the dorsal fins of a giant sea creature momentarily surface. However, she feels the boat rocking on the waves it created and lets out a grunt as she tries to keep her balance.

The creature's long-necked shadow loomed over 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 is looking up at it in horror.

The Crew Member shouted out to inform his crew, "RED ALERT!!"

The alert immediately sounded, the two red lights next to a speaker pulse with the sound. The Captain and his First Mate came 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.

Captain turned and called out to the ship, "All hands to battle stations!"

"Sir, we've never fought a Grimm this big!" The first mate reminded him.

Captain fixed his hat as he looked back, "We've never seen something this big! But we'll give 'er a fight nonetheless!"

Blake sprang 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 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 forcing it to roar. Blake landed on the crow's nest while the Captain steers from the bridge.

He keeps the ship stabilized in the Grimm's wake and stepped 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. The force of the cannons also woke a very heavy sleeper on board, who woke up with a vengeance now.

The Captain who was steering the ship again started to strategize, "Hold steady men, it's not done with us yet! GET THE HEAVY CANNON LOADED!!" The First Mate changed 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 bones 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 cried out as she hung on with her hurt left arm.

Captain in position agave the order, "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!"

The figure grunted and the cloak falls back, revealing Sun Wukong, he activates his energy clones midair as Blake watches.

"Sun?!" She questioned as he lept into action.

Sun and his clones land on top the Grimm's slick and slimy head. The two clones pulled on the topmost tendrils of the head while Sun grabbed its upper lip, "Not today, pal!"

When the Sea Feilong released its electric blast, it goes harmlessly into the air, rather than at the ship. Saving a pissed off Blake, "What are you doing?!"

"Oh, uh, you know, just... hanging out!" From atop the enraged Grimm's snout, Sun answered her while holding onto the two tendrils his now-disappeared clones had grabbed.

The Grimm managed 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 jumped 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 put his hand to his heart, "My hero."

"You're not supposed to be here!" Blake snapped at him.

Sun then gestured back to the Grimm, "Yeah!? Well, it looks like you can use all the help you can get!"

Blake glared at him and then rolled her eyes, before dropping him, "Ugh. Just shut up and fight!"

She ran toward the ship in the water, where the Grimm is firing electric blasts at it but something is thwarting them away. 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. The first mate relays the bad news, "Starboard defenses are down, sir!"

"We still got the heavy cannon?" The Captain asked.

The second crew member confirmed it, "Aye, but it's moving too fast! We can't land a hit!"

"Argh. How about the engines?"

"Fully functional, Captain!" The first mate answered the Capitan

"Well alright, then!"

On the deck, Blake is preparing to counter a hit from the Grimm's electric blast, but a large figure jumped in between with an agitated grunt. He took slow steps while getting closer to the beast, unveiling a cracked wooden bat with barbed wire wrapped around it. His steps grew heavier as his cloak was coming off, "You... interrupted... my... NAP!!!"

With a mighty swing he timed the hit perfectly as he sent the blast back at the beast who dodged it. The force of swing revealed his chubby belly, one big tanned muscled arm, a much paler, slightly skinnier left arm and a mixed tanned and pale face belonging to Grif.

Blake and Grif turned to each other and had the same thought, "What are you doing here?!"

"I'm going home! And I WAS taking a nap until this fish face f#k woke me up." Grif answered.

The Captain rushed out to speak to the arguing fighters, "Huntsmen! 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 and Grif.

"I mean, you're the one with the swords." Sun informed her.

Blake groaned at the fact he was right, "Ugh."

Sun spun his weapon back into a holstered position and runs toward the Grimm, "Now or never!"

Sun activated three clones and jumped into the air. The Grif cupped his hands together to spring Blake upward to the first clone, which does the same. The second clone let it's back be used as a platform so she can get to the third clone who swings her up. Sun waits, laughing and opening up his arms, but then loses his smile in confusion. 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.

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 smiled at him until he speaks.

"This is the part where you say it." Sun stated.

Blake turned 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 jumped off the collapsing rock. The Sea Feilong flies after them, knocking rocks down as he goes. 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 space. Sun continued 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 prepared a final blast to get them both in one shot when it is impaled by the bowsprit of the boat.

"Fire!" The Captain ordered.

The heavy cannon fired and hits the Grimm dead on. Its upper half is blasted to pieces, and it dies immediately. The Captain, the First Mate and the crew members 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 lifted his hand for a high five, "Ha-ha, Up top!" getting Blake to turn and glare at him, as he wiggled 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 sound of her hand making contact with his flesh could be heard by everyone.


It is nighttime on the middle deck of the ship. Blake is at the railing again, only this time facing sideways. Grif is already in his cabin as he didn't want to celebrate with any one who was a trouble magnet.

"Seriously, it was no big deal!" Sun is talking 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 wave goodbye and turn away. Sun struts over to Blake, "You'd think they'd never seen a fight before."

"What are you doing here, Sun?" Blake started questioning.

Sun looked at Blake's clothes and pointed at the top of her head, "Diggin' the new outfit, by the way! Never did like the bow."

Blake slapped his hand away, "Sun!"

"Geez!"

"Have you been following me?!" Blake accused him.

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!" Sun admitted.

Blake smiled at him, pleased at feeling understood.

"You're going on a one-woman rampage against the White Fang!"

Blake's happy expression fell and was replaced 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!" Sun started explain her heroic tale.

"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 put his arm around her, "Us Faunus got to stick together, after all."

Blake pushed him away as she walked to the railing, "You're wrong, Sun. You're so, so wrong."

"What are you..."

"I'm not going anywhere near the White Fang. Not yet."

"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."

"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."


[Back at Sarge's Farm]

The grizzling veteran stared at the depressed Merc from the doorway as his adopted assassin stared out the window. It was pitch black but he hadn't moved from that position in a long time. Since the morning began from what Sarge could remember he saw passing by him at dawn and coming back at dusk. When he entered his home he didn't say a word as he passed by Mercury just keep moving on to the kitchen to get dinner ready.

Sarge left the room and came back in with an old dusty guitar, he hadn't played in a less than nineteen years. Along with several papers of old photos, some over a hundred years old. He continued to sit next to Mercury, who wasn't about to have any of whatever lesson he was gonna teach him. As he was about to wheel away Sarge grabbed him and pulled him back.

While Sarge practiced his chords Mercury denied any feelings from happening, "Whatever big motivational speech you have planned for me. You might want to save your breath." Sarge dropped a stack of papers on the table and went back to tuning the guitar. The young man leaned closer to inspect the papers only to see a picture of a very scrawny boy against a familiar barn door, "Who's that?"

"Who do ya think?" Sarge questioned pointing to himself, "I was the runt of five boys. Got my ass kicked everyday of the week, twice on Sundays."

"Nice sob story, but what does that have to do with me?" Mercury sarcastically asked.

Sarge began playing a few chords perfectly, "It means just cause you're hurt and beaten, doesn't mean you're down for the count."

"Well... I am..."

"Who decided that? You? Or the person who put you there?" Sarge interrogated Mercury for an answer as he stood up to look at him in the eye. Before leaving the room Sarge said one more thing, "Dinner's still hot... Hope you like sausage, potatoes and eggs."

Clearly the sentimental similar experience approach was not going to work for this scenario. For this case he'd have to call in the heavy guns, and some reinforcements. Hopefully he'd have him convinced soon enough to get back into the fight. After all, you don't quit until it's over.

[End of Chapter]


Thanks again for the constant following, I promise to submit a kind complaint to Fanfiction to inform them of the bugs I've been experiencing. It might be just me but I also haven't received notifications about other stories that I follow as well. Now see if I can keep this ball rolling.

Until next time, Churchisalive signing off.