Chp. 15: Separate Travels Pt. 2
Somewhere in the ocean between Southeast Sanus and Menagerie
Back in the ocean, it was now dusk and the ship continued its journey through the smooth and calm waters. Blake, Yang, Rebecca, Allen, and Steel are all standing on the deck watching the sunset.
"Any of you guys want to grab a bite to eat?" Steel asked.
"Sure," Rebecca answered.
"I'm in," Yang said.
"Okay," Blake and Allen said.
As they were about to walk inside the ship, a dorsal fin momentarily surfaces before diving back in the water. Rebecca catches the fin out of the corner of her eye.
"Wait," Rebecca said looking towards the water.
"What is it?" Yang asked.
"I saw something in the water," Rebecca said.
Everybody runs to the edge of the boat and looks in the water. A moment has passed and nothing has happened.
"I know I saw something," Rebecca said.
Suddenly the ship starts to rock as the group of travels tries to keep their balance. A long shadow looms over the group from behind as they turn around to face what's on the other side of the ship. They all saw an enormous serpentine body with short arms with claws, a bone-scaled underbelly and a spiked spine. It has blak skin and a large external shull, as well as red glowing gills on each side of its neck. This Grimm is known as a Sea Feilong.
"I bet you're not bored now," Yang said to Rebecca.
"RED ALERT!" A man on the PA shouted.
The Captain and his First Mate came running out and looked at the Grimm from the upper deck, just above the group.
"By the gods..." the Captain murmured.
The Sea Feilong swings its head back and forth, roaring and spreading its short forearms outward.
"All hands to battle stations!" the Captain ordered.
"Sir, we've never fought a Grimm this big!" the First Mate said.
"We've never fought a Grimm this big! But We'll give 'er a fight nonetheless!" the Captain exclaims.
Blake, Rebecca, Yang, and Allen all run into action as they pull out their weapons. Steel pulls out a pistol and starts shooting at the giant Grimm.
"Keep that thing busy! I'll go to the bridge and provide help!" Steel shouted as he stepped backwards towards the door.
Blake ran 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. Blake swings above the Grimm and shoots it in the back of its neck as it then roars. Rebecca and Allen aim their weapons at the Grimm and shoot at its head as it starts to swim to the side of the ship. Blake lands on the crow's nest while the Captain steers from the bridge. He keeps the ship stabilized in the Grimm's wake. Blake still shoots it while it arcs back into the water.
The side of the ship opens up and the cannons come out. Yang jumps off the ship and into the air, using Ember Celica to boost herself up at the Sea Feilong's head. She proceeds to punch the back of its head as the Grimm tries to shake her off. Blake swings above the Grimm and shoots it in the back of its neck, while being careful of not hitting her partner. The ship's cannons fire but are mostly ineffective. The Grimm finally shakes Blake and Yang off of it as the two fall back onto the ship's deck. They both groaned in pain as they got back to their feet.
"Hold her steady men, it's not done with us yet! GET THE HEAVY CANNON LOADED!" the Captain ordered.
As Rebecca and Allen keep on shooting at the Grimm, a large cannon on the ship rises 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.
"Heavy cannon, OPEN FIRE!" the Captain cried out.
The heavy cannon shoots, but the Grimm easily evades it. It opens its mouth and an electric ball forms.
"Shit, it's gonna attack!" Allen shouted.
Just before anything could happen, the hooded figure runs out of nowhere and jumps on Allen's head and uses him as a launch pad.
"Hey! What the hell!" Allen shouted.
The figure's cloak falls back, revealing to be the monkey faunus of Team SSSN, Sun Wukong.
"Sun?!" Blake, Yang, Allen, and Rebecca exclaimed.
While in the air he creates two energy clones using his semblance, Via 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.
"Not today, pal!" Sun shouted.
When the Sea Feilong releases its electric blast, it goes harmlessly into the air, rather than at the ship.
"What are you doing?!" Blake shouted.
From atop the enraged Grimm's snout, Sun answers her 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 he lets go, shouting as he falls. Blake gasps as she and Yang immediately springs into action again. She jumps onto and off the railing with Yang not too far behind, using Gambol Shroud's kusarigama form on the crow's nest to swing herself around and catch Sun midair as Yang follows, boosting herself in the air with her shotgun gauntlets. They land on nearby rocks, with Blake holding Sun bridal style.
"My hero!" Sun exclaimed, putting his hand to his heart.
"Guys! Fight now! Talk later!" Allen called from the boat.
In the bridge, the Captain is steering while two of his crew are looking at displays.
"Starboard defenses are down, sir!" the First mate shouted.
"We still got the heavy cannon?" the Captain asked.
"Aye, but it's moving too fast! We can't land a hit!" a second crew member answered.
The door opened and Steel runs in towards the Captain.
"Sir, I think I can help you guys!" Steel shouted.
"Who are you?" the Captain asked.
"Not important. Right now, I contacted for help on my radio. Their ETA is two minutes! Until then, we need that Grimm distracted!" Steel said.
The Captain stared at Steel for a moment then turned to his First Mate.
"How are the engines?" the Captain asked.
"Fully functional, Captain!" the First Mate answered.
"Well alright, then!" the Captain said.
On the deck, Rebecca and Allen continue to shoot at the Grimm as it readies another electric attack. Sun jumps 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.
"Guys!" Steel called from the upper deck.
The group of young huntsmen-in-training turn around and face the First Class Private.
"I called for air support. ETA is two minutes. Hold it off a little longer," Steel instructed.
They all turned away and looked at each other.
"Let's do this then," Rebecca said.
Sun spins his weapon back into a holstered position and runs toward the Grimm. He activates three clones and jumps into the air. The first clone springs Blake and Rebecca upward to the second clone, which does the same. The third clone swings the two girls 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. Rebecca carrying Hailstorm in its scythe mode, slams and impales it in the Sea Feilong's chest. 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. "Guys! Need help here!" Rebecca shouts as the Grimm tries to grab at her and shake her off. Allen sees Rebecca and turns to Yang.
"Yang, give me a boost!" Allen called.
Yang gets on one knee and cups her hands together as Allen runs towards her. As he takes a step on her hands, Yang launches Allen into the air straight towards the Grimm. He lands on its head and with Daburushokkā in its twin batons form, jams them into the Sea Feilong's head, shocking him. The Grimm roars as it swings its head, throwing Allen off. Yang jumps off the boat and catches him and lands on some nearby rocks. Rebecca pulls her scythe out of the Grimm's chest and lands on a rock. The Sea Feilong sees Rebecca as she then starts running.
The Sea Feilong flies after her, knocking rocks down as it goes. Blake, Sun, Yang, and Allen all run after the Grimm. The Captain watches from the bridge through a spyglass before throwing a handle and increasing the boat's speed with Steel standing beside him. It sails beside the destructive Grimm, keeping apace. Rebecca 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. Just before the Grimm could attack, a missile suddenly hit it in the back, destroying its other wing. It falls into the water just as it is impaled by the bowsprit of the boat.
"Fire!" the Captain ordered.
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 the crew member all cheer. The cheer is upheld by the passengers on the ship who also join in with applause just as a British Sea Harrier FA2 fighter jet flew by.
"This is Private Simon, target is neutralized," Steel said into his radio.
"Copy that. You yanks be careful now," the pilot replied through the radio.
On the rock Sun, Rebecca and Yang celebrated while Blake and Allen smiled.
"Up top!" Sun exclaimed, raising his hand for a high five.
Blake, Allen, Yang, and Rebecca all glared at Sun.
"You got a lot of explaining to do," Allen said.
With a cry, Blake swings her arm around and slaps Sun in the face, making him cry out in pain.
Shion, Mistral
Meanwhile in Mistral, in was nighttime and the two bullheads carrying Team JNPR, Ruby, Jacob, Robert, Britney, Qrow, and Alex make their landing in the village of Shion. They all stepped off the bullheads and looked around the village.
"Alright everyone. We're all going to have to spend the night here in Shion. We'll get to Haven tomorrow," Qrow said.
"Wait, Shion? Isn't this the village that was attacked by the Branwen Tribe, like in the show?" Jacob asked.
"The very same," Qrow answered, then drinks out of his flask.
"What if Raven actually shows up?" Ruby asked.
"Shion was left defenseless because the CCT at Beacon was down. So we probably won't have to worry about that," Robert explained.
"He's right. Communications her are constant. So if any danger comes here, they can contact for help," Jaune said.
"If that's the case, then I guess we press on tomorrow I guess," Ruby said.
Several minutes later, Qrow is at a table alone, inside a tavern while everyone is inside an inn for the night. A glass of liquor and ice is placed in front of Qrow. He looks up to see who it was. He sees a woman in a shallow cut black and red dress with black shorts underneath, with series of beaded necklaces and a belt that wrapped around her waist and carried her weapon's sheath. Attached also is a long black object that is either fur or feathers, with a red and white bandana material like hanging from behind her. Her forearms bear red armored gauntlets that protrude outwards and solid black gloves. She wore black mid-thigh high leggings with red splatter patterns and black heels. She had long black hair and bright red eyes. Her heels have a red sole, her leggings are solid black and her eyes now a darker crimson color. Her appearance is very similar to Yang; they share the same facial shape. However, her hair is jet black, her eyebrows are a little bit higher, her complexion is significantly lighter and slight age lines are under her eyes. Her hair is tied by a red bandanna and loosely done up in a ponytail with the ends resembling curved black feathers. A cowlick can be seen protruding from the top of her head, similar to that of Yang's. Held in her right arm is a fearsome, full-face mask that resembles the face of a Creature of Grimm. This is Qrow's sister, leader of the Branwen Tribe, Yang's mother, and current Spring Maiden, Raven Branwen.
"Hello, Brother," Raven greeted.
"Raven," Qrow said.
Raven sets her mask on the table and takes a seat across from Qrow.
"So what do you want?" Qrow asked.
"A girl can't just catch up with her family?" Raven asked.
"She can, but you're not. Now how 'bout we get on with it? Unless you plan on keeping these comin'," Qrow said holding his glass before setting it down.
"I know you have something to do with this new military. Who are they?" Raven asked.
Qrow doesn't answer right away, instead running his fingertips along the edge of his glass.
"Did you know Yang knows about her?" Qrow asked.
"That's not-" Raven gets cut off by her brother.
"Rhetorical question, whether you know or not. It's just obnoxious that you'd bring up family and then carry on like your own daughter doesn't exist," Qrow said.
"I saved her," Raven said.
"Once. Because that was your rule, right? Real 'Mom of the Year' material, sis," Qrow said.
Raven leans forward and grabs Qrow by the forearm, keeping still to his sarcastic, nonchalant motions.
"This new military looks like it can rival Atlas. They appear to be doing a much better job at killing. And they have shown up to protect Beacon just as her pawns decided to attack," Raven said intently. "And I know that this is not a coincidence. Now you tell me. Do. They. Know?"
"I thought you weren't interested in all that," Qrow said.
"I just want to know what we are up against," Raven replied.
"And which 'we' are you referring to?" Qrow asked.
Raven glares and finally lets go of her brother and sits back down with a disgusted sigh.
"You should come back, Raven. The only way we'd beat her is by working together. All of us," Qrow said.
"You're the one who left. The tribe raised us, and you turned your back on them," Raven said.
"They were killers and thieves," Qrow said.
"They were your family," Raven argued.
"You have a very skewed perception of that word," Qrow argued back.
Raven stands up from her chair, upset.
"I lead our people now. And as leader, I will do everything in my power to ensure our survival," Raven said.
"Even if it means either killing or leaving innocent people to die," Qrow said.
"The weak die, the strong live. Those are the rules," Raven said.
"I know you have the Spring Maiden, Raven. And so does the military," Qrow said.
Raven looks at Qrow as he grabs her mask.
"Salem doesn't know, but all I can say is that they know too much about her, you, Ozpin, and pretty much everyone who knows about this," Qrow said.
"Then I guess we have nothing left to talk about," Raven said as she unsheaths her sword, Omen.
She slashes behind her, creating a red portal with her semblance, Kindred Link. She sheathes her sword and puts on her mask.
"I know something is off about this unknown military. And I will find out," Raven said.
She turns around and walks into the portal, then the portal disappears. Qrow shook his head and then took a sip from his glass.
Somewhere in the ocean between Southeast Sanus and Menagerie
Meanwhile back on the ship, Blake, Rebecca, Yang, Allen, and Steel are all confronting Sun on the side of the ship.
"So you went to Beacon, found out we were heading to Menagerie, and followed us here?" Yang asked.
"Yes," Sun answered.
"Why?" Blake asked.
"I feel like you guys would need my help and all. I mean I went to Menagerie on the web show," Sun said.
"Are you sure it's not because of her?" Allen asked, pointing at Blake. "Because if so, wow, stalker much?"
"Hey, I'm not a stalker!" Sun shouted, with a blush in his cheeks.
"Besides, you should be with your team. I mean, you and the rest of your team are having issues due to you running off and going behind their backs like this," Rebecca said.
"I'm sure they'll understand," Sun said.
"Neptune would, but Scarlet and Sage won't," Allen said.
"And how would you know that?" Sun asked.
"We got a copy of RWBY: Before the Dawn And it told us that your relationship with your team isn't exactly great," Allen explained.
Sun looked down in embarrassment and rubbed the back of his head.
"When this is over, you go back to Mistral and work things out with your team. Either way, I'm gonna have to report this," Steel said.
"Who are you?" Sun asked.
"Call him Steel. He's with Jacob's brother," Yang said.
"And until you can go back, whether we like it or not, you're coming with us," Steel said.
"This is gonna be great!" Sun exclaimed.
