Into the night, the swaying ship held her body in a trance-like state. It was a deep abyss. She was floating freely. A few creaks lingered, but her brain didn't register the sounds.

All around her, it was warm and fuzzy. She felt like she was drifting in the clouds if clouds could sway. Her head felt supported by something fluffy.

An abrupt jerking motion jolted her awake with a gasp. The shock was so violent that she was yanked out of the covers and thumped on the wooden floor.

"Agh, what the-"

"Weiss! Get up!"

A familiar shout. Before she could even register what just happened, Ruby opened the door with such urgency it was alarming. Her figure was silhouetted into the candle she was holding.

Groggily, Weiss shook her head as she stood. "Ruby, what's going on?"

"Grimm!"

No more needed to be said.

With their adrenaline pumping, they grabbed their weapons and darted outside. On the way, they noted how dangerous the situation was. They were on a vulnerable ship in the middle of nowhere. If it capsized...

When the pair rushed to the deck, they were met with the rest of their crew. The waves grew more violent as a dark growl mumbled underwater. A few bubbles drifted to the surface threateningly.

"We gotta big one!" Yang announced with her arms up.

The world shook, causing them to hold onto each other.

"What do you usually do if a grimm attacks?!" Weiss yelped, hoping the ship had defense mechanisms.

She'd fought countless grimm before, but never on a ship.

Blake poised her katana as she glared down the grimm. "We chop it up but this one has really good armor!"

Qrow grit his teeth from the size of the behemoth. "Our scythes might be useless."

For a moment, the crew stared at the opponent. It was in the dead of night, so only the moonlight helped them see what they were dealing with.

Most grimm have red eyes, but this one had two yellow orbs that flashed threateningly. It adorned a spiked spine and had two short arms with a scaled underbelly. To make it look bigger, its gills puffed out like an angry beta fish.

It was a skyscraper that sprouted from the depths of the ocean. The beast's roar was deafening and echoed for miles. The water was fragile and rumbled from the sharp vibrations, causing the ship to rock hard. This barely left them able to stay standing.

"Yikes," the blonde mumbled with her eyes wide.

"What is that thing?!" Weiss shouted.

Until now, she'd only seen grimm that lived on land. It was said that water-based grimm were rare. Probably why she's never seen one. It looked like it was straight from a nightmare or the spawn of Satan.

"It's some kind of water dragon," Ruby informed. "We've fought one of these before, but this one has so much more armor!"

"Fantastic," Weiss replied sarcastically.

Before they could devise a plan, the monster reeled back like it was charging for the next strike. Its enormous body would be like a bat slamming into a baseball that was the ship.

"Agh! Get down!" Ruby ordered.

While her crewmates hit the floor, she fired a dust bullet. Ice spewed from the side of the grimm's skeleton head, but it had little to no effect. It only served to piss off the grimm even more.

"Oh no," Ruby mumbled.

After that, the beast charged. It was going to ram directly into the beloved ship at this rate. If it was a direct hit, it could be over. They'd sink and then swim for who knows how long before growing exhausted and drowning.

Before it could jam into the ship, a massive black propulsion glyph appeared directly in its line of path. The monster rammed into that, causing it to fly back a few feet. It roared in pain as it belly-flopped violently into the water.

From the display of raw force, the crewmates' jaws dropped.

Ruby sent Weiss a thumbs up. "That was awesome!"

Yang was still in awe as she watched the beast try to readjust itself. "Remind me not to piss you off."

For now, it was a fragile peace as the monster plotted its next move. It slithered around like a predator. Like it knew it was a spectacle, it shot out of the water like a snake and gave another resounding roar.

It was like a freight train heading full-force into the vulnerable ship, rushing back with vengeance.

"Bumblebee!" Ruby called.

In a hurry, Blake tossed the ribbon that was attached to her weapon to Yang. Yang was already sprinting for a head-start. When it was time, Blake yanked on the ribbon and Yang twirled around in response, keeping a firm grip on the handle.

Using the momentum, Yang cocked her gauntlets for extra speed. It took Blake's muscles a second to get used to the strain of being spun around so powerfully.

With a determined shout, Blake managed to spin around in a full, rapid circle.

Having never witnessed the display before, Weiss whispered. "Incredible…"

Before the beast could get too close, Blake released her grip and flew at the grimm like a bullet. She glided over the water and in midair, conjured a clone as the monster roared. Now that she was closer, the roar sent shockwaves through her body.

Strategically, Blake was able to use her clone, having it kick her down on top of the angry sea dragon. With a war cry, Blake rammed her katana between a few spikes that acted as armor. Into a tiny sliver of exposed skin.

The recoil was too much. Even the skin was hardened. The faunus bounced off the scaly spine with a yelp. She almost crashed into the water, but the spiky tail whirled around and whipped her back with full force. A fragile yep tore from her lungs.

"Agh!"

"Blake!" Yang yelped.

Ruby crouched and shot off like a rocket. "I got her!"

Instantly, Ruby darted after her with her semblance. With her speed, she should be able to reach her before the inevitable crash water-landing.

When they were out of the way, the dragon whirled back around to target the measly ship. It opened its mouth, revealing rows of sharp daggers. Yellow puffs of air spewed from the beast.

Qrow crouched low to the ground, ready to dodge. "What the...?"

The attack whizzed out of its mouth straight to the crew. Since they had no idea what came from the mouth, they rolled and dodged, not wanting to find out the hard way. The wooden floor they previously stood on burned away in ash.

"What the hell was that?!" Yang yelped, gawking at the sight.

Weiss growled as she kept her eyes firmly on the beast. "Let's not find out. Where's the weak spot?"

"Probably the back of the neck," Qrow deduced, still in awe from the size of the mammoth. "Hold on. I'm about to make this easier."

Instantly, Qrow's scythe transformed into a sniper gun. He meticulously aimed as the beast was moving back and forth like it knew it was being targeted.

While he focused on aiming, Weiss summoned glyphs for her and Yang to run on in midair.

Like an expert marksman, Qrow nailed the left eye. It popped like bubble wrap and oozed a yellow liquid as it screamed. The tower writhed in pain, realizing it had underestimated the tiny specs.

As it screamed, Yang and Weiss shot off the puffy gills on its sides. The gills were fragile and transparent, so a bullet and ice dust certainly did massive damage. It screeched even louder as the appendages thumped into the water, causing larger waves.

While the beast tried to get a grip, Ruby and Blake made it back to the ship safely. They had calmed down, but were soaking wet.

"God, I hate the water," the faunus whined.

That caused Weiss to perk a brow. "You hate water but you're a pirate?"

Playfully, Yang held onto her shoulder. "I know right. She's an odd one."

"Ugh," the faunus groaned, hating the feeling of being soaked.

"You okay, kiddo?" Qrow asked to make sure.

"I'm fine," Blake reassured. "Hit me unexpectedly. Did you say to hit the back of the neck?"

It was then that Qrow recalled she had enhanced hearing. Even though Blake was farther away from the ship when he said that, she still heard him.

"It might have less armor there," Qrow deduced over the otherworldly screeches. "Think you can do it?"

"Hm," the faunus scoffed from the question.

As if that was even a question.

Since Blake was an expert at cutting with her blade, she was the best candidate.

"I'll give you a boost," Weiss said as she conjured a black glyph.

Eagerly, the faunus hopped in the center as the dark perimeter spun. Before Weiss could launch her crewmate, the beast flipped its iron-like tail. Swiftly, the former heiress changed directions and trusted her friend with the rest.

Like a rocket, Blake shot off.

Behind Blake, the tail rammed into the side of the ship. Before it could do massive damage, Qrow had nailed its other eye. The beast flinched as the tail fell uselessly. The amount of pain the grimm must've experienced forced it to tilt into the water.

In relief, Weiss met Qrow's gaze. "Nice shot."

"It's blind now!" Ruby shouted. "Go get 'em!"

From the yell, Blake smirked. It was time for payback.

She rammed into the beast at full force. Its spine shattered from the impact alone. Golden eyes widened. That was a strong glyph. Below, the water swirled into a mini tsunami. Blake took this as her chance to slice and dice the vulnerable spot. Between the bones of armor, there was a sliver of skin.

"Agh!"

While Blake sliced open the back of the neck, Ruby and Qrow positioned themselves directly in front of the sea dragon's intimidating, black mouth with the help of a few glyphs.

The monster couldn't decide who to focus on first, so it opened its jaws wide, revealing rows of sharp fangs. That's when Ruby and Qrow fired several bullets in rapid succession directly down the slimy throat.

In retaliation, the grimm spit the yellow smog. It was quicker than a lizard tongue sticking out. When the bullets collided with the yellow mist, there was a huge orange and yellow explosion.

It sent both parties flying back. The impact was more than enough to force Ruby and Qrow to spiral dizzyingly to the water. They were falling way too fast for Weiss to catch them on time. The explosion only served to make them whizz down faster.

To keep the infuriated, injured beast distracted, Blake kept slicing the head as it reeled back. She yelped as the dragon fell onto the water with a lingering shriek.

A rainfall of droplets formed into a monsoon as it pitter-pattered over the ocean. A black puff of smoke lingered. There was a fragile peace for a few moments. Over the massive dark and scaly body, specks of blackness drifted into the dim sky.

"Ruby! Blake! Qrow!" Yang yelled desperately. "Where are they?!"

Desperately, Weiss examined the scene. Yang and her were the only people on the ship, almost frantic. Despite almost panicking, a calm breeze danced past them.

Suddenly, a few gasps in the silence. There were several needy gulps. In the distance, Yang and Weiss could barely see them. Ruby and Qrow had floated to the surface, clinging onto each other.

"Oh, thank god," Yang breathed a sigh of relief and then gasped. "Blake?!"

Under the dim sun, Blake had crawled on top of the corpse to avoid the water even though she was already soaking wet. She was leaning back, almost relaxing as she gazed at the falling moon.

"I'm okay!" Blake reassured, not wanting her girlfriend to worry.

"Thank goodness," Weiss murmured.

Yang cupped her hands over her mouth. "You almost gave us heart attacks!"

"That was totally awesome!" Ruby chirped in glee.

Playfully, Weiss rolled her eyes. "Such a dunce."

Not wanting them to wait, Weiss conjured a glyph for them to stand on. When Qrow and Ruby were on the glyph, they were propelled toward the ship so they didn't have to swim all the way. The former heiress did the same for Blake, who was more than happy to leave the corpse.

Yang couldn't help but laugh. "That was amazing. You guys kicked some serious ass."

Irritated, Blake flicked her wrists to get some water off. "I need a shower."

"I can help you with that," the blonde teased.

While that earned a deep blush, Blake wasn't in the mood to entertain her jokes. Feeling gross, Blake simply walked back inside the ship to wash off.

"Is everyone okay?" Ruby asked to make sure.

Several nods.

"I've never seen anything like that," Weiss said, still in disbelief.

"Water grimm aren't common, that's for sure," Yang added. "We've only had one other run-in. But it didn't look as evolved like that."

Qrow looked down to the burnt floor with a frown. "It definitely didn't have whatever that breath was."

"Why don't we have defense mechanisms on the ship?" Weiss asked, genuinely curious.

Qrow sighed in annoyance. "We barely have any money as is. Hopefully, we can at least repair the floor and new, giant dent."

Ruby jokingly grabbed Weiss' shoulders. "Cut us some slack, we're barely scooting by!"

"Besides," Yang chimed. "We're good enough defense. Right?"

All Weiss did was look down to the damaged floor. "You can keep telling yourself that."

"Right!"


This AU is set back in the day. Because of this, water grimm aren't nearly as common like they are in canon. If they were, the ship might have canons for sure.

Stay dandy,

~Toto