Hi Everyone! Just a heads up, this chapter does contain a yuri NSFW scene so... if you aren't into that or are under 18, I marked it so you can just skip over it if you want.
Onto the reviews: Ethos The ET: Glad to have you back man, and even more glad to see you enjoying it.
Also this chapter does contain more Black Sun, so I know that some aren't big shippers of it, but this is just something I wanted to do, with the way I had things planned in the beginning.
Anyway, enjoy the chapter, and Happy Valentines Day! Hopefully, this is a treat for the lonely souls here.
Chapter 87: This isn't a Pirate Fic
Week 1 At Sea
Yang was on deck with Hex as the crew had gathered. Everyone had already checked out their living arrangements. There were individual cabins for everyone but when it came to Hex and Yang, Ruby, and Nova there was just one per couple. Hex figured she could save space for more guns if she divided the arrangements like that.
There was a common room under the deck like a living room where they could strategize and hold meetings, a fully stocked kitchen, and a storage unit. The ship was divided into four floors: the main deck, the below deck, the living quarters and the fourth final floor that sat just above the hull, near the back of the ship was the captain's quarters. Naturally, this went to the leader couple since given their… deepened relationship, the team wanted them as far out of noise range as possible.
The same could have been applied to Yang and Hex but as it turns out they've been… handling their activities quite discreetly… probably thanks to a technology that Hex refused to elaborate on.
"Alright crew, now that we're at sea, our course has been set… we have but one main goal now…" Yang started.
"Assigning roles to the crew?" Nitro voiced.
"Scheduling meetings and allocating rations?" Weiss raised her hand.
Gauge frowned, "Preparing battle strategies in case of attack?"
Female Nova rubbed her chin, "OH I KNOW! Training our pirate lines!"
"Please refrain from speaking in that voice again…" Ruby deadpanned.
Yang stuck her finger in the air, "No… WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO PASS THE TIME OR WE'LL BE BORED TO DEATH!"
Hex nodded furiously, "That's right! No wifi, no internet whatsoever… no tv…"
Ruby gasped in horror as she dropped to her knees, "No… it can't be… my… one weakness…" she clutched onto her fiancé's jacket, "Tell… my wife… I love her…"
It was the dragon's turn to deadpan, "Ruby… I am your wife…"
"Yah know since you're the captain of the ship… you can host the wedding…" Elain pointed out smugly.
"Unfortunately that doesn't work unless he's a public officiate," Hex relented.
Elain cursed, "Damnit!"
"Come on guys it's not so bad!" a new voice hollered from the stairs as a bright head of blonde hair appeared from below deck. Striding out proudly was none other than Sun Wukong.
"SUN?!" they all gasped.
"How did you get here?!" Blake was flabbergasted.
Sun placed a finger on his chin, "Well… I was asleep on this really cool ship… you know me and boats… when I wake up to find that we're on the ocean!" he shot them a shit-eating grin.
Blake facepalmed, "I can't believe you… what about your team at Shade?!"
Sun shrugged, "Actually this time was a complete accident… so I'm not sure? Eh, they'll be fine…"
"You are a terrible leader…" Nova blanched.
"That may be so… but luckily for you… I brought board games! AND CARDS!" he brought out several games and two decks of cards.
"Where did you get those…"
"That's not important… what's important is that I'm here, on this journey with you guys!" Sun beamed. "So… where are we going?"
Everyone fell over.
It was night-time on the third day. Everyone had been assigned their duties. Luna and Oscar were in charge of being quartermasters. Hex and Nitro worked the engine and control room. Blake and Sun were allocated to the crow's nest for navigation since they had the most reliable eyesight. Yang was the helmsman, and Elain, the ship's doctor, looked after them if anyone got injured. Nova and Ruby were in charge of cooking on rotation Weiss and Neo also helped with ensuring their living quarters were always up to mark while last of all Gauge was assigned to the engineering room since he was a natural with any metal.
Tonight, Blake and Sun were hanging out in the crow's nest, a large dome that sat atop one of the three main masts. It had the option to be open-air or remotely closed when it rained. It was like a personal room in itself.
It was open tonight and being this far away from the city, the stars were in full bloom, Blake's eyes were peeled on the horizon as they had a faint glow to them from her night vision. Sun on the other hand was reclining against the railing.
"Blake, you know it's bad for your eyes if you don't blink," he pointed out, his tail flicking toward her.
She rolled her eyes and turned back to him, leaning against the opposing rail, "You know, it's bad for your character if you just be lazy all day."
Sun smirked with his eyes closed, "I haven't been lazy."
"You've literally been sleeping all day…"
"Yet I know that the winds have been steady with faint traces of moisture, meaning we'll be expecting rain in the next few days." He replied smugly.
Blake blinked in surprise, "How do you…"
"Just because my eyes aren't open, doesn't mean I can't tell what's going on. I've been surviving outdoors all my life, I know how to be efficient. You're the eyes and I'm all the other senses." he got up and moved over to her railing, leaning over it and looking up at the sky.
She was genuinely impressed, she knew Sun as the fun-loving and goofy ray of sunshine, and it was his unrelenting desire to help his friends in need, his selflessness that made her heart move.
"You gotta lighten up sometimes," he smiled at her, "But I guess that might be hard since it's the night."
She didn't understand why that made her laugh, but she let out a light giggle, "You are worse than Yang with those…"
"Hey I'm just trying to brighten your mood in these dark times," he made a light ehehehe sound.
"Ugh, you're insufferable…"
"You like me anyway~" he teased, then his face morphed into a frown, "Hey Blake?"
"Hm?"
"Why haven't you… you know… said anything?" he asked, still looking out to the horizon.
She looked at him confused, "What do you mean?"
"It's just… after I left to head back to Shade when you went to join up with your team. You said some things and I've been holding on to those words for a long time now…" he turned to her earnestly. "When you came back, I was so happy to meet you again but… well it's just… I never brought it up because things were crazy… it wasn't the time or place."
"Sun I…"
"I never really pushed the subject because I figure, you knew how I felt, you'd come to me on your own terms when you were ready… but honestly Blake… I'm kinda tired of waiting." He locked eyes with her.
Blake tried to shrink away but the voice in the back of her mind just told her she was running away again. She needed to face this.
"Sun… listen… I'm really not great with feelings. It's really hard for me to come to terms with them, let alone talk about them so I guess… I was just scared…" Blake admitted reluctantly.
"Scared? Of me? Blake…"
"No! Not you Sun… god you're so sweet and full of joy it's just… the exact opposite of me. I'm dark and constantly worried about what will happen tomorrow. It's just… seeing what happened to Nova twice got me scared that it might happen to me…"
Sun blanched, "Blake, that doesn't make much sense, considering that we're Huntsmen. It's in our line of work to do dangerous things… and I can handle myself."
"That's not the point Sun… I guess what I'm trying to say is that… I'm not Ruby. I can't just push through everything despite all the pain and carry on if something were to happen to you as it did to Nova. I'm not as strong-willed as she is… so that's why I'm scared…"
Sun's face scrunched up and he sighed, "That just sounds like cowardice, and I'm going to be honest with you Blake, you're way past being that person you used to be."
She blinked, "Huh…?"
"Blake, would a coward fight a war against all the odds? Would a coward run head first into danger with her friends?" Sun accused.
"I…"
"Blake you're not a coward… and I hate to tell you how to feel, but I think it isn't really fear that's holding you back… it's confidence." He determined.
"I'm fully confident in…"
"You know what I think? I think that since I never took the chance to say anything, because I never brought it up, you weren't sure of my feelings anymore." Sun locked eyes with her again, he had a warm smile on his face, "So let me say it again. Blake Belladonna Nightshade, I really like you. I like you a lot… more than just a friend. What do you say?"
Blake sniffled a little as the moonlight gleamed on her face, "Why are you able to read me so easily…"
"Come on just give me an answer. The worst you can say is no," he chuckled.
"And if I did?" she questioned.
"Well, no harm done. I shot my shot but if that's how you really feel…" he looked a little desponded.
She rolled her eyes, her ears flattened against her head, "You idiot.." she grabbed his face and kissed him full on the lips. She felt the sun, the hope, the light of joy all at once from him and it was warm… kind, and felt right.
Sun's tail curled around her as his arms landed on her waist, "So… is that a 'Sure Sun, I'll be your girlfriend!'" he mimicked her voice poorly.
"Yeah, it is…" she smiled warmly, pressing her nose to his.
"Good…" he kissed her again.
-Week 2-
Below the third floor of the ship, on an area sectioned off away from the rest of the crew was the captain's quarters. From the staircase on the third level, it branched into a two-way hallway, on the left was the engine room, and down the hall on the right was the large dark wooden door with a singular gilded porthole cover that acted as a one-way mirror for those inside to see outside. The room was arranged with a large open floor of golden painted flooring and walls to the door, left, and back of the room while the right side of the room was a large glass window that overlooked the deep ocean. It was sectioned off into three areas: the living area where a coffee table sat in the middle of four plush red sofas consisting of two long couches and two armchairs. The next area to the window was a long desk filled with maps and charts, compasses, and other navigational equipment. There was also a few bookshelves stocked with different literature. Lastly, the king-sized bed stood on an elevated platform just in the right corner of the room.
Currently, Nova was reclining on the long couch with her hair tied up in a ponytail, wearing a loose-fitted black t-shirt and shorts, a series of books were scattered around the table and she was pouring over them scrutinizingly.
"No, nothing in this one either..." she tossed the book in her hand across the table and plopped down exasperatedly, dragging her hands across her face.
"What are you groaning about?" Ruby asked as she entered the room, in a red t-shirt and shorts.
Nova sighed heavily, "Trying to scare up any information we can on the continent, but all I get are "It's too dangerous to cross the waters!" and stuff along those lines..." she turned her head to Ruby as she sat up.
"We're really going in blind aren't we?" Ruby shot her a lopsided smile, placing her hands on her hips.
"Yup, no information on the layout, what dangers lurk, and what we need to look out for."
"So basically, low chance of success, high chance of us dying, and almost no clear indication of what we need to do?" Ruby smirked.
Nova grinned guiltily, "We wouldn't have it any other way."
"It's still crazy how Hex managed to build all this in just three days..." Ruby marveled aloud as she looked around their room.
Nova huffed, "When you have an entire team of expert craftsmen and the world's best engineer, you can do anything... but maybe she overdid our room a little?"
"Just a little..." Ruby stacked the books in a pile, "You worried?" she sensed as she sat next to her girlfriend.
"Is it that obvious?" the dragon leaned on the armrest, propping her chin with her hand.
Ruby rolled her eyes, "I can read your thoughts."
"Right... it's just... this is big you know?" she mused, "Going back to my homeland that I've never been to... meeting tribes that know my family but I don't know them, and as far as they know, my family is dead. How am I supposed to unite these tribes against Salem? What if they all hate each other equally?"
Ruby poked Nova's side, "You mean how are we going to unite them? You need to stop trying to shoulder all of this burden."
"I know... I just... I want to relax, but it feels like for once... I genuinely don't know what we're going to do. I don't have any grand plan, we're just going to wing it and I guess I'm just nervous is all..."
Ruby shuffled closer and placed her hands on Nova's, looking deeply into her eyes, "Hey... it'll be fine. I trust your judgment, and so do the rest of them."
The dragon squeezed her hand gently, "I know... I just hope you're trust isn't misplaced."
"Never..." Ruby smiled warmly and yanked Nova's arm, catching the dragon girl off guard.
Nova forgot how much lighter he was in female form as Ruby's tug pulled her off her butt and before she knew it, she was sitting in Ruby's lap. The red leader had one arm snaked around Nova's waist and the other caressing her cheek.
"Uh... Ruby?" Nova blinked as she was bright red, Ruby's gaze was focused on her.
-Begin NSFW Part-
"We've been so busy lately... we finally have time to relax and be alone... you know I can do with a little quality time..." Ruby blushed letting her hand that was resting on Nova's cheek slide down tenderly along her neck.
Nova shivered as the touch left goosebumps, "Remind me to thank Hex for making our room so far away from the rest of them..." the dragon growled as she leaned down and kissed Ruby deeply, her lips moving against the reaper's, first tenderly, but soon Ruby's grip on Nova's shirt tightened, squeezing Nova's body to hers. Nova, in her female form, felt a strange sensation between her thighs it felt as though she was getting a buzzing sensation every time Ruby's legs grazed against it. It was then Nova realized she was experiencing female arousal for the first time, she could feel the heat rising in her lower half.
Ruby let the other hand snake into Nova's hair while she nibbled on her girlfriend's lips, letting her tongue enter. Nova happily obliged and met her tongue with her own, her hands roaming up Ruby's side and under her shirt, pleasantly finding Ruby wasn't wearing a bra this time as it made accessing her soft breasts much easier. The reaper gasped slightly against Nova's mouth as she felt the dragon's hand touch the peaks of her nipples. Moaning slightly as Nova rubbed the tender, sensitive buds of her chest. By this time Nova was also thoroughly aroused, her shorts were beginning to feel slightly wet.
After sucking on Nova's bottom lip long enough to make it swollen, she broke the kiss and placed her finger on Nova's lips. The dragon looked at her questioningly but Ruby just grinned slyly, "This time I'm going to teach you a thing or two~"
"Huh... what?" Nova was confused until Ruby pushed her down onto the sofa. Ruby then climbed on top of Nova and began reaching for the hem of the dragon's shirt.
"I am not prepared for this!" Nova's face erupted in bright red as she realized what Ruby was doing. The reaper only grinned evilly as she gently pulled Nova's shirt upward, exposing the dragon's breasts, her pink nipples were stiff and the dragon was unable to hide her embarrassment.
Ruby marveled at her girlfriend's beauty. Sure, Nova was hot as a guy, but in her female form... the dragon was gorgeous. Her skin was nigh flawless aside from the occasional battle scar and the gnarly 'X' shaped scar that crossed Nova's underboob to abs. Meanwhile, the dragon had her hands over her mouth, looking away bashfully as Ruby stared. When the reaper was done getting her eyeful, she let her hands gently trace across the dragon's skin, sliding gracefully across her abs and rounding along the circumference of her breasts until they covered them.
"I'm going enlighten you a little~" Ruby smirked as she let her hands squeeze Nova's breasts gently, the mere action making the dragon flinch a little from the foreign sensation. Ruby's fingers traced circles around Nova's areola before gently squeezing the nipples and that was enough for the dragon to absolutely lose her mind and let out the cutest moan of pleasure Ruby had ever heard.
Ruby gasped a little and giggled, "Oh my god... you're so cute!"
Nova made a muffled embarrassed noise as Ruby took full control.
The red leader leaned down to Nova's right ear and whispered seductively, "I'm going to have you make more of those sounds~"
"Oh no..."
Ruby then kissed Nova's earlobe and nibbled on it gently, sucking at the soft flesh as her left hand played with Nova's breast, massaging it purposefully while her lips worked down to Nova's neck.
"My turn to leave a mark~" she whispered again as she sucked hard on her neck, leaving Nova to squirm under her as the bliss of warm lips made her feel like soft goo.
The reaper's lips traveled down her girlfriend's neck as she dragged them gently across the skin until she landed on Nova's right breast. The dragon tried to prepare herself mentally but when her partner's warm lips clasped onto the pink bud she lost her mind from the sensation. It was explosive and fiery, the tingling that ran all throughout her body as Ruby sucked on the nipple and let her tongue dance over it, gently toying with it in her mouth. Nova couldn't handle it as she unconsciously found her own hands moving to the other breast. The free hand found its way between her own legs and was rubbing along the outer cloth of her pants, just above her now fully soaked folds.
Ruby released her lips and grinned at Nova, "Let me get that for you..." she let her hand travel down Nova's to between her legs and grasped onto her wrist, "I need some attention too~" she took Nova's hand and slid it into her pants while Ruby used hers and entered Nova's.
The moment Ruby's hand made skin-to-skin contact with her pussy she gasped in shock and Ruby smirked, "Wow... you're really wet down here..."
Nova bit her lip as she inhaled sharply, Ruby letting her fingers run across her labia, "Y-You're really good at this~"
"No one knows a girl better than a girl~" Ruby responded smugly but then felt her bravado shaken as Nova's fingers slid over her wet lips, her legs squeezing together as if anchoring Nova's hand in her pants. "T-Try to keep up," Ruby tried keeping her command over her girlfriend as she began letting her fingers drag across the dragon's wet folds. It was like the sweetest nightmare having Ruby's soft and delicate fingers playing their tune of seduction along the outer layer of Nova's lower half, caressing from outward to the in, the sounds that emanated from down there were something Nova thought she'd never hear from herself.
The fiery dragon could only squirm as her legs closed in on Ruby's hand but then opened again as she rocked her hips in time with Ruby's movements. The red leader seemed to be playing on Nova's thoughts as her hips also rocked against her girlfriend's fingers. Their soulbond was beginning to kick in as if they were both sharing the same mindset, simultaneously each other's fingers entered the other. For Ruby this wasn't the first time she'd felt Nova's fingers inside her and the dragon knew how to make her feel good, still, the pleasure was mind-numbing all the same.
For Nova, this was the first time she'd ever experienced anything like this, as Ruby's fingers slid in her and dragged out across her clitoris, actions that made the dragon lose any ounce of rationality she would have had before. The pleasure was overwhelming her completely as she lost herself to the rhythm of lust. The more they ground their hips against the other's hands the more their emotions and feelings bled through the soul bond. Both were experiencing each other's pleasure mixed with their own, it was like a gate had opened up and all river of ecstasy had suddenly multiplied tenfold.
"Holy shit... this is... oh god you're so good~" Nova moaned in pleasure as she used her free hand to lift Ruby's shirt and began massaging her breasts.
"MMmff~" Ruby did the same to her girlfriend, both edging closer and closer.
"Nova... oh god right there~!" Ruby's legs felt weak as Nova hit her weak spot repeatedly. Ruby found her fiance's own and Nova's eyes went wide as the electrifying feeling amplified to the brink of insanity. They both felt the pleasure building up to the boiling point as if both their brains were working on the same wavelength, their bodies in perfect sync.
"MMMFFF~!" Nova moaned against her girlfriend. The dragon was suddenly lifted from the wave of pleasure as Ruby's warm hand left between her girlfriend's thighs. This made the dragon pout, she was so close...
Ruby inspected her sticky, wet fingers and licked them clean, "You don't get to cum... not yet... not until I'm done with you~"
"Hm?!" Nova was taken aback when her pants were yanked down and thrown off the couch, exposing her soaking-wet pussy to Ruby.
"Now..." Ruby moved off Nova's torso, letting the dragon's hand slip from between her things, "Time for the main event~" she moved down until her head was between Nova's legs, "I'm going to drive you insane~"
The reaper's lips clamped down onto Nova's exposed clit and her tongue assaulted it furiously.
For Nova, it was like lightning and fire all at once in a brilliant burst as her eyes shot wide, "OH HOLY FUCK!"
Ruby smirked but continued to ravish her girlfriend, dragging her tongue across the dragon's damp lips and sliding it in before working her way back up to her clit. Nova couldn't handle the experience as her toes curled and her legs squirmed, her hands finding their way to Ruby's hair and grasping on for dear life while the reaper made her into a toy in her hands.
"AH! RUBY OH MY GOD MMM~!" Nova moaned out as Ruby's tongue danced along her lower half, driving her wild. Every stroke of the muscle was like injecting adrenaline into her veins, each touch, every graze, every time she sucked on the little mound of flesh, Nova was driven beyond insanity. The feelings were so strong they bled into the soulbond again and Ruby began feeling Nova's pleasure on her side, it was an awakening feeling as her hands traveled between her own thighs and began rubbing away furiously.
Ruby lifted her head and gazed into her lover's eyes, "I can't take much more of this... it's crazy what this bond does to us... can you do me as well?" Ruby asked needily.
Nova could only nod stiffly as Ruby got up and tossed off her shirt and shorts into the pile of clothing and climbed on Nova so her lower hand was at the dragon's face. The dragon didn't even hesitate as she buried her face into Ruby's soaking wet pussy, lavishing the taste of her juices as she licked along her folds, tracing her tongue against the sides and down to the clit. Ruby mimicked her girlfriend and continued what she started, making sure to savor every moment to taste her girlfriend in this way.
The soulbond was in full effect now they were both connected like this as each other's pleasure was sent to the other, waves of overwhelming feelings surging forth like a tsunami. Ruby's assault became faster and faster as Nova's tongue and lips worked even harder, the reaper was now grinding against Nova's mouth while the dragon did her best not to lose her motor control to the pleasure Ruby was making her feel.
The first time they had sex, it was incredible, but this was so much more, it was beyond comprehension how good they both felt, how incredible they made each other feel.
Nova felt her the pressure building in her lower half again, it was so much more intense than before as if the waters of the tide had receded only for it to come back a hundred times stronger. Ruby felt the same as her hips ground more needily.
"I'm so close!" Ruby said in her mind, feeling unable to hold back anymore.
Nova's thoughts were barely coherent, "S-Same, I don't know how much more I can take, it feels too good~!"
"Make me cum! Finish me~!" Ruby moaned in her head as she begged Nova not to stop. The dragon couldn't process anything else as she felt herself at the point of no return, the pressure building up, and up, it was banging on the doors, begging for release.
"MMMMMFFF!" they both screamed out as they came simultaneously, their legs quivering and bodies convulsing under the force of the release as Ruby felt all the energy drain from her body.
Cumming as a girl was mind-blowing for Nova, it was like all the pent-up emotion had just burst forth at once in an explosion of pure ecstasy, it was magical, explosive and incomprehensible all at once. Nothing like she'd ever experienced before, and she couldn't tell if it was because she was a girl or it was due to their soulbond sharing their emotions. Whatever it was, it was thoroughly exhausting.
Ruby tiredly climbed off her girlfriend's face and reoriented herself so they were facing each other, laying on top of the other bare naked.
"That was... wow..." Ruby gasped as she lay against the crook of Nova's neck.
The dragon let out a contented noise as she wrapped her arms around Ruby, "Words can't describe what I just experienced..."
Ruby giggled, "I told you, I would enlighten you a little~"
"A little? I think I was just awakened to a whole new world... how the hell are you so good at this?"
Ruby kissed her girlfriend's cheek, "Want to know a secret?"
Nova raised an eyebrow.
"When you weren't around, or you know... back when we were still at Beacon. I would... sometimes fantasize about you doing these things to me. I figured the things that made me feel good would work on you too, and my intuition was right!"
Nova gaped, "All the way back at Beacon? I always thought you were too innocent for that sort of thing."
Ruby hummed, "Well, I might have been innocent but not naive. I mean, I'm only human, I have needs too."
"Wait... Beacon... was that before or after we got together?" she questioned curiously.
Ruby kissed her girlfriend again, "I'll let your mind wander on that one..."
Nova peered into her thoughts, "Oh so even before we were together... Ruby you naughty girl..."
She giggled, "Keep talking like that and we might have to go another round..."
Nova sighed with a lopsided grin, "If we must..."
-END NSFW PART-
Later that night Oscar and Luna were heading into the depths of the ship, Luna had some alcohol she swiped from the cellar and Oscar had a bag of chips, "Remind me again why we're harassing your brother in the middle of the night?" Oscar asked his girlfriend.
Luna shrugged, "Well it's been successful so far, and I kinda want to hang out with him and Ruby, you know, spend some time and hopefully you two grow a close bond...?"
Oscar eyed her, "Is this some plan of yours to rope your brother into being more accepting of me than he already is so if our relationship goes to the next level he won't try to kill me?"
Luna made a 'teehee' and stuck her tongue out, "Okay you got me. Not that I am expecting us to get to uh... the next base but... you know... if we did... I am a girl with needs after all."
The boy sighed, "I am happy to fulfill your needs babe if they don't get me crucified..."
"That's why we have to get him to fully trust you! Duhhh!" she smirked as they neared the captain's quarters.
Previously, the only sound aboard the vessel was the occasional croaking of the ship and creaking of wood, and in some halls, the sound of Yang snoring. As the couple drew nearer to the captain's quarters there was a new sound, brand new to the sharp ears of the younger dragon.
"OH god right there Nova!"
Luna froze instantly.
"Uh... Luna? Why'd you stop?" Oscar frowned as he watched her stop in the middle of the hallway.
"Fuck Ruby (REDACTED)"
"Oh... oh my god..." Luna turned bright red.
"What's going on?" Oscar was tense.
The younger dragon swallowed hard and tried to tune out the sounds but her hearing was too sharp. She heard everything.
"Babe? Are you okay? You're starting to scare me..."
Luna did a complete one-eighty on her heels and grabbed Oscar by the shirt sleeve, "We... uh... we should head back..."
He tilted his head in confusion, "What about hanging out with the captains?"
Luna felt her face erupt in flames, "They're uh... busy..."
"Busy? With what?"
She grabbed him by the collar and looked him dead in the eye, "Hon, I have just heard things that a little sister should never hear from her older brother. If I could purge the last five minutes of my life from my memory I would..."
"Heard... what could possibly..."
"My innocence has been sullied, my dear Oscar... SULLIED!" she vowed to the door with silent rage, shaking her fist at the solid door.
"Wait were they..." it slowly dawned on him, "Oh god and you heard... my love I am so sorry..."
She hissed slightly and dragged him up the stairs, "Save your condolences... we are going to bed!"
The crew had finally settled in thoroughly and developed their routines, tasks they would normally go about doing on rotation, however, today was not one of those days.
They were all gathered in the ship's main room where a large holographic table was set up for projection. Nova and Ruby were at the head of it all while the others sat around.
Luna was trying desperately not to look her brother in the eye.
"Uh, Luna? Something wrong?" Nova asked curiously, oblivious to her internal distress.
She immediately turned red, "N-No reason dear brother... nothing at all..."
Ruby looked at her quizzically, "You sure? You seem a little... off..."
The sounds returned at roaring levels toward Luna's ears causing her to overheat, "Give me back my innocence!"
"What...?" they were both confused.
When everyone finally sat around the table, it was time to get serious.
"Alright, now that we're all more or less settled in, I think it's about time we get down to business," Nova said in his male form, folding his arms at the head of the table next to Ruby. "We have two relics," he brought out the crown and sword that were held in storage cubes and placed them on the table. The golden metal gleamed in the light of the ship, unspoiled and untainted despite years of being locked up in vaults.
"Our question is directed to Ozpin," Ruby said firmly as she directed her gaze toward Oscar, though her eyes went far beyond him as if they were staring at Ozpin's soul behind the young boy. "What exactly do they do and what do we need to do if we need to activate them?"
Oscar raised an eyebrow and looked toward the ceiling but was actually inwardly looking at the old man, "Well Oz?" he asked mentally, "Care to give us a run down?"
There was a momentary shift in the boy's demeanor when the soul of Ozpin took control, "The Crown of Choice and the Sword of Destruction. Two of the more dangerous relics..." he began.
"Then start with the sword," Nova motioned to the blade.
Ozpin inhaled, "Well... to put it simply, the sword has the ability to destroy anything."
"That's... wait when you say anything..." Yang murmured.
Ozpin folded his arms, "Quite literally my dear. This sword is imbued with the power of the god of destruction directly. Its ability is that when called upon by the wielder, it can quite literally destroy anything that its blade is aimed at."
Hex's brow furrowed, "Aimed at... not struck physically?"
Ozpin nodded, "You need only aim at the object or person and form a vivid image of exactly what you want to destroy with your mind and swing it..."
"I'm sensing a but..." Nova voiced.
"Indeed, while this sword is quite powerful, it came with four uses. Two of those uses have already been consumed..."
"Four... like the number of death? Seems appropriate..." Weiss looked at it intently, "And I'm guessing it's incapable of destroying Salem..."
Ozpin sighed, "Honestly the two uses before were against Salem. It destroys her body completely and buys us a great deal of time before she reforms... but it cannot kill her. Once when I was king of the Four Kingdoms, I used it in a last-ditch effort to escape her. The second time was several lifetimes ago when I tried to take the fight to her... but of course, that failed..."
Nova nudged the sword and spoke, "So... this is for a tight spot where we have no other options... what about the crown? The sword seems self-explanatory but the crown concerns me..."
Ozpin held a dark expression, "That crown is the most powerful and the vaguest relic of the four. By wearing it, the wearer is shown a glimpse of the future where they would be forced to make a choice that would change their lives. The drawbacks are that it does not tell you when exactly in the future... and often the images aren't very clear."
"And how many uses does this have?" the prince raised an eyebrow.
"One... just... one..." Ozpin said gravely, "So... if we have to use it... we must be sure of the exact time... and person..." he scanned the room, "And the candidates I would suggest are between You, your highness, Miss Rose and her highness Miss Luna."
"Why us?" Nova asked darkly, he had a sneaking suspicion but he needed to hear it from him directly.
"Because... you three are the ones most tied to the fate of the world. While it can be said that everyone in this room is important... you three carry the heaviest burdens."
"I see... then until further notice, these relics are remaining in storage. Any objections?" he looked around the room.
There was no comment.
"Good. Then let's move on to the next agenda... Hex?" he called for his engineer, "How long until we get to Pandora?"
Hex double-checked her scroll and said, "Realistically? I have no clue. According to the maps, we should arrive within the next three weeks, but there's no telling what can happen along the way."
Ruby stood up and placed her hand on Nova's shoulder, "Then let's do our best to get there fast?"
"Aye captains," Hex affirmed.
-Final Week-
They'd been at sea for three weeks now, roughly a month had passed according to their clocks. Today Ruby, Nova, Yang, and Hex were playing a card game on deck. Ruby partnered up with Nova and Yang partnered with Hex.
The game was going relatively smoothly in favour of the leader couple, though they had the unfair advantage of being able to mentally coordinate.
"And that's a high, low, game," Ruby said triumphantly as she took the lift of cards in the pile.
Yang groaned in frustration, "Ugh this isn't fair!"
"Yah snooze ya lose!" Nova stuck his tongue out and snickered.
"Oh you only say that because you two share a soul bond, otherwise this would be so different!" Hex fumed as she bent her head on the table in frustration.
Ruby and Nova high-fived.
"What are you guys playing?" Weiss asked as she strut on deck with Neo.
"Ugh finally, Weiss, why don't you and Neo take down these two?" Yang pointed at them.
Weiss raised an eyebrow, "Sure…? I don't even know the rules…"
"It's a game called all fours, see the rules are…" Hex started when someone interrupted.
At that moment, far above in the crow's nest, Blake picked up on a myriad of dark clouds on the horizon. She had to do a double take to make sure, one moment they weren't there, and the next...
"OI! A STORM IS APPROACHING!" Blake yelled with panic. Sun on the other hand was extremely concerned, this wasn't any ordinary storm.
Nova blinked, "Vergil?"
Ruby smacked him on the head, "No doofus, get ready, this looks like it's going to be a bad one…" she looked at the horizon with her fiancé. Together their eyes turned draconic as their senses sharpened.
Luna stumbled on deck with Oscar, "Guys… I got a really bad feeling about this one…"
Ruby and Nova looked at the tumbling waves and torrential water approaching. Things were picking up quickly and it didn't seem like a ten-minute shower. Mother nature had brought her wrath, "Shit… this is bad… looks like a…!" they spoke simultaneously when harsh winds ripped through the sails and sent their cards flying, "A hurricane!"
"Alright, crew! To your stations!" Ruby yelled as she began sprinting across the deck and tying down the sails. "Store all loose items below deck… GAUGE!" she called getting his attention.
"Aye cap'n?" he swung down from the ropes.
"Take the tarp and drag it across the dust! We can't let the spare ammo get wet! Anything that can't be stored below deck, drape some over those too!"
"Yang, get to the helm and manage our steering! Hex and Nitro we need you two in the control room!" Nova bellowed orders as the rain picked up.
"The rest of you, be prepared to force the ship to stay on course if we need to, be it ice or shadow or Luna's powers! Mine aren't going to be much use in the rain!" he continued to give orders.
The crew got to work on their duties and things were underway, but the sea had other plans.
Violent waves ripped against the side of the ship, crashing onto the deck with enormous force, almost knocking Weiss off balance before Neo caught her, there was a brief moment where they locked eyes but quickly returned to action.
"Hex! How are we doing on navigation?! Can we steer around this?!" Nova yelled as he barrelled across the deck and opened the control room.
"No can do cap'n, looks like our equipment is beginning to go haywire…"
"The magnetic storm…" Nova cursed, "We're close…"
Blake used her ribbon to wrap herself around the crow's nest main mast as she squinted into the darkened horizon, "SHIT I THINK I CAN SEE LAND!"
Nova grits his teeth, "A little bit more…"
They were weathering the storm until suddenly the ship came to a grating halt as a crunching sound was heard above the thunder and lightning. The ship quaked and groaned under the sound of whatever struck the bottom of the boat and it wasn't happy.
The boat was at a standstill amidst the mercy of waves.
"FUCK! DID WE HIT A REEF?!" Ruby bellowed as she tried to wipe the rain from her eyes.
Hex was furiously checking the status of the ship, "No reef on the sonar…"
Luna felt her sixth sense of danger picking up as she rushed to the side of the ship, peering into the dark depths below. As she stared further, a wave almost knocked her over when Oscar was fast, holding on to her waist.
"Saph! What are you doing?!" Oscar yelled over the loud rain. He was soaked to the bone now, they all were.
Luna still stared silently at the water until she saw something move, "SHIT THIS ISN'T A REEF! EVERYONE BATTLE STATIONS!"
"What…?!"
"IT'S A GRIMM!" As she yelled the words a large black tentacle rose out of the depths and crashed onto the side of the ship, knocking her and Oscar back.
"HEX! NITRO! GET THOSE CANNONS PRIMED! LOOKS LIKE WE'RE GOING FISHING!" Nova yelled as he launched at the tentacle, stabbing Helio's blade into its soft and squishy exterior. Black blood spilled forth as the tentacle retreated into the water.
Ruby gathered on the other side of the ship, "Alright! EVERYONE! GET READY!"
Six more tentacles shot up, three on each side. They were massive, about the thickness of the main mast each.
Nova sliced at his, Blake shot at them from above while Weiss and Neo froze and chopped at the other, Sun's clones were desperately helping Yang at the helm.
Ruby cut hers in half while Luna and Oscar were taking down theirs. The last one was free only to be shot by the dust cannons which then began rapidly firing and breaking down the limbs.
The black masses wriggled and writhed in the air in pain.
"DID WE GET IT!?" Sun yelled over the commotion.
Nova silently cursed, "How many times do I have to tell you not to jinx it?" he looked at him.
The tentacles stopped spasming in the air and stood straight, and in a sickly series of snapping of and wriggling they split in half and regenerated twice as many.
"WHAT THE FUCK?! IS IT A HYDRA OR A KRAKEN?!" Weiss slashed upwards trying to generate a wave of frost.
"ICE IT! LOCK IT DOWN AND WE CAN TRY FOR THE HEAD!" Nova yelled at the two ice users.
Neo and Weiss nodded at each other. The former went into the air and channeled the power of the winter maiden, summoning a storm of frost that rained down on the tentacles while Weiss dropped the temperature of the air. Raindrops turned to hail as the deck frosted over, and the tentacles began freezing solid from the effects of the two, aided by the water in the air.
"ALRIGHT! NOW LET'S SEE WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT THE…!" Ruby started to say but was interrupted when suddenly a loud groan rose from the ocean as the very sea trembled.
*MROOAAAARRR!*
"WHAT NOW?!"
The sea shook fiercely as waves crashed onboard, the water thrashed the ship around relentlessly as the crew struggled to hold on. The very earth shook with the roar.
"Was that the creature?" Oscar asked as he held onto the main mast with Luna.
The dragon princess felt a cold chill run down her spine… and not from the ice users… "No…"
Waves started getting larger as the water displaced, the sea floor shook and thunder cracked from the sky. Something big was coming…
"WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Yang yelled from the helm as she struggled to hold the boat, her muscles bulging from the strain.
"MRRROOOOAAAAAARRRR!" it bellowed again as the sea parted and an even larger mass erupted from the darkened depths. It was huge, much bigger than the Kraken, and ten times larger than the Leviathan they fought at Argus.
This Grimm stood at almost three hundred feet tall and there was no way to get an estimate as to how wide it was. Its gargantuan black mass rose from the ocean floor, standing in the very depths as if it had been rudely awoken. It was shaped like a serpent if not for its monstrous head with rows of sharpened teeth and a white Grimm Mask covering its face. It had a pair of massive arms that stretched at least a hundred feet in length.
As it finally ascended from the water, a pair of black fins with red accents sprouted from its back and head.
"What in the living fuck…" Ruby swore as she watched the gigantic creature tower over their boat.
Luna for once felt real fear creep through her, "How are we supposed to fight that?!"
The sea shook once more as the creature let out a powerful bellow that threatened to rupture their ear drums. As if things weren't bad enough, another one began rising out of the depths.
Now standing between the crew and the continent was two gargantuan Grimm that far surpassed the Leviathan class.
"These things must be fucking ancient!" Weiss surmised, looking at the barnacles and sea life that had been stuck to their bodies. They must have been asleep for hundreds of years.
"Captains!" Hex called from the control room, "WHAT DO WE DO?!"
Ruby and Nova looked at each other as they tried to come up with a plan. Things were dire… very dire.
"Those things are way too big to fight head-on," Nova pointed out.
"Not to mention there's still a frozen Kraken holding down our ship… and I'm guessing we only have a few more seconds at best before the titans start attacking…" Ruby followed up.
They thought hard, letting each other's brain help with simultaneous processing as they attempted to figure out how to proceed.
"WE GOT IT!" they yelled. "It'll be hard," Nova looked at her cautiously, "We haven't tried this yet..."
She planted a quick kiss on his cheek, "I trust you to keep me alive."
"ALRIGHT!" Nova started, "Hex! Divert all remaining power to the primary deck cannon and load it with explosive Dust!"
"ON IT!"
"Guys! Keep the Kraken focused on you, Ruby, and I will handle the big ones!" he continued as the couple ran to the main cannon that sat on the deck.
"HOW?!" Weiss asked as she kept belting frost at the Kraken.
"With a little Silver Eyed Maigc…" Ruby muttered as Nova entered draconic female form, raising her power to the utmost limit.
A silver aura began to glow around Ruby as the Silver Heart took hold of the Silver Soul. "Empty as much as we can… two shots that's all we need…" she muttered.
The silver light began to flow from her around the cannon as Nova focused hard on anchoring her soul as best as she could. It was her job to stop Ruby from losing control over the powers, and it was Ruby's job to deal with as much as she could.
"Alright red, ready when you are…" the dragon leader had her eyes closed.
Ruby didn't say a word as the power flowed from her Silver Shroud and around the cannon, funneling into the barrel.
"ALRIGHT! HEX!" Ruby yelled with strain, "FIRE!"
Hex pushed the button and the cannon fired, a powerful beam of silver light shot out, like a railgun, aimed right at the left titan, then the cannon was diverted to the right and shot a second time.
The two beams of light hit the creatures just as their arms were raised to strike the ship.
At once the two shots exploded in a brilliant silver aurora that began to rapidly petrify the titans. Ruby collapsed in Nova's arms, exhausted.
"Did we do it?" she asked weakly.
Nova just stroked the water out of her face, "I think so…"
There stood at the front of the island, amidst a torrential hurricane, were two petrified titan class Grimm that didn't even get a chance to attack.
"Now it's just the Kraken…" Nova mused as he helped her stand.
At the time Luna was already on the task. With the tentacles thoroughly locked down she jumped into the water.
"LUNA WHAT?!" Oscar yelled sprinting after her only to stop when he saw her coated by dragon scales, a bright cyan blue Aura around her.
"I am sick and tired of this bullshit! WHO WANTS OCTOPUS?!" She yelled, floating out of the water as her entire body was draconic. The ship shook violently as the Kraken was wrenched from the bottom of the ship like a toy and flung out of the water, into the air and held up by Luna's powers.
"NOW DIE!" she yelled, her arm extended as if grasping the creature, then she clenched her fists and the Kraken folded in on itself and was crushed into dust.
The younger dragon floated back onto the deck, exhausted out of her mind as she dry heaved.
"Shit Luna that was crazy!" Oscar held her up and kissed her cheek, "Don't scare me like that…"
She giggled and kissed him back, "Hey, I had to do something~"
"How did you even…" Nova was impressed.
Luna wiped her wet hair from her face, "I've been training my powers, though that was very exhausting…"
"Remind me never to piss you off…" Nitro mused as he walked on deck. The hurricane was still in full swing but they could see the ray of light on the horizon where the continent stood.
"Alright let's get moving…" Nova started when suddenly loud cracks were heard. "Please tell me that was thunder…"
"THE TITANS ARE BREAKING FREE!" Blake yelled from the crow's nest.
"SHIT! HEX! How are our backup propulsion?" Nova asked the engineer.
She shrugged, "Kinda damaged but they got like one or two bursts left."
"Can you redirect the power from the cannon to the propulsion and speed us to shore?"
"I can but that might tear the ship apart!" Hex said incredulously.
Ruby wobbled to the control room and held onto Nova, "We don't have a choice. Get going NOW!"
Hex saluted, "Aye aye cap'ns. Let's just pray we all make it in one piece…"
She then slammed the thrusters as they whirred to life.
"EVERYONE! HANG ON TO SOMETHING!"
There was so much force as the ship shot off from its spot, rocketing toward the island. The faster it went the more the ship got torn apart from the sheer speeds and drag force. Nitro did his best to reduce the friction of the ship but he was struggling to deal with this sheer amount. Eventually, his Aura ran out, and just as the ship was about to reach the shore he over-exerted himself and went unconscious.
"BRACE FOR IMPACT!" Hex yelled as the shore got closer and closer until… there was nothing but white noise.
-Deep into Pandora-
Far within the depths of the dark continent within the reaches of No Man's Land, a territory overrun by Grimm. The desolate land was eviscerated down to the very blades of grass, where not a single point of life grew from the poisoned soil. The stains of black ichor that seeped from the pools of annihilation gathered in the rivers and streams, painting the landscape in the image of the Grimm. This violated land bled far and wide but ever so slightly began to give way to life. As the darkness stretched to the east, the dead soil was slowly growing more alive, though from observation it could be said that the destruction was winning.
Like the turn of a fresh page, to the south and east was a thriving forest, trees taller than anything Remnant could have had, their roots dug into the ground fighting against the spreading corruption, steadfast and sturdy, like the last vestiges of a battalion. Unrelenting and tenacious.
Within this dense greenery lay a mountainous ridge that separated the continent into two halves. Atop this rocky range was a kingdom of avian Faunus who stood as the defence between the darkness and the life. At the base of the mountain lay an ongoing war, Grimm teeming in hordes attempted to brave the climb for there was no other way around the mountain, but the birds were too strong. Unable to withstand their aerial assaults with spears and arrows that pierced even metal, they died before they couldn't make it past the starting route.
Past the standing mountain, beyond the valley of trees to the southeast at the coastline was another kingdom, of fish Faunus, they were responsible for clearing the waters of Grimm and securing fishing spots to supply the continent.
Lastly to the west, in the largest of the three kingdoms was the Lions. In a large kingdom city that stretched the largest area of developed land. It was the capital founded after the civil war, where all Faunus could live in peace and harmony. The Lions became the new leaders of the Faunus world on Pandora, amassing a huge castle surrounded by a large city.
Yet, beyond all that, in the depths of the darkened land lay a destroyed city, a series of ruins that surrounded an even larger castle than the Lions' kingdom. Its once pristine white walls were tattered and stained with black scorch marks, the remnants of a great war that far preceded the Grimm's invasion. Beyond the grand gates, to a courtyard that stood out in stark contrast to the rest of the environment, the lawn was cut and green, the fountain functioning with a large dragon carved in stone, spraying water from its mouth. The grand oak doors were scratched and chipped but clean and untainted. Past the doors was a pristine grand hall, a red carpet paved the way to a large room with a tall staircase ascending to a silver throne lined with gold and gemstones, and the seats were pleated with red velvet.
There were only a few living people in this castle, the last of a long, dead house. A host of butlers and maids still took care of the grounds and the castle, hoping one day for the return of the great household.
A lone caretaker, a stag Faunus, dressed in a white long coat, stood in the highest room in the house, on an open-air patio that stood below the sky, and on it was a great silver-plated cauldron that had been dormant for centuries, the coals had been unlit for longer than anyone in the household had been alive. It was said that one day when the house would be on the brink of resurrection, the fire would light to signal the coming of a new age.
As the caretaker gazed into the cold, long-dead ashes, he remembered the words of his father, the very same words his grandfather said to him, "When the embers light once more, it will signify that the dragons will return. I understand that it has been generations... but you must have faith, they will return, and they will restore this house to its former glory."
The caretaker, named Aurelios, sighed heavily, as the words echoed in his head, "Dad... grandfather... ancestors before me. We have been taking care of this place for all our lives... I'm starting to think this isn't worth it. The dragons are long dead... we should just... move on..."
Staring at the ashes he muttered once more, "Just... send us a sign. The workers have no more faith, our budgets are so low... the Grimm keep attacking and the Kingdoms don't have enough men to spare to protect this place. If the Dragons do come back in the future... there won't be anyone left of us to greet them..." he waited, for what felt like ten minutes. The creep of time was slow in these moments, and he felt his faith leave him.
When no sign came, he stood up and began walking back to the house, dejected and disappointed. That's when it happened, at first unnoticeable, but the smell of ignition and burning coal, the subtle sound of crackling flames. His eyes went wide as he spun on his heels and leaned over the cauldron. Sure enough, a fire had ignited within the cold fuel. It was flickering and dim, but soon it burst into a roaring flame that sprout into the air, a bright orange that burned intensely until it turned pure white, then shining silver.
The caretaker felt his breath leave his body, "I-It... It can't be..."
Without a moment's hesitation, he sprinted into the castle, "EVERYONE GATHER IN THE THRONE ROOM! ALERT ALL STAFF, IT'S AN EMERGENCY!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, sprinting down the halls.
He was gathered in the hall with all of the maids and butlers as well as other caretakers, all confused and slightly grumbling from being awoken.
A rabbit Faunus maid raised her hand, "Sir... what's going on? What's the emergency."
Aurelios had a broad smile on his face as he took a deep breath, "My people... we finally have some good news..."
"What's happening?" another asked.
"The great fire has been lit, it has come alive for the first time in centuries!" he said with mirth.
The same bunny maid's eyes widened in shock, "You don't mean that... after all this time..."
"That's right," he said firmly, "For the first time in millennia, a Dragon has step foot on the continent!"
And that's a wrap! The next chapter will hopefully come out sooner. I'll see you guys then!