A/N: Just a quick and important heads up: I made a huge change to the previous chapter's final scene in the prison. I realized after sitting on it for a week that I didn't really like how it came out so I just changed it.
Now, onto the chapter.
[~]
"Pyrrha, look out!" Jaune shouted, pushing his red-haired companion out of the way of an incoming headbutt from one of the serpents before taking the full brunt of its attack.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha shouted, the blonde being sent crashing into one of the ship's railing before tumbling down into onto the deck below. Angered at what her friend had just suffered through, Pyrrha gripped her sword tight before charging at the serpents' head.
Fury in her veins, the young woman brought her sword down on the serpents' head to decapitate it only for her blade to bounce harmlessly off of the armor plating on its' head.
Thrashing wildly, the serpent knocked Pyrrha back a few feet as the young woman crashed into Yang while the Grimm retreated back into the ocean.
"Whoa! You alright?" Yang asked as she helped Pyrrha back to her feet.
"I'm fine." Pyrrha asked, yanking her arm away from Yang before looking around the area, "What about Jaune? Is he alright?"
In response to the woman's question, the man in question promptly appeared at the top stairs leading to the quarterdeck.
"I'm fine, Pyr. Just got a bit banged up, that's all." Jaune said with a chuckle as Pyrrha let out a relieved sigh.
"More importantly, it looks like these overgrown snakes won't go down easily." Yang said as she cracked her knuckles, "Anybody got a plan on how to handle these things?"
"That depends." Jaune said, "Does anybody here fancy being bait?"
"Why? You got a plan?" Coco asked as she dodged a lunge from one of the serpents as Yatsuhashi went in for a strike with his greatsword. The man's efforts proved futile a moment later, however, as the serpent expertly dodged his attack before slithering back into the water.
"Of a sorts." Jaune said with a shrug, "It might not work, though and relies a lot on precise timing."
"Beats standing around and waiting to be picked off one by one." Coco said, the woman cursing as her arrows bounced off harmlessly on one of the serpents' heads.
"Alright, well… everybody back off and let me tank one of these things head on." Jaune said, the man gripping his shield tightly in front of him. "Once it's on me, I'm going to stab its head into the ship as long as I can. That'll be your cue to kill it. Simple, right?"
"You think you can tank one of these things?" Coco asked, the captain glaring at the serpents as they loomed over the ship.
"First time for everything, right?" Jaune asked with a shrug, "Besides, at least we're not dealing with a full-grown serpent. These things are much more deadly when their mouths turn into water cannons."
"Good point. Well, if anyone doesn't have anything better to suggest, then blondie's plan is the best we have at the moment." Coco said as the rest of them took their positions below deck.
"Alright, you overgrown snakes!" Jaune shouted to gain the attention of the Grimm. When one of them looked the man directly in the eye, Jaune instinctively took a step back before he held his ground, "You want something to eat, don't you? Well, why don't you try eating me?!"
As if in answer of the blonde's challenge, one of the serpents let out a shriek of anger, the Grimm lunging at the blonde. As planned, Jaune took the full force of the Grimm's attack with his shield. What he didn't plan for, however, was how strong the attack was going to be as the blonde was sent crashing against the ship's railing.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha shouted, the woman immediately climbing the stairs and made to run towards her travelling companion, her weapons at the ready.
"Pyrrha, wait!" Jaune shouted, the blonde grunting against the pain as he pulled his sword from it sheathe as Pyrrha stayed rooted at the bottom of the stairs. A moment later, the Grimm serpent let out a wail of agony as Jaune pierced his sword through its head and onto the ship's floorboards. "Now!"
Their signal given, Pyrrha, Coco, Yatsuhashi, Yang, and Fox all came flying towards the Grimm at once, the group doing as much damage as they could. As a form of resistance, the Grimm thrashed about wildly, the beast trying its best to live another day.
Its efforts were rendered moot, however, when Yatsuhashi swung his greatsword with enough force to sever its head from the rest of its body. The beast started to dissipate into black smoke as it dissolved through the floorboards and into the decks below.
"Phew. Glad that worked out, huh?" Yang said as she wiped her brow of sweat.
"Tell me about it." Jaune said as he rolled his shoulder before cringing in pain, "Damn thing hits harder than I thought."
"You know, I have an ointment for that." Coco said, "It'll cost you, though."
"Uh, guys?" Pyrrha asked as she looked around the ship, "Where's the second serpent?"
As soon as those words left Pyrrha's mouth, the Grimm in question burst forth from the sea from the ship's starboard side. Shocked by its sudden appearance, there was nothing the group could do as the Grimm lunged towards Yang, the creature gripping the blonde with its mouth before pulling back as it dragged the woman into the sea.
"Yang!" Everyone shouted as Yang was pulled under the sea.
"Does anyone see her?!" Coco asked as the group rushed towards the ship's side to get a better view of what they were dealing with.
"Jaune, what do we-?!" was all the redhead could say as the man, having discarded his armor, rushed past her. Throwing caution to the wind, Jaune dived into the sea without a second thought.
As soon as he was submerged, the man started looking around for any sign of Yang before he finally laid eyes on her a few meters away. Stuck between its teeth, Yang was desperately struggling for her life, the young woman delivering blow after blow on the Grimm's head.
Being under water, the blonde's attacks were proven ineffective as the Grimm refused to let go of Yang. With the creature distracted, Jaune was able to quickly swim up to the both of them undetected. A moment later, the man took his sword before plunging it as deep as he could into its eye.
Yang was quickly released from its hold as the Grimm let out a screech of pain. Pulling his sword free from the creature's eye, Jaune grabbed Yang in his arms before swimming swimming towards the surface.
"Pwah!" Jaune shouted as he greedily took in all the air he could at the moment. Turning towards the woman in his arms, Jaune's eyes widened upon realizing that she was bleeding profusely from her left arm. "Yang! Stay with me now!"
"J-Jaune…?" Yang asked with a groan, looking at the man with half-lidded eyes.
"We're almost back at the ship. Don't die on me now." Jaune said as he started to swim back to the Blind Rabbit. A moment later, the serpent burst forth behind them with a roar. Letting out a curse, Jaune placed Yang behind him before turning to face the Grimm.
Before it could attack the both of them, however, a massive spike of ice appeared from behind them as it impaled the Grimm straight through the face. This was followed by a few more spears of ice as it impaled the serpent in various parts of its body, killing it.
Jaune let out a sigh of relief as the Grimm quickly dissipated into black smoke. Making sure Yang was secure in his arms, Jaune then started swimming back to the Blind Rabbit.
[~]
"How is she?" Ruby asked as she and her party crowded around Yatsuhashi. It had been an hour since the Blind Rabbit was ambushed by the Grimm and in that time, Yatsuhashi, the ship's designated physician, had done his best to heal the injury Yang had sustained during the fight.
"She's not in any grave danger, that much I can say. The injury is actually a lot better than it looks." Yatsuhashi said as he closed the door behind him, "I gave her something to make her sleep the rest of the day away. After what she's been through, she needs it."
"Will she be alright?" Weiss asked.
"For the moment, she will be." Yatsuhashi said, a hint of hesitation in his voice that didn't go unnoticed by any of the three young women in front of him.
"But…?" Blake asked with worry in her eyes.
"But I would still recommend you find a healer or at the very least a skilled physician once we make port." Yatsuhashi said, "There was only so much I could do with the ship's limited supplies."
As the Blind Rabbit's helsman left them behind, the three young women then started discussing amongst themselves on their next course of action.
"Well, we obviously can't leave her like that." Ruby said, "Which means we'll need to find someone to heal her wounds when we make port."
"Wherever that "port" may be." Blake said as she and Ruby shared a nod.
"We could go to Patch. Dad might know something that can help Yang out." Ruby said.
"That's an option." Weiss said, "What about Jaune's party? Do any of them know any healing spells?"
"No. I asked Ren earlier and the best they know is first aid." Ruby said with a shake of her head, "I don't think that's going to help much here."
"There's also the issue of carrying Yang for the whole journey." Blake said.
"Well, either that or we could just ask for Jaune's help." Ruby suggested.
"You really think that's a good idea?" Blake asked.
"Maybe. Why?" Ruby asked, tilting her head at the Faunus.
"Ruby, those people at the docks, they weren't there for Coco and her crew. They were there for us." Blake said. When both Weiss and Ruby wore confused looks, Blake continued, "Think about it. What kind of officer would outright reject a bribe? Maybe ask for more but reject it? And then there's the fact that they knew the Blind Rabbit had just taken in a group of passengers."
"I don't understand." Ruby said, "How would they even know we were there in the first place?"
"They wouldn't." Weiss said as she and Blake locked gazes, "Not unless someone told them where to find us."
"You mean… Ilia?" Ruby asked, the young woman finally putting the pieces together, "But why? I thought she was your friend."
"So did I." Blake said with a deep scowl, "But it is the only logical explanation. She was the one who led us there in the first place."
"You think those people at the docks were targeting us?" Ruby asked with a worried frown.
"Well, probably not you or Yang. I doubt there's a lot of people out there who would care that much about a pair of mercenaries." Blake said.
"That was uncalled for." Ruby said.
"Sorry. What I meant to say was that they were most likely coming after Weiss." Blake said, "And, if I'm right about this, they were coming after me, too."
"I suppose this was our fault for letting our guard down. It's been a while since anything like that has happened, after all." Weiss said.
"Regardless, if we are planning to ask for aid from Jaune and his party, we might need to be a lot more truthful with him than we have been so far." Blake said.
"Well, that's up to Weiss, isn't it?" Ruby asked, smiling at the woman in question.
"I don't have a problem with telling them the truth about us if either of you don't." Weiss said, "Plus, they've already helped us before."
"Only because their own was stuck in prison, too." Blake noted, "But that's neither here nor there. I trust them. Ruby?"
"Jaune's the reason I still have a sister, even if that sister is Yang." Ruby said, "So, yeah. I believe they're good people and I trust them."
"What if they ask for payment?" Blake asked.
"Then we'll just have to give it to them." Weiss said, "Within reason, of course."
[~]
"Sure, we'll help you guys out." Jaune said, the man nursing his own wound from earlier.
"Really? Just like that?" Ruby asked.
"Just like that." Jaune parroted with a nod, a smile on his face before looking at Pyrrha, "Right, Pyr?"
"Of course." Pyrrha said with a smile of her own, "If you need our assistance to get Yang the help she needs, I really don't see the trouble in that."
"You guys aren't going to… ask for anything, are you?" Ruby asked as she and Blake shared a look.
"Why would we?" Jaune asked as he and Pyrrha shared a confused look, "Isn't that what friends are for?"
"Thank you, Jaune." Ruby said as the woman went in for a hug, "For agreeing to help us and for saving my sister."
"Ah, don't mention it." Jaune said, the man returning the young woman's hug as he patted her on the back, "Besides, I'm pretty sure Nora would break my legs if she found out I demanded payment for helping out a friend."
"Where are Ren and Nora, anyway?" Blake asked.
"Oh, I'm sure they're around here somewhere." Jaune said as he and Ruby ended their short embrace, "Last I heard, Nora was searching for Yatsuhashi to do some strength training or something like that."
"You think that's wise?" Pyrrha asked, a deeply concerned look on her face, "Last time Nora did any sort of training, half the building came crashing down on her."
"I'm sure it's fine." Jaune said with a nervous chuckle, "But, just to be safe, could you maybe… make sure that doesn't happen? Especially not when we're so far out at sea?"
"I'm on it." Pyrrha said, leaving the room behind.
"You know, the more time I spend with you guys, the more I realize how sane my own party is by comparison." Ruby said.
"Hey, if you don't have at least one near death experience a year, can you really call that living?" Jaune asked, "But enough about that. When we get to land, any place in particular you guys are planning on going?"
"Sure do. There's a small island to the southwest of Vale called Patch." Ruby said, "It's where me and Yang are from. My dad's there and hopefully, he'll be able to help us out."
"Southwest of Vale, huh?" Jaune said, humming to himself.
"Yeah. Something wrong?" Blake asked.
"No, nothing's wrong. It's just…" Jaune said, his sentence trailing off before he continued, "My village is somewhere there."
"Really? What's it called?" Ruby asked.
"It's not important. What is important is that we get Yang the help she needs as fast as possible." Jaune said, "Right?"
"Right!" Ruby nodded, a smile on the young woman's face.
"Well, I don't know about you ladies but I'm starving." Jaune said as the three of them left the room behind, "How about some lunch, yeah?"
[~]
"Well captain, I can't say it's been a pleasure." Jaune said as he shook Coco's hand, "It's been an… unforgettable week, that much is certain."
"Unforgettable for you, maybe." Coco said with a proud grin, "For me and my crew, that was par for the course."
"My condolences for your crew then." Jaune said.
"Please, my crew loves the thrill of adventure and danger we face on a daily basis." Coco said with a bark of laughter before looking at her first mate, "Isn't that right, Velvet?"
The rabbit Faunus, in response, looked at her captain with dead eyes before turning to face Jaune.
"Jaune, if you have an opening in your party, I'd appreciate it if you could hire me." Velvet said, "I'd even consider lower pay."
"Ah, she's just joking." Coco said with a laugh even as Velvet shook her head at the woman's words. "Safe travels to you, captain. Here's hoping we see each other again, this time under better circumstances."
"To you as well, captain." Jaune said, the two of them sharing a laugh. As they went their separate ways,the blonde then made his way to nearby inn where the rest of his travelling group was waiting for him, "So, you guys all set and ready to go?"
"Just a bit. There's still some stuff we need to get." Pyrrha said, a list of supplies in her hands.
"Alright well, you guys get the caravan ready and me and Nora will get whatever's left." Jaune said.
"Aww, do I have to?" Nora asked as Pyrrha handed Jaune the list of supplies they still needed, "I was hoping to get a quick nap before we hit the road again."
"Nora, you literally just woke up from a three hour nap ten minutes ago." Jaune said as he and Nora headed for the nearby general store, "I don't understand how you're still sleepy."
"A woman needs her beauty sleep, Jaune." Nora said with a huff, "You know that."
"Well, you can sleep for a hundred years and you still won't be any closer to reaching that goal." Jaune said, the two friends sharing a laugh as they entered a nearby building.
"Ah, welcome. I'll be with you in a moment." said the person behind the counter.
"Alright, what else do we need?" Nora asked as she and Jaune surveyed the shelves in front of them.
"Well, from this list, it seems like we still need-"
"Jaune?" said someone from behind him, "Is that you?"
The man's eyes widened at the familiar voice. Slowly and cautiously turning around, the blonde came face to face with a tanned-skin woman wearing a navy blue coat over a red shirt, a pair of dark-gray pants and a pair of red shoes.
"T-Terra…"
[Chapter END]
A/N: And that's a wrap for Chapter Ten. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Coco and her crew this chapter. Gotta admit, didn't think I'd have this much fun writing her and her crew.
As always, faves, follows, and reviews are always welcome.
NoXIV signing off.