Chapter 5:

Ruby wandered around the docks, hoping to catch sight of Damien Jonas. Sure, maybe the man was quite possibly and irrevocably nuts, but then again, a fair share of weird things have happened in her life.

The sun had already gone down. She had made sure that her teammates had completely fallen asleep before setting out. No need for anyone to know what she was planning. Not only would she get into a load of trouble at school, it might just kill her team's hopes in the Vacuo Open Arms invite.

She rounded a street and made her way to the seaside bar where she first saw him. Right now, the door was locked. A cold night breeze blew right by. Ruby tightened the cloak she wore, reducing the chill.

"Tough luck Ruby." She groaned. She figured it wasn't going to be easy trying to get him to talk, but it seemed the same could be said with finding him. She yawned, sleep slowly wearing down on her.

"Hello kid." Came a voice. Ruby froze, turning slowly on the spot to see four guys in black suits, top hats and wearing red sunglasses.

"Um..." Ruby frowned. "Do I know you?"

"Sure you do kid." One of them smiled, holding up a mean looking pistol. "We're the sorry bunch whose butts you kicked, remember?"

"I've kicked plenty of butts." Ruby said. "You have to be more specific."

"The Dust shop!" He snarled. "Torchwick! The kick in the face!"

Ruby looked thoughtful for a moment. Then, it hit her. "Oh. You guys..."

"Damn right little red." He growled. "And since then, Torchwick wouldn't have anything to do with us! Meaning no salary, no nothing. Just us and uh, what is it that we have?"

Ruby didn't waste time. She drew Crescent Rose, twirling the weapon out into its scythe form. Pointing it at the ground, she fired, the recoil of the shot blasting her straight into the air. With a somersault, she landed right on top of bad guy number 1, knocking him out instantly.

One down, three left. She said, spinning to catch the blade of number two. From behind, number three charged in. Using two's blade as a pivot, she vaulted, the blunt section of the scythe and the weapon handle striking both of them at the same time. They recoiled, preparing to charge again, this time with number four joining the fray.

Ruby cocked her weapon and fired a single round, the recoil causing her to spin like a top. The goons were prepared though, immediately stopping in their tracks to avoid getting smacked by her weapon. However, Ruby dug the blade into the ground, letting go at the same time. The force of her revolutions threw here right at them and she kicked out, her foot lashing into three's head.

He flew into the other two, the force of Ruby's kick sending them into a couple of dust bins. At once, a voice sounded. "What's with all them yammering?"

Ruby turned to see Damien walk down with a torch in his hand and a sullen expression on his face.

"Mr. Jonas?" She asked, shielding her eyes from the glare of the torch.

"Who else?" He grumbled. "What do you want?"

"Pardon me sir..." Ruby wrenched Crescent Rose free of the ground, the weapon shifting into its transportable state. "But I was hoping you could have a minute? I heard you talking about your tale of 'The Devil' some days ago."

At this, Damien looked up. A frown cut through his forehead as he inched closer to Ruby. "You believe me?"

"Well, who knows right?" Ruby shrugged. "There are pretty strange things in this world."

The sailor's eyes narrowed. Ruby wondered if she had chosen the right words to ask him. Then, he seemed to relax slightly.

"You seem pretty decent." He nodded. "But what's a kid doing out this late? You should be in bed now."

Ruby gulped. He was starting to sound like her father now. "Well, all the more reason why I think you should tell me about your 'Devil' as fast as possible. And I'm not leaving till I hear it out."

Damien shook his head. "This ain't a story for the likes of kids. And I sure as heck don't want more people think I've gone and lost it again."

"Hey, if you want to see crazy, you can try me." Ruby frowned, folding her arms.

Damien stared into her silver eyes. After a full minute, he sighed.

"Fine. I'll tell you."

For someone who was supposedly nuts and didn't have a good sense of hygiene, Damien actually lived in a rather well built home. It had a good four solid walls, a bathroom and a small kitchen.

"I do a little fishing just to get by." He explained as Ruby was hit by the strong odor the minute he opened the door. "Some I keep, others I sell. Don't have no electricity, but at least there's water."

"Well, at least there's something." Ruby said as she sat down on a barrel that seemed to serve as a chair.

"Right you are missy." Damien chuckled as he poured a cup of water for himself. "Better to have a lil' something than a whole lot of nothing."

Ruby eyed the cup of water. "No rum?"

"Rum?" Damien frowned. "No way. The whole world thinks I'm pretty crazy. Don't need to add drunkard to that title."

"Good policy." Ruby noted.

"Now." Damien sat himself down on another barrel, the makeshift chair creaking slightly. "Why are you so interested in the 'Devil' little miss Huntress in training?"

"Uh..." Ruby thought. Truth be told, she was hoping plain curiosity would be enough. "How'd you know I'm training to be a Huntress?"

"Please." Damien smirked. "Who goes around carrying a sniper scythe?"

Ruby blinked, surprised that Damien had deduced that much. Was he really supposed to be a crazy old man?

"Well, don't really matter why." Damien said as he sipped from the cup. "As far as I'm concerned, you're the first one to actually have an interest in this tale. Might as well tell it then. Nothing beats people thinking you're not as crazy as the world thinks."

"Okay..." Ruby nodded, wondering if she had offended him somehow.

"Right. Now how to begin?" Damien thought as a grim expression came over his face. "Was thirty years ago. Back then I was a small time crewman on board one of them large transport vessels. Thought it'd be a good way to just enjoy the sea and at the same time get a decent job. I wasn't exactly hunter material then. Only weapon I was good for was my harpoon spear rifle I got from me old man."

Ruby glanced to the far wall where a small harpoon weapon hung. She wondered what it could do. But it had to wait for another time.

"That day was no different." He continued. "Skipper had just checked and loaded all the cargo we was sending to Atlas. And he also told us to especially tie 'em down tight. Rough storm was coming by the looks of it that day. I figure we was just going to experience one hell of a rough sea."

He took another sip, but his expression stayed the same. "Boy was I wrong."

"You ever get that feeling kid?" He asked, eyes turning to Ruby. "The gnawing in your gut that just tells you something is wrong? That something terrible is going to happen?"

"Occasionally." Ruby said, recounting hundreds of surprise tests and quizzes that had happened in Beacon.

"I felt it that day." Damien frowned, his bearded chin moving as his lips tightened. "I knew something bad was going to happen, something damn right terrifying. But I didn't pay attention to it then. I supposed it was just me being nervous about the storm."

"We cast of. An hour into the open waters and nothing came. Sure, the sea was choppy and the wind rough. But every sailor knew how to expect that. That's where them sea legs are needed. Then, we stopped."

"Stopped?" Ruby frowned, confusion spreading across her face.

"And I mean, we really stopped." Damien had finally put the cup down, explaining his story with hand gestures. "As if someone had put down the anchor whilst we was going full speed ahead. I felt my stomach lurch and seconds later, I hit the floor. Some of us ran over to the sides and I heard the rest muttering about hitting a reef."

"A reef?" Ruby blinked, utterly confused. "In open water?"

"Well, I couldn't think of anything either." Damien shrugged. "Till it got the first mate."

"It happened so fast." Damien was shaking now. "All I remember was seeing this huge long, thing, reach out and grab him. In a split second, whoosh." Damien splayed his hands apart. "He was gone. And then I heard it roar."

"It was unlike anything I heard before. I felt as if my very soul trembled." Damien's eyes were now filled with a terror Ruby couldn't describe. "Suddenly, its arms were snaking their way up the ship. We defended with everything we had, but it didn't even seem to notice. We would hack at them black hands, shoot them. It didn't bother. It tore through the ship, ripping out the cargo from their nets. Got hit by one real big one too."

Damien took off his hat and gestured to an ugly looking bruise on his forehead. "This is what I got that day when it decided to fling a crate load of Dust at me. Next thing I remember is floating in the ocean and getting rescued by some police coast guard. As for the rest of the crew, not many survived. I thought it was all a nightmare, some horrid dream you had to try your hardest to wake from. How I wish it was."

"I never once saw that thing again, but by God I know it's out there." Damien said, looking in the direction of the sea. "It was something hellish, that I know. And no soul on them seas is safe till it decides to go away."

Ruby gripped her skirt tightly. "You think it's what's been causing all the recent disappearances?"

"If it is kid," Damien stared back at her with a dark look. "Then I hope you all are ready for it. 'Cause I don't think it's done yet."