Chapter 8:

Ruby stirred. It felt like she was sleeping, but she didn't feel relaxed. She felt as if she was floating, drifting in some sort of strange current.

She opened her eyes to behold the dark depths of the ocean. Bubbles rose all around her. She covered her nose and mouth, afraid of letting any air loose or taking in any water. She spread her arms out above her, swimming to the surface.

Suddenly, she felt something yank her leg. She turned to see a black tentacle wrapped around her ankle. She reached down, attempting to pry it off. Motion caught her eye. She looked as seven other tentacles snaked through the water toward her, drawn by her struggles. She saw the black, slimy skin that covered them and the white colored suction cups underneath.

Then she saw its eyes, glowing eerily red in the dark, illuminating the rest of its body. She tried to swim away, but a tentacle came, wrapping around her throat. She felt her windpipe get strangled once more. She reached for the one around her neck, attempting to wrench it free. Other tentacles then descended on her, grabbing her arms and her remaining leg. It stared at her hungrily.

Ruby watched as its mouth came up, a strange beak like thing, opening to revealing a gaping jaw filled with teeth. Ruby struggled to get away, but to no avail, as it dragged her in. Ruby opened her mouth, a soundless scream echoing out accompanied by a flurry of bubbles.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Ruby screamed as she bolted upright.

"RUBY! RUBY CALM DOWN!"

Ruby blinked as she registered someone violently shaking her. Her vision returned and she saw Yang's face. Her sister's eyes were filled with shock and worry. Yang's strong arms gripped her shoulders and didn't seem to be letting go anytime soon. Yang breathed through clenched teeth, the force of the simple action causing her chest to heave up and down.

Ruby took in the remainder of her surroundings. She noticed Weiss and Blake standing right behind Yang, the same shock and worry in their eyes. Team JNPR hovered right behind them. Jaune's eyes were wide as he glanced down on her. Now she saw she was lying in a bed, and the whole room looked like the inside of a hospital.

"Where..." Ruby groaned as she sat upright. "Where am I?" She choked as Yang's sudden bear hug constricted her windpipe, a sensation that was getting a little too familiar.

Yang squeezed Ruby, tears glistening from the corner of her eyes. "Thank God, oh thank God..."

"Y-Yang..." Ruby strained against her sister's embrace. "Can't... breathe..."

Someone pulled Yang away. Ruby took a big gulp of air as Weiss came next to her. The Schnee heiress now gave Ruby her own hug, gentler than Yang's but equally as warm.

"I'm so glad you're alright..." She said, her breathing unsteady. Ruby didn't have to see her to know she too was sobbing slightly.

Ruby returned the hug. "Me too..." Weiss soon enough released her hold on Ruby. Blake came forward, clasping Ruby's hand.

"Feeling okay?" The Faunus asked. Ruby knew Blake wasn't one to be open with emotion, but the young girl didn't need a hug to know Blake had been worried sick. Blake's eyes had bags under them, proving that she hadn't slept in who knew how long. Worry and relief were mixed in her eyes and her breath was also strained.

"I'm still alive." Ruby replied, her free hand moving to her head. It still hurt. "So, where am I?" Ruby's hand felt some sort of rough material surrounding her head. It had to be a bandage of some kind.

"You're in one of Vacuo's hospitals." Pyrrha from Team JNPR answered. Ruby looked at the red-haired girl. Jaune, Nora and Ren all wore worried looks on their faces. Jaune also had bags under his eyes. Nora usual excitement was gone, replaced by a dull dread. Ren merely frowned, but his eyes held a storm of fear for the young girl.

Ruby blinked, lying down on the bed again. The pain in her head didn't seem to be going away anytime soon. "Ugh, how long was I out?"

"At least two days." Ren said. "About the entire weekend."

"When the ship didn't arrive, we got worried." Jaune spoke at last. "At first, we thought you guys were merely delayed. But then, when you didn't show at all, everyone just started to panic. You should have seen Yang. She wasn't going to rest till we found out if anything happened to you."

"We didn't think we'd be able to..." Weiss continued. "After we saw the news broadcast that the ship was sunk well..." Weiss turned to look at Yang. Ruby didn't need Weiss to explain what had happened. She could already figure it out.

"Luckily, we managed to find someone who said they had spotted a girl wearing a red cloak." Blake said. "We were led to the hospital, and here you were. You should have seen Ms. Goodwitch. She was about to instigate a manhunt for you."

"Now, just to figure out who put you here..." Blake finished, sitting down on a chair.

Ruby rubbed her head, wincing from the pain. Somewhere, a television was turned on. The eight students looked as a report came in regarding the missing ship and its crew. Then, the memory slammed into her like a truck.

"Weiss!" Ruby gasped, bolting upright again, groaning as the sudden movement intensified the headache.

"Easy Ruby!" Weiss said. "You're still recovering!"

"Weiss!" Ruby began, knowing that she couldn't stop. "The missing ships..."

"Just relax." She continued, forcing Ruby back down on the bed. The little girl was pretty uncooperative. Weiss would have shoved, but that may cause some irreparable damage. "We'll talk about it later!"

"It's not pirates!" Ruby panted, struggling against Weiss. "It's a Grimm!"

Weiss blinked. "Huh?"

"The thing that's been causing ships to disappear..." Ruby exhaled, her breath quickening. "It's a really big Grimm! Something I've never seen before! It looked like some sort of octopus!"

"Wait, wait..." Yang motioned for her to stop. "You're saying that a Grimm is what's been attacking all those ships?"

"Yeah." Ruby nodded. "I know it sounds crazy, but I saw it! It has huge tentacles that could smash a whole ship in half! Those suction cups could probably suck off your whole face! It's blood... Oh gods, it's blood...stank..."

Ruby was shivering, Yang realized, not from the cold. She went over, hugging Ruby and rubbing one hand across her back. "Easy lil' sis. You're safe now."

Ruby's face was buried in her sister's shoulder. "All those people... It, it... Oh my God..." She was starting to cry. "I can still hear them, screaming."

The whole room went tense. Weiss looked to Blake for any suggestions, but Blake had none. Jaune and Pyrrha regarded each other with more shock than they previously had. Nora and Ren had a strange dread in their eyes that wouldn't seem to go away.

"Now know why I called it the Devil?" Came a voice.

The eight students turned to see Damien Jonas standing by the door to Ruby's room.

"Damien?" Ruby whispered. "How?"

Damien lifted a bottle to his lips and took a swig. "Never thought I'd see that damn critter again after all these years. When I saw them things all over that ship, almost turned and high-tailed it out of there. But I'll be damned if I'm just abandoning anyone who survives that monstrosity."

"You saved my sister?" Yang asked.

"Along with the other two lucky souls." Damien answered. "Poor guys probably not going out to sea anytime soon though."

Ruby stared at the bottle he held. "Alcohol? But I thought you didn't drink?"

Damien stared at the bottle. "Well, nothing better than knowing the world's crazier than you. Now the worst part is the whole damn world is going to know about this monster. Figure the shipping lanes will be closed down for a while, if not, for good."

Weiss frowned. "Pardon me sir, but there has to be something this thing wants. I mean, you faced it before. Why did it leave last time?"

"Hell if I know kid." Damien groaned. "But one thing I know is that it's not leaving anytime soon."

Ports were closed down, shipping was suspended. Reports now came in daily on trying to find the massive creature. Many people didn't believe it. And yet, they had no other alternative.

"We've been here for four days now." Yang said as she watched the raindrops platter on the window. "Any idea when we'll get back?"

"Almost all the airships back in Vale are helping with the search or carrying supplies." Weiss replied. "I'm sure Ms. Goodwitch is trying to arrange something, but it may be a while before anything gets through."

Ruby was still asleep, curled up in her bed at the temporary dorm provided by the Vacuo teachers. She had opted to avoid contact with the Vacuo students. She wasn't in the mood for talking with them regarding her near brush with death. In fact, she wasn't in the mood for talking at all. She was still quite shaken from the whole ordeal.

Blake pulled her blanket over her. "I've never seen her like this."

"Me neither." Weiss nodded. Normally, Ruby would always be hyped over every new day. Now though, it seemed she had retreated into a shell and wouldn't come out. "But I suppose that is something even we could never be prepared for..."

'Knock knock'. Then, a voice. "May I come in?" The girls recognized it as Professor Port. Weiss nodded to Blake, who the shuffled over and opened the door. Just as the door opened a crack, Yang went over, stopping Blake from opening all the way.

"With all due respect Professor..." Yang said, her eyes hard. "Ruby is not going to answer any questions with regards to what happened out there."

"Relax." Professor Port said as he straightened his tie. "I am merely going to see how she is doing."

Yang looked unconvinced, but she agreed, allowing Blake to fully open the door. Professor Port stepped in, taking a look at Ruby. "She's been like this since?"

"Since the hospital discharged her, yeah." Yang nodded. "She doesn't want to talk or do anything really."

"I understand." Professor Port nodded. "The trauma can be difficult to cope with, especially trauma like that."

Weiss turned as Ruby stirred, ready to console the poor girl if another nightmare came. "I can't quite wrap my mind around it either. A Grimm large enough to pull ships down to the bottom of the sea..."

"Father is shocked." She continued. "He has suspended all form of Dust transport by ocean. That doesn't bode well for the other kingdoms. People need Dust in almost every aspect of life. Without safe sea travel, their stocks will start dwindling..."

"But worse than that, we have no idea how this creature works." She continued, folding her arms. "We don't even know how to fight it..."

The entire room fell into a glum silence that was broken occasionally by a crack of thunder. After a whole minute, Yang, deciding she had enough and had to let loose on some other unfortunate punching bag, stood up and went to the gym. Blake followed, knowing she could very well mean the end of the gym or anyone who poked around with too many questions.

"So Professor," Weiss asked. "Any idea when we might be able to go home? What has Professor Ozpin said?"

"The news doesn't sound promising my dear." The portly man frowned. "He has been trying his best, but there are people more influential than he could ever strive to be. We may be stuck here for weeks for all I know."

Weiss sighed. She hadn't been expecting the news to be this bleak. She turned on the television, hoping for better news. It was all the same, Dust transport ships grounded, sailors out of work. Weiss clicked the television off, knowing that there was nothing else to see besides more bad news. Even Professor Port had decided that his check-up was done and proceeded to do the same with the other students.

"Anything new?" Weiss swiveled her head to see Ruby getting out of bed. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Already the bandage had come off, but Weiss knew that some wounds heal slower than others.

"Just the same..." Weiss shrugged. "Nothing else until maybe after it leaves..."

Ruby gulped, her breathing quickening. Weiss berated herself for bringing the taboo subject up again.

"Or until someone gets rid of it..." Ruby said.

"Well, I'd like to see anyone try." Weiss frowned. "We don't even know where it is..."

Ruby stood up, moving over to the window, watching the rain fall. "What if someone could bait it?"

"What?" Weiss stared, baffled.

"You know, some food?" Ruby said, tracing the window with a finger. "And then maybe a whole load of Dust that will seriously hurt it when it goes off. It seems to favor attacking from below and then smashing the ship down in the middle. That's probably where its mouth will be. A big explosion right there should kill it..."

Weiss started to see the theory. "It might work. But how will anyone get the Dust we need?"

Ruby stared back at Weiss. Weiss, in reply, stared back. Some form of telepathic knowing had formed between the two of them since they became partners. Often, they were oblivious to it, but sometimes it broke through. Such as now.

"Are you kidding!?" Weiss screeched. "You can't be serious about going after that thing!"

"Someone has to." Ruby affirmed. "It's obviously not going to be just anyone."

"Don't be stupid Ruby!" Weiss shot out of the chair, glaring. "That thing nearly killed you! And you want to go after it again? You'll be putting innocent lives at risk!"

"But your dad's company has loads of those androids right?" Ruby said. "We can get them and then put them in place of anyone else."

"But still, we are talking about a gigantic monster that can sink ships!" Weiss was hyperventilating at this point. "And my father will flip the minute I request this of him!"

Ruby felt her hand clench into a fist. "Weiss, I know. Really."

"Then why?" She asked, desperate for an answer.

Ruby took a deep breath and looked up. Weiss now sensed some form of new vigor coursing through her veins. "Because we are Hunters and Huntresses. And it's up to us to protect those who can't protect themselves..."

Weiss wanted to argue back and reject the whole idea. But for some reason, she couldn't. She knew what Ruby felt and why she knew something had to be done.

God forgive me... Weiss thought as she breathed. "Okay. But we are going to Ms. Goodwitch first."

Ruby nodded. "Of course."