A/N: I do apologize, I have been spending spring break in Turkey, which is why I was not able to update this fanfic. Aside from that, thank you to Grezz and Blades for reviewing! And I agree, I will miss the whole Chang'e x Mercury in the last version, but...maybe there will be fluff between those two! Also, this is my uh..."first" attempt at humor.
She stared off into the distant horizon, the sun painting the sky beyond the eastern shores. She would miss Xian, but perhaps this was for the better. In order to reunite with her husband, she knew she would have to take the initiative.
She contemplated her mission. Of course, it was simple as it sounded: find new allies, and bring them to China to inaugurate them into the Elysian Order. The ship would first sail to nearby countries such as Japan and the Philippines, but she had her doubts about recruitment. From what she heard, the Japanese pantheon abstained from involving themselves in the war, and the Filipino Pantheon was too chaotic to even consider.
The sound of the waves calmed her thoughts down.
Thumping creaked on the wooden ship, approaching Chang'e. The furry Yue Tu sniffed the air, before hopping up right next to her.
"At least Gong Gong isn't here to eat us, right?" He joked.
She giggled at his ill joke.
"So, we should be in Japan a few days from now. Hopefully the Gods there will be friendly to our cause." He paused. "...Or maybe the Buddhas, but that's hoping for too much."
The ship sailed into neutral territory. She felt the spiritual power shift as the ship sailed further and further away from China. She knew that in neutral territories, rouge beings followed their own ways, but she felt content knowing that various protection talismans were implemented on the ship. They were still near Chinese waters, so perhaps Mazu was watching over them.
"So...I didn't want to ask this until later, but what will you do once we find Hou Yi?"
Chang'e stared at Yue Tu, who stared back at her. A certain thought crossed her mind, and in an instant, she picked him up and held him over the waves.
Yue Tu held a neutral face, much similar to her own. "I know you won't drop me, but could you please put me back." He wasn't fond of heights.
Sighing, she dropped him back on the ship.
It wasn't that she was angry with him or at the question, but if she was forced to fight her husband...it was an unpleasant thought. In the past, they had never really fought before. Perhaps there was the occasional argument, but a full-blown battle?
Until the time came, she would ignore such thoughts. She hoped that such a time would never come though.
"I still think you should move on though, that Hou Yi ain't waiting ar-"
She threw him off the ship.
"Chang'eee!" She ignored his distant screams as she continued to dramatically stare off into the distance.
The wind screamed and the rain poured like a waterfall. The ship rocked back and forth as the Divine Winds roared all over. Although the waves threatened to destroy the ship, the talismans prevented just enough damage to last through the trip. Were the Japanese Gods denying the other pantheons as well?
Below deck, Chang'e sipped a cup of tea, next to an annoyed Yue Tu who still hadn't forgiven her for throwing him off-deck.
"I still can't believe you did that!" He lamented on how his beautiful fur had gotten wet.
She just gave him a small stare, and before she could respond, a monstrous roar echoed throughout the stormy night. Something had struck the ship, but the structure still held fast.
Quickly reacting, she accidentally dropped her cup of tea on Yue Tu, and rushed out of the room as the rabbit rolled around the floor in pain.
She gasped at the monstrosity that attacked the ship. It was enormous, larger than Ao Kuang's true form. A sea serpent whose body elongated enough to cover the entire ship. Beautiful in form, a God stood above the sea serpent's head, garbed in white robes that covered his entire body. A strange sword rested by his side. The man's features were young, and it seemed that from his facial expression, he harbored no ill-intent on the Chinese ship.
The sailors hadn't move, but they were ready to defend Chang'e. Some, however, had already bowed down, recognizing the man's divine powers.
"State your presence in Japan's waters."
Though Chang'e expected a battle, she knew that on water, she had no advantage. She was the only God on the ship. The threatening clouds also covered the moon, so her power had no benefits here. She could perhaps fly, but where to? Not to mention that she would be abandoning an entire ship of mortals. She humbled herself, and bowed to the God known as Susano.
Yue Tu came rushing to her side, clearing his throat, as though there were no pain present in his voice. Stained tea was still somewhat present on his fur.
"We come in peace." Yue Tu announced. Susano simply stared at the strange rabbit whose fur was drenched in stained tea.
Slowly the sea serpent uncoiled itself from the ship until it floated by itself once more. Chang'e felt the talismens weakening, and she knew that another blow would signal the end of the ship. Although the storm did not stop, Susano offered (though Chang'e knew it was more of a command) to guide the ship to the mainland, where she would be met by more Gods.
It wasn't until later that the storm let up to show the night sky. The moon shone itself on her body, and she slightly shone with a white, pale color. The waves rocked the ship in a calm fashion. She knew the worse was over, for now. She stood at the front of the ship, watching Susano and his sea serpent slither toward land.
She knew that as the ship neared Japan, various beings and Gods watched. But from where? She did not know.
A/N: It's a short chapter, I know. Perhaps not my best writing either. But I dislike updating slowly. If anything, I'll update frequently, but with short chapters (I'll edit it in the future). Now, my question is, should I show Chang'e discussing alliances with some pantheons or just skip to the end results and return to the main story?