Of Runaways and Stowaways.

Seagulls call as a ship moves over peaceful blue waters. A pan of the boat from bow to stern reveals... Passengers strolling across both the upper and mid decks.

Blake rests her hands on the rail and stares out at the ocean. She blinks and looks over her right shoulder, somewhat startled. Two kids laugh over a joke. Blake almost smiles and turns to look back at the ocean.

Footsteps approach, followed by a voice "Traveling alone?".

Blake jumps and grips the hilt of Gambol Shroud. She halts her action when she sees the captain of the boat.

The Captain holds up his hands in a reassuring manner "Now, now, no threat here. Just here to chat".

Blake hesitates before relaxing her posture with a roll of her eyes "And why is that?".

The Captain lowers his arms and then twists to lean idly onto the rail "Well, not many people travel by boat on their own. It can be quite a lonely voyage. But I found those that do tend to have the more... interesting stories".

Blake turns away from the Captain "Maybe it's just... better for some people to be alone".

The two kids run behind Blake laughing and she gasps again, not expecting the noise behind her. She turns and blinks at them trying to reset her calm.

The Captain laughs a little at that "Maybe, but with your paranoia, I think a few friendly faces wouldn't hurt".

Blake glares a little at him "Who says I'm paranoid?!".

The Captain laughs again "No one, dear, no one. I'll leave you be" He turns and walks away, then stops "But uh, fair warning: these trips can be awfully boring".

The Captain continues on his way and Blake stares after him. Once he's gone, she turns and looks at the ground for a few seconds before reaching up and undoing her bow.

"Mmm" She holds the ribbon out over the railing "Won't be needing this".

Blake lets go and watches the ribbon swirl in the air once before landing on the water. She turns and walks away.

As she passes inside, two hooded figures is shown to be watching her from a distance.

Beside the ribbon on the ocean, the large scales of a sea creature are seen moving just above the surface. After they pass, the ribbon is gone.


Back in Vale, Cordelia is in her kitchen, preparing some dinner. While she was doing this, Severa was sitting in the living room, watching the news.

Lisa Lavender was on the news "Multiple rumors continue to circulate as to who was behind the attacks at the Vytal Festival Tournament. While no one knows for sure, officials have confirmed that high-ranking White Fang member, Adam Taurus was present for the attack. Any and all attempts to bring him into custody have been met with brutal force"

Adam's image appears on the screen at his name being spoken. Severa stares at him with her one good eyes and clenches her fists. Suddenly the news were turned of, making her blink and look to see her mother holding the remote.

"Enough of that. Dinner is ready, I made your favorite" Cordelia said as she put the remote down.

"Thanks... but I'm not hungry" Severa said before she stood up and headed for the door "I'm going to train for a bit".

Cordelia had a sad look as Severa walked out of the house and sighed. Ever since Beacon fell, Severa hadn't been the same. Her strong confidance and determination was all but gone, and she hasn't smiled even once. It was very clear that Severa was depressed, and Cordelia was running out of ways to help make her feel better.

Hours passed, and Severa was still training... She had broken several training swords, she was sweating a lot and ws breathing heavily. She stood in place for several seconds before memories of her time at Beacon flashed through her head. Her team, her friends... Blake...

She took several deep breaths "What is the point... What is the point to any of this!? THATS IT! I DON'T CARE ANYMORE!".

She throws the broken training blade away and began punching the ground over and over again.

"I DON'T CARE! I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYTHING ANYMORE! I DON'T CARE! I DON'T CARE! I DON'T CARE! I DON'T CARE!" She repeated as she keeps punching the ground over and over again.

Cordelia finally ran up after hearing Severa screaming "Severa!? Severs stop!".

She quickly rushed up and grabbed Severa's arms before she hurt herself even more. Severa struggled against her mother's grip, with tears flowing from her remaining eye.

"Severa! Stop! You're hurting yourself!" Cordelia said as she kept holding her broken daughter.

"What was the point!? What was the point in any of this!?" Severa yelled.

Crodelia grabbed Severa's face and made her look at her "Enough Severa! Please, just talk to me. What's wrong?".

Severa looks at her as she takes deep breaths, trying to calm herself down... and then her anger turned to sadness "It's all gone mom... The school... my team... my friends... Pyrrha... It's all gone, destroyed by those monsters".

"Severa..." Cordelia said softly.

"What was the point in anything? All my dreams, all my training... Everything I worked so hard for... I was all for nothing! NOTHING!" Severa screamed before looking down "I never trusted Cinder or her minions! Yet I stood by and did NOTHING as they did whatever they wanted! What was the point in me doing anything, if I couldn't even stop some horrible people from from destroyed everything!?".

Cordelia rubs her back "Severa, you had no way of knowing what would happen. No one saw it coming. You shouldn't blame yourself for something that wasn't your fault".

"Maybe... But that doesn't change anything. The school is still destroyed, my team are split... Pyrrha is DEAD! And Blake just ran away... After everything we did together, after all the promises we made... She just left me. When I needed her the most, she left me!" Severa said, sounding both angry and hurt.

Cordelia sighed and helped her up "Let's not do this here. Come on, let's talk inside".

They go inside and after some convincing, Cordelia finally managed to make Severa eat and drink something. Cordelia sits down in front of Severa and the two remained silent for a minute.

"Severa... I know things has been hard for you... What happened at Beacon was horrible, and I miss Pyrrha too. She was my niece, and I will forever be grateful to her for being there for you. But you are to strong to give up, I know because you got it from your father" Cordelia said.

Severa almost laughed "Oh, so now we can finally talk about him? After years of brushing it of or giving me vague answers?".

Cordelia sighed "I know I haven't been the mother you needed, or the one you deserved. I believed if I could make the world safer, then you would be happier. And because of it, you had to grow up almost completely alone. I can never make up for all the years I wasted by not being there for you. But I will be here for you now. And I will start by having the talk we should've had a long time ago... I am going to tell you who your father is".

Severa looked surprised but listened closely. She will finally have the answer she's been waiting years for.


It is dusk, and the boat continues its journey on the smooth water. There is still peaceful bird cry, and Blake is once again on the middle deck looking out at the ocean. A Faunus couple walk behind her and she watches them, slightly less twitchy than before. But the sight reminded her of Severa... someone she was convinced must hate her now for running away... which might be for the best.

It's when she's about to leave that she senses she is being watched by someone on the upper deck. It's the hooded figures, and she immediately takes out Gambol Shroud.

"Who's there?!" She demanded.

The hooded figures turns and runs for i. Blake stares up at the deck, no longer watching the ocean. She does not notice the dorsal fins of a giant sea creature momentarily surface. However, she feels the boat rocking on the wake it created and lets out a grunt as she tries to keep her balance.

The creature's long-necked shadow looms over Blake as she turns around to face the water. Its shadow also falls on a member of the crew on duty in the crow's nest, who is looking up at it in horror "RED ALERT!".

The alert immediately sounds. Two red lights next to a speaker pulse with the sound. The Captain and his First Mate come running out and look at the water from the upper deck, just above Blake.

The Captain murmurs as the shadow falls over him "By the gods...".

The long-necked creature is revealed to be a large Sea Feilong. It has a pattern of glowing red lines along the scales of its neck, and its eyes glow yellow. The Grimm swings its head back and forth, roaring and spreading its short forearms outward.

The Captain turns and calls out to the ship "All hands to battle stations!".

His First Mate spoke up "Sir, we've never fought a Grimm this big!".

"We've never seen something this big! But we'll give 'er a fight nonetheless!" The Captain declared.

Blake springs into action, running off the boat and into the air. She creates one of her clones to give her added upward momentum, flinging Gambol Shroud forward in its kusarigama form. Attached to the ribbon on her wrist, it embeds itself into the Grimm's neck.

Blake swings above the Grimm and shoots it in the back of its neck. It roars. Blake lands on the crow's nest while the Captain steers from the bridge.

He keeps the ship stabilized in the Grimm's wake and steps outside to get another look at it. Blake still shoots it while it arcs back into the water. The side of the ship opens up and the cannons come out.

Blake continues her assault on the sea creature, once again swinging and shooting. The ship's cannons fire but are mostly ineffective. Blake falls back onto the ship's deck, lands on her back, bounces, and quickly gets herself back onto her feet. She discovers that her left shoulder is hurt when she moves to stand.

The largest cannon on the ship rises up through a trapdoor on the deck, extends itself, and aims at the Grimm. The Grimm's dorsal fin splits apart and extra bone unfolds, revealing two wings. The Sea Feilong lets out a roar as it flies, its beating wings sending a gush of air at the ship. Blake cries out as she hangs on with her hurt left arm.

The heavy cannon shoots, but the Grimm easily evades it. It opens its mouth and an electric ball forms.

Blake readies to launch herself at it, but the hooded figure lands on her head and uses her as a launch pad "Hey!".

The figure grunts and the cloak falls back, revealing Sun. Midair, he activates his energy clones.

"Sun?!" Blake said in shock.

Sun and his clones land on the Grimm's head. The two clones pull on the topmost tendrils of the head while Sun grabs its upper lip "Not today, pal!".

When the Sea Feilong releases its electric blast, it goes harmlessly into the air, rather than at the ship.

"What are you doing?!" Blake demanded.

From atop the enraged Grimm's snout, Sun answers her while holding onto the two tendrils his now-disappeared clones had grabbed "Oh, uh, you know, just... hanging out!".

The Grimm manages to get a small electrical charge around Sun and he lets go, shouting as he falls. Blake gasps and immediately springs into action again. She jumps onto and off the railing, using Gambol Shroud's kusarigama form on the crow's nest to swing herself around and catch Sun midair. They land on nearby rocks, with her holding him bridal style.

Sun putts his hand to his heart "My hero!".

"You're not supposed to be here!" Blake said

"Yeah!? Well, it looks like you can use all the help you can get!" Sun pointed out.

The massive grimm charges towards them, but the second hooded figure showed up, and threw of her hood as she landed on the grimm's face before clawing it's eye, causing it to roar in pain.

"Lyre!?" Blake asked in the same shock as before.

"Yeah, she decided to come along. And there was no stopping her" Sun said.

Blake glares at him and then rolls her eyes and drops him "Just shut up and fight!".

She runs toward the ship in the water, where the Grimm is firing electric blasts at it. Sun is on the ground, striking a pose on his side with his hand propping up his head "Yes, ma'am!".

Lyre holds on as the large grimm was trying to shake her of, but she ramms her claws in to it's eye again, causing it to roar in pain and slams it's head against a boulder, hoping to smash her against it. But Lyre was quick enough to jump of before she could be crushed. The Grimm fires an blast, but Lyre was able to dodge it as she used her claws to climb around the larger rocks, and the grimm chases after her, snapping at her with it's large jaws. Lyre jumps away and Blake catches her, using Gamblo Shroud to swing them back on the boat.

On the deck, Blake is preparing to counter a hit from the Grimm's electric blast, but Sun jumps in between with a laugh of triumph. He uses Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang to deflect it and lands on the heavy cannon, resting his staff on his shoulder with a crooked grin.

"Huntsmen!" Lyre, Sun and Blake turn to the Captain who has come out onto the deck calling them "If you can clip its wings and draw it out towards the bow, we could take it!".

Blake turns away from the Captain to look up at Sun who shrugs "I mean, you're the one with the swords and claws".

Lyre radies her claws, and Blake sighed and readied her blades.

Sun spins his weapon back into a holstered position and runs toward the Grimm "Now or never!".

Sun activates three clones and jumps into the air. The first clone springs Blake and Lyre upward to the second clone, which does the same. The third clone swings them up. Sun waits, laughing and opening up his arms, but then loses his smile in confusion. Blake, instead of heading toward him, directs herself above him and lands on his shoulders. They sink a few feet while he grunts and Blake leaps upward off of him, using her line to pull Lyre with her. High above the Sea Feilong, they begins her descent, avoiding the electric blasts it shoots at them. Lyre and Blake runs down its wings, slicing through the thin membrane.

Sun smirks as he waits for her on the rock she's readying to land on and catches her. The impact causes the rock surface to crack around them while he's left holding her bridal style. Blake smiles at him until he speaks "This is the part where you say it".

Blake turns her head away "Ugh".

Lyre smacks Sun on the head, making him drop Blake who lands on her feet. The Grimm moves around them, causing the precarious rocky area to collapse. Blake and Lyre is on the move again, leaving Sun behind.

"Okay, maybe later!" Sun jumps off the collapsing rock. The Sea Feilong flies after them, knocking rocks down as he goes. The Captain watches from the bridge through a spyglass before throwing a handle and increasing the boat's speed. It sails beside the destructive Grimm, keeping apace.

Sun continues to hop around, avoiding the Grimm's attacks until one more move puts him directly in front of its open mouth. Blake swings in on her ribbon and gets him out of reach. The Grimm prepares a blast to get them both in one shot when it is impaled by the bowsprit of the boat.

The heavy cannon fires and hits the Grimm dead on. Its upper half is blasted to pieces, and it dies immediately. The Captain, the First Mate and Crew Member all cheer. The cheer is upheld by the passengers on the ship who also join in with applause. On their rock, Sun celebrates while Blake smiles and lowers her head in relief.

"Ha-ha! Up top!" Sun lifting his hand for a high five.

Lyre smiles and gives him one. When he tries getting one from Blake, she turns and glares at him.

Sun wiggles his hand with a grin "Eh?".

With a cry, Blake swings her arm around to slap him in the face. Lyre flinched as Blake's hand connects to Sun's face... that must've stung... And Blake's wrath did not end with Sun as she glares at Lyre, who gulps as her fellow feline faunus storms towards her.

It is nighttime on the middle deck of the ship. Blake is at the railing again, only this time facing sideways. Lyre was standing next to her but hadn't said a word since she showed up with Sun. Something Blake had noticed.

"Seriously, it was no big deal!" Sun is talking to two of the Faunus passengers "Just enjoy the rest of your trip and everything will be cool! We got this!" The two Faunus wave goodbye and turn away. Sun struts over to the girls "You'd think they'd never seen a fight before".

"What are you two doing here?" Blake demanded

"Diggin' the new outfit, by the way!" Sun said as he pointed to her ears "Never did like the bow".

Blake slaps his hand away "Sun! Have you two been following me?!".

Sun looks a touch abashed "I saw you run off. The night Beacon Tower fell. Once we landed in Vale, you made sure everyone was okay. And then you just took off, without saying anything".

"I had to. You wouldn't understand" Blake said.

"No, I get it! The moment you left, I knew exactly what you were doing!" Sun began and Blake smiles at him, pleased at feeling understood "You're going on a one-woman rampage against the White Fang!".

Blake's happy expression falls in disbelief "What?".

"You always felt like the Fang was your fight. They show up, trash your school, hurt your friends. It makes perfect sense!" Sun said.

Blake looked annoyed now "I can't believe you".

"But there's no way I'm letting you do this alone! It's an honorable approach, for sure, but you're going to need someone to watch your back. And that's where I come in! Us Faunus got to stick together, after all" Sun said as he puts his arms around both girls.

"You're wrong, Sun" Blake said as she pushes him off "You're so, so wrong".

Blake turns her back on him and walks away, much to the monkey faunus' confusion "What are you...".

"I'm not going anywhere near the White Fang. Not yet" Blake said.

"Seriously?" Sun asked.

"I need to sort some things out" Blake said.

"Then why not do it with your team? Your friends?" Sun asked as if the answer should be painfully obvious.

Blake glares at him "You're one to talk! Assuming Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet aren't hiding below deck!".

Sun almost laughs at that "You really think I could get Neptune on the ocean? They flew back to Mistral! I told them I'd catch up! It's not the first time I left them to take a boat!".

Blake shakes her head before looking at Lyre "And you! Why aren't you saying anything?".

Lyre looked away, rubbing her neck, and Sun had to answer for her.

"Yeah, her neck got messed up really bad during the battle at Beacon. Talking... isn't really that simple for her anymore" Sun said in a sad tone.

Blake got wide eyes and looked at him "Wait, you mean she's...".

"Mute? Well not completely. She can still speak... it's just very difficult for her now" Sun said.

Lyre flinched, she hated having someone to talk for her. But after her own sister nearly tore her vocals out, she didn't have much choice.

"Lyre... I'm sorry" Blake said and Lyre only gave her a forced smile in a failed attempt to tell her she was fine... which she clearly wasn't.

"So, if you're not going after the White Fang, where are you going?" Sun asked

"Home, to Menagerie" Blake answered.

"Well, we're coming with you. The Grimm are getting worse; you saw it yourself! And just because you're not going after the Fang doesn't mean they won't be coming for you! Besides, we're... kind of already on the boat" Sun said.

"There's really no stopping you two?" Blake asked.

"Nope! This is going to be great! Never been in Menagerie before! It'll be a regular journey to the east! Yeah, I like the sound of that" Sun said.

Lyre smiled. She too wanted to visit Menagerie. If nothing else, it would make an interesting trip.

.

Tell me what you think.