My event is over! God, I was just so happy when it was done that I barely slept that night from sheer joy. I kept waking up, but instead of feeling tired I felt euphoric and wanted to burst out laughing. It went well – very well. I've been told it was the best we've ever run the event, and, as usual, I looked so confident and the speech was so good, yada yada, all that stuff the guests compliment me over as I stand there thinking that they must have been hallucinating to think any of it.

I hate public speaking. I really do. That I can do it is solely because I was forced into it and had no other choice. Anyone can do public speaking. Anyone can become good at it given enough tries. That doesn't automatically mean you will enjoy it. I certainly don't.

Cover Art: Kirire

Chapter 22

The disappearances had been happening for a little over four months, which placed them strictly at a time when Blake had still been in the White Fang and so should have noticed them. That she hadn't bothered her more than she cared to admit; it was further proof that the signs had always been there and she, like so many others, had ignored them. It was one thing when it was supernatural creatures or vague signs left in the sand, but missing people – how had she not paid attention to that? Too busy lost in her books and trying to avoid her parents lest she have an awkward conversation.

"Any luck?" asked Jaune. He was sat in the Belladonna home, having had precisely no fortune of his own. In fact, him being with her had actively hindered her attempts to question people because they couldn't stop shooting him looks. Having a human come and ask about missing faunus had set bells off in people's heads, much to her displeasure.

"It started four months ago and there have been ten who have gone missing so far. Eight of them were below the age of eighteen, and the other two were twenty and twenty-two. The youngest was eleven. About an even split of male and female."

"And it's always on the beaches?"

"We have no witnesses," said Blake with a shrug. "The search parties went out that way though, which implies to me their families expected them to be on the beaches."

"Is that a thing children do around here?"

"It's not uncommon to go play in the surf or hunt for shells in the evening. The moonlight on the water makes it shine, and sometimes you see luminescent plankton…" Blake trailed off. "That's not an anomaly, is it?"

"If you're asking whether bioluminescent creatures are anomalous then no, but anomalies can be bioluminescent. Is it a new occurrence?"

Blake shook her head. "I've played in the water since I was young; it's always been there. Usually at certain times of the year."

"Then it's probably normal. The disappearances aren't. How is the Grimm presence here?"

Menagerie didn't get that many terrestrial Grimm because of the landscape. The desert and scrubland outside Kuo Kuana was sparse and practically uninhabitable, and while that didn't stop Grimm existing out there it made sure they could see any of them coming for miles. The watchtowers were usually enough to catch Grimm hours before they drew close. The ocean was a far greater threat, and fishermen, merchants and sailors knew well the danger it posed.

"That's mostly out in the deeper water though," said Blake. "The shallows are just that. The only Grimm that could swim in there would be tiny, and most kids know better than to swim out too far. The current can be just as dangerous."

"Is there a chance that took them?"

"There's a chance," admitted Blake. She said it in such a way that made it clear she doubted it. "The problem is that this is Menagerie. There isn't a child here that doesn't understand the danger the water poses. Everyone learns to swim at a young age, and there are classes on safety about the ocean in every school."

Blake didn't believe for an instant that so many would be swept out like that, and Sienna had called them disappearances as well, making it clear she was of the same mind. To the people living here, the ocean was a simple fact of life and something to be respected, but not to be feared. Knowing what she did now, she didn't doubt there were terrible and strange aquatic anomalies that would make her mind churn – Cthulhu didn't sound so impossible now.

"How does ARC Corp deal with aquatic anomalies?"

"Poorly." Jaune said it flat, and Blake grimaced. She hadn't expected much better. "There's just too much of the ocean that is unexplored, and too much that is literally unreachable. It could be another world down there for all we know. Any that come onto land or threaten it like the Rusted Queen we deal with as best we can, but we don't normally go hunting anomalies in the depths."

Blake guessed they took care of witnesses on their own for the most part. A ship goes down, its crew vanish, and everyone blames it on freak weather, pirates or Grimm. Swimmers pulled beneath the waves was sharks; strange lights deep in the ocean were jellyfish, plankton or tricks of the eye. ARC Corp didn't necessarily go after every anomaly that existed, rather it prioritised the ones that were threatening to go public.

"The disappearances are becoming known," pointed out Blake. "If this keeps getting worse then we run the risk of a Reality Class."

Jaune snorted, ducked his head and then looked up at her with a wry grin. "You don't need to convince me if you want to look into this. Kuo Kuana is your home. I'll help you find out what is happening."

Blake blushed, embarrassed to have been caught. "Thanks…"

/-/

The beach was not empty, even at the late hour. The sun had set an hour ago and now the moon rose, its shattered bulk reflecting rays across the ocean and making each wave ripple. Blake watched it, wondering in awe for a moment what colossal or monstrous creature could have shattered it. They were thoughts she had never had before, and thoughts few had considered. She spared some for how ARC Corp had covered that up too. Meteorite strike? Volcanic activity? Her attention was drawn away when Jaune tutted angrily.

"What are all these kids doing out here? Do they want to get in trouble?"

Sure enough, the beach was being visited by young faunus who were playing in the shallows, building sandcastles and even a few fishing with little nets on sticks. To their credit, a few older faunus were nearby keeping an eye on things, but she could understand his frustration.

"You can't just ban people going near the ocean."

"I don't see why not."

He moved on with a grumble, his shoes crunching softly in the sand. Several faunus children looked his way, and some pointed. A few looked intrigued by the human, but most shied away, and Blake caught one mother, or an older sister, come and collect a child, picking them up and carting them away as if Jaune was some sort of predator. Blake scowled at the woman's back. It had always seemed to her like the humans were the racist ones and they were the victims, never that it could be the other way around.

Jaune moved away from the playing children and down the coast, closer to the desert land and away from the families. He stood at the edge of the tide, the water faintly lapping at the fronts of his shoes as he looked out over the water. Blake came up to stand beside him, her hands in her pockets and the chill air making the little hairs on her ears prickle. "Anything?"

"I'm not really sure what I'm looking for," said Jaune. "No rumours but for the disappearances, and no leads but that it's young people." He eyed her out the corner of one eye, and Blake crossed her arms. She had a sinking suspicion and he proved her right a second later. "You're about the right age."

"I'm also recognisable."

"To other faunus, sure, but if this is an anomalous creature…"

"I really don't want to be bait."

"Would you rather we hire a child to use instead?"

"Can't we use a cardboard cut-out?"

"Not if it hunts on scent, heat, blood or anything else."

Blake sighed. Thirty minutes later, she was sat on the sand in a spare summer shirt and sarong borrowed from her mother's wardrobe. It was a terribly bright and airy thing with green fabric dotted with yellow flowers. Neither colour screamed Blake Belladonna, but her mother had always told her black and purple could not make a full wardrobe. The water brushed up against her sandals and her toes, and she clung to her knees, chill and annoyed as the hour grew later and most of the children departed. Now, the parents had real cause to worry about Jaune since he was presumably a short distance away with a pair of binoculars looking every part the creep.

"Why am I always the bait?" grumbled Blake to herself. "Oh, I don't have aura. I'm fragile. Bah." She flicked some sand away from herself. "We really need to hire someone else to take the fall for a change. Maybe I shouldn't have been so hard on Ruby."

The moon rose higher, the tide swept in, and Blake shivered as the water lapped at her butt, now even colder. She could and probably should have moved back, but if she was going to lure some eldritch horror out the depths then she might as well act vulnerable. If nothing else, she could get to smash a tentacled fiend's face in. Oh hell, if this was a tentacle monster than aura or not, she was throwing Jaune at it. She'd read enough comics to know what happened to school-age faunus girls around a tentacle monster. What those sick artists thought a faunus' ears could be used for – humans, for sure – had set her to shivering. They were her ears for crying out loud.

Blake's scroll buzzed and she pulled it out. The text was obviously from Jaune. If his name didn't give that away, then the awful idea it contained did. Try frolicking in the water a bit.

"Do I look like someone who frolics in water?" asked Blake, standing up with a groan. She didn't so much stroll as kick her way into the water, until it was lapping at her knees, then began to say, in a flat monotone, "Yay. Water. I am having so much fun. My life is enriched by the feeling of wet sand under my feet and creepy fish swimming about my toes. Brrr, this is cold." She clutched her arms and said, louder, "Can you just come and try and eat me already? I'm freezing out here."

The monster from beneath the depths didn't answer. In fact, the water was so clear to her night vision that she could see there was nothing but fish all around. Yet another reason for it to have been so unlikely that the others were attacked without realising it. Menagerie lacked in industry, so the water was crystal clear, and faunus eyes weren't fooled by the dark. Whatever had taken them can't have snuck up on them. Not if it was a hideous monster at any rate.

"It's no good," said Blake once she plodded back out onto the beach wringing her sarong out. It was soaked through and obnoxiously heavy now. Jaune tossed her a towel that she wrapped around her shoulders. "I didn't see a thing."

"Maybe it only goes for a certain type of person."

Blake scowled. "Pick your next words carefully."

"I mean someone vulnerable and weak." Wise choice. "Or maybe it only comes out on certain days, certain conditions or any number of things. Do you know if it was always raining on the days the people went missing?"

She had no idea and said so, and Jaune sighed. This wasn't going anywhere fast, and she was surprised the one with the Welcoming House had been so easy. Then again, thought Blake, the Welcoming House actively approached people to try and lure them in. I'd have not found it otherwise.

"There are some people we could talk to," said Blake. "They're… well, they're fanatics. Not the kind of people I'd ever want to deal with. Adam used to handle them before, but they've always been well-connected. They tend to know things."

"Information brokers?"

"Of a sort…" The Albain brothers were too extreme for her liking, but Sienna had once said they were too well-informed and too useful to get rid of. They'd never accept dealing with Jaune, a human, but they might deal with her. "I can try and talk to them tomorrow. The problem is that they're unlikely to want to help us…"

"Is everyone on Menagerie so singularly unhelpful? Is it a faunus thing?"

Blake shot him a look. "That's awfully close to a racist statement."

"Are you really accusing me of racism here of all places? Where I can't go for a walk without people glaring at me?" The candid commentary had her cringing. "Honestly, let's just head back to your parents and see these people in the morning."

"Y-Yeah. That sounds like a plan. I wonder how everything is doing back in Vale."

"Ruby can't get into that much trouble," said Jaune.

Blake wasn't so sure.

/-/

"Prostrate yourselves!" screamed the man in red robes, falling to his knees. "The God has come once again!" His hands rose above his head, and he brought them down, echoed by hundreds of others. Electronic billboards flashed to giant symbols of cookies bring broken over and over. The masses fell to their knees. "Oh, she who watches on us from high. Tell your faithful where the cookie crumbleth!"

The gargantuan, looming face in the sky cocked its… well, its gargantuan looming face, to the side. Its lips parted, and the world stood still, locked in a moment of awe and fear. "I demand-"

Ring-Ring-Ring-Ring-Ring

The priest's eyes bulged out. "THE BELL TOLLS! THE WORLD IS AT ITS END!"

People began to scream and run around in panic, while others flung themselves to the ground and wept. The face looked off to the side, into the vast cosmos, and then back. "No, wait," it boomed. "That's just my scroll. Uh. Rain check? I'll catch you all later. Stay at peace, be good and uh… eat your cookies and milk."

"THE GODDESS HATH SPOKEN!" wept a vastly overweight man. "WE NEED MORE COOKIES!"

"Cookie! Cookie! Cookie!" droned the mass of red-hooded figures.

Ruby Rose darted away from the globe and hopped over Timothy, who was busy making a nest of webbing in the corner of the room to sleep in. She landed funny, hopped onto Jaune's desk and snatched her scroll, absentmindedly flicking Timothy a few crickets that he gleefully ground up in his mouth full of molars.

"ARC Corp Offices. Acting-Director Ruby Rose speaking. What is your catastrophe?"

"Hey sis."

Ruby deflated. "Oh. It's you."

"What's with that reaction?" demanded Yang, thoroughly affronted. "Am I not your favourite sister in the whole wide world?"

"You're my only sister. And I thought it might be an important call."

"I'm not important?"

"I'm working a job, Yang. I have responsibility." Ruby idly looked to the globe she'd been playing with, along with Jaune's laptop, open to past case files, that she'd been power-reading like it was the latest X-Ray and Vav issue. "I'm Acting-Director of ARC Corp now. I don't have time for chat with whiny big sisters."

"I've half a mind to come down and give you trouble for that."

Ruby looked to Timothy and the anti-mailman web he had set up above the door. He had taken to hanging from it above people who came in, waiting for his chance to pounce. He hated the mailman especially, not understanding the concept of mail pushed through a slot. On the other side, the mailman was convinced they had a very aggressive dog that kept snatching the post out his hand. Ruby didn't have the heart to correct him.

"That would be a bad idea. A really bad idea."

"I know. I know. Dad gave me the whole `Ruby has a part-time job and is taking it very seriously` schtick. It's not like I never pulled a few shifts to afford Bumblebee. And I have a good reason for calling."

Ruby wasn't convinced. "Mmmm."

"Are you doubting me?"

"No. No." lied Ruby. "I would never doubt my wonderful big sister."

"Hmmm." Yang didn't sound convinced. "Whatever. Look, it was ARC Corp that dealt with that weird-ass stalker in Beacon, right? The one who was stealing underwear and using a Semblance to go invisible."

"Yes…"

"And ARC Corp deals with people exploiting their Semblances for bad purposes, right?"

"Not really, but sure, go on."

"Well, I mean you're private investigators, right? Ozpin hired you."

"That's closer." And about as close as Ruby could ever really say. Yang, sadly, would never understand, and it was better she not learn of the twilight world. Ruby sighed dramatically, then fist pumped. Oh yeah, that sounded so cool.

"Ruby?"

"What? Oh, uh, repeat that? I was taking notes."

"I bet you were. I said that I overheard Uncle Qrow talking about a bar he went to, and he was talking to Ozpin." Ruby's interest faded on the mention of Qrow and bar, because that was an all too common and all too miserable thing. "And then I heard Ozpin say that whatever happens, he can't let ARC Corp find out about it."

Ruby perked up. "He said that?"

"I'm sure of it. And I was, like, pretty weirded out by the whole conversation, especially since Uncle Qrow was in Beacon and didn't even pop in to say hi." And that was something of a crime where Yang was concerned. Ruby didn't doubt for a second this whole phone call was essentially one big `fuck you, uncle Qrow` moment. "Ozpin then said that Qrow should be careful, but that he could go back if he wanted, and as long as he wasn't being followed."

"Uh-huh. And did they say what for?"

"Not that I heard. Anyway, that's not the main point. I want to hire you to help me find out what's going on and teach Uncle Qrow a lesson."

"Hire me? With what?"

"Hire ARC Corp."

"Uh." Ruby looked around the Containments Office. "Two thirds of ARC Corp is currently on holiday and I'm kind of holding the fort on my own. I can talk to them when they get back in a week or so."

"Nah, we can do this. Sister-sister bonding. I mean, it's just following Uncle Qrow. How hard can that be?"

Given the dangerous and wild anomalies ARC Corp faced, Ruby wasn't quite so confident. "I don't know…"

"Oh, come on. Where's your spirit of adventure? It's been ages since we did anything together. Plus, I bet your boss will be super impressed if you solve a case without him having to get involved."

Ruby knew she was being manipulated.

Ruby knew it was working.

"You think so!?"

"I know so! He'll have no choice but to take you on full-time."

"Y-Yeah!" Ruby hopped up. "Yeah!" she said, more confidently. What was that old saying? Better to say sorry for stealing a cookie than to ask if you could take a cookie in the first place. Something like that. "Let's do it!"

"Cool. I'll meet you at your office."

"NO!" shrieked Ruby. She heard Yang pull away, deafened, on the other end of the line. "I mean… uhh…" Timothy, the webbing, crickets, abandoned takeout packets, cans and bottles of soda, dirty clothing. Ruby cringed. "I haven't… um…"

"You've turned the office into a mirror image of your bedroom, haven't you?"

"No. Yes. Maybe. You can't prove anything."

"Ugh." Yang sighed. "Then how about we meet at the street corner outside and go from there. I'll catch you in an hour." Yang hung up, and Ruby set her scroll down, drawing and releasing a long breath.

"I'm only doing this because Yang would get in trouble on her own if I didn't," she lied, both to Timothy, to Jaune, and to herself. "I'm totally not doing this because I want to or think it's cool. I'm doing this to maintain the secrecy of ARC Corp." Ruby filled Timothy's dog bowl with crickets and another with water, walked by the globe, stuck her face in to say, "Don't tell Jaune a thing!" and left.

"Praise!" cried the little globe, quietly. "All praise the giant head!"

/-/

The Albain brothers agreed to meet them with remarkable ease – ease enough to have Blake glaring suspiciously as they were shown into the backrooms of a small and quiet diner and drinking house at noon the next day. Blake sniffled the cold she could just feel forming on the edge of her sinuses and glowered at Fennec or Corsac. It was never worth trying to remember which was which.

"Blake Belladonna," said the one that Blake mentally decided would be Fennec. "I hope you understand how troubling your return to Menagerie has been for us."

"Should I feel troubled by that?"

"You should," said the other, "for I doubt it is in your best interests that Adam learns of your presence. That is no threat." He held a hand up to ward her away. "We have done our best to keep news of your arrival subdued, or at least limited to the island."

Blake eyed them warily. "Why?"

"It is not in our best interests to have him focus overmuch on you." The brother sat, poured himself a glass of water and drank from it, then poured each of them one in turn. The glasses themselves could have been poisoned, but Jaune ruined that by grabbing and downing his with no hesitation. Neither of the brothers reacted to it, so Blake assumed it was safe.

"Adam's infatuation with you was never our business before," said Corsac, "But it becomes out business when it influences his decisions. We are loyal to the White Fang first and foremost, and Adam…" He sighed. "He is a man to be followed and admired when he is in his right mind, and the poster child for a toxic ex when he is not. I'm sure you can understand why we would rather it be the former and not the latter."

Blake could, both from a sensible and a strategic point of view. It would probably be a bad look for Adam to come back and start acting up in public around her as well. The White Fang called Menagerie home, but it was oversimplifying things to say everyone in Menagerie approved of them. Some did, some did not, and some were on the fence, and Sienna and the White Fang here were forever putting their best face forward with the masses. Adam was usually pretty good at that and hadn't always been the violent maniac he was now. He'd been charismatic, charming, inspiring and caring once upon a time.

"I don't intend to stay long," said Blake. "Just a week to catch up with my parents and then I – we – will be off. Until then, we were hoping to help out with the local disappearances."

"Is that why you were out sat in the shallows while the human stalked you?" asked Fennec, amused. Blake was far less so and glared at him. "Oh, come now. Do you expect we wouldn't have people keeping an eye on the sole human on Menagerie? You should be lucky we thought to, as our agents have already warded off a few who thought to teach the human a lesson."

They'd have been the ones learning it if they tried anything on Jaune. He may not have had aura, but he was no pushover, and Blake would have torn them a new one for trying. She doubted it was out of the kindness of their hearts that they had their people intervene either. A human being brutalised on Menagerie would look all kinds of bad and might attract the kind of attention the White Fang didn't need.

Jaune, of course, didn't get that. Or maybe he did and just ignored it. He smiled and said, "Thank you for that. I really appreciate you looking out for me."

Fennec – or was it Corsac? – looked, bemused, to Blake, who shrugged back. There were times even she couldn't tell if Jaune was being stupid, naïve or sarcastic. It was better to just roll with it.

"Yes… well… We're not sure what interest the two of you have in this, but you're clearly beyond suspicion given you have been watched at all times. If you want to look into it then by all means." Fennec waved his hand. "We've had precious little luck ourselves. The authorities, Sienna and your parents haven't had much fortune either."

"You've been watched the beaches then?" asked Jaune. The twins looked annoyed to have to answer a human, but they put aside their dislike.

"For the last month, yes. We thought the first few might have been accidents, but by the time six people had vanished we realised something was up. Unfortunately, our people haven't seen anything. We've also tried setting bait for whatever, or whomever, is out there, but it is never taken."

"Fishermen have trawled the depths around the island as well," said the other. "We've had divers out looking for bodies, evidence, anything to bring back to the families. Nothing. Whatever happened to them, their bodies were taken far away from the island."

"And there hasn't been an uptake in Grimm?" asked Blake.

"None that has stood out. About the same few attacks as usual on fishing vessels, but never close to the island. At least a kilometre out in all cases."

"What about ships?" asked Jaune. "Any unusual ships?"

"None that have docked here," said Fennec. "Although…"

"Brother, no…"

"What is it?" asked Jaune. "Anything can help."

"There have been rumours…" Fennec cringed when his brother clicked his tongue. "I'm sorry, Fennec, but it doesn't hurt to share." Huh, so she'd gotten it wrong after all and that was Corsac. No matter. He turned to them. "There have been rumours from the fishermen, fanciful tales I'm sure, of a haunted vessel out on the water."

"It's nonsense." said Fennec. "More likely it's a trick of the eye."

"Or maybe it is a vessel," said Blake. "A ghost ship…"

It was a mistake, she realised in hindsight, and Jaune was quick to pounce on it. "Ghosts aren't real, Blake." He slammed his hand on the table, leaned in and whispered to the Albain brothers. "You'll have to forgive her. Too much time in Vale with cable TV has rotted her brain."

Blood rushed to Blake's face. "I didn't say I believed-"

"I have heard of how the drivel can rot one's mind," said Corsac.

"It's definitely rotted hers," agreed Jaune, while Blake's teeth were grinding together behind him. "Gone completely over the cuckoo's nest. I mean, really, ghosts? Paranormal? Supernatural?" He laughed. It was a hoarse laugh that had the Albain brothers exchanging odd glances. "Ha ha ha!" said Jaune, enunciating each word. "Silly, superstitious, stupid Blake." He punched her arm fondly. "You're so dumb."

The Albain brothers stared at Blake; Blake stared at Jaune; Jaune stared at the world with a big, goofy smile.

I will kill you, thought Blake. I will kill you slowly and painfully.

"Yes. Well." Fennec cleared his throat. "Quite. Leaving aside issues of ghost ships, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that they did indeed see a vessel, but lost track of it in the mists. Most of the sightings are in either the early morning or the late afternoon, before the sun sets."

"You mean a totally mundane ship?" asked Jaune.

Corsac looked at him askance. "Is there any other kind?"

"There is not. Good on you for understanding that." Jaune's smile was dazzling. "But, hypothetically speaking, if we wanted to have a look for this totally normal vessel then where and how would we go about that?"

"This is Menagerie. There are always ships in the water. What comes and goes is typically recorded, but I assume you're asking if someone could have snuck in and abducted the children." Fennec shrugged. "We had considered it of course – it was our main suspicion beyond the Grimm. We've had speedboats going about looking, but any rumours we hear of the ship always fall to nothing. We have never been able to catch it, nor even to lay eyes on it."

"Can we borrow a boat off you?" asked Jaune.

Corsac snorted. "Absolutely not. Our vessels are important to the cause and not to be loaned to any human-"

"What if I paid you half a million lien?"

Corsac's mouth fell open. "W-What?"

Jaune slammed a briefcase onto the table. "Cash."

/-/

"We're funding terrorism," said Blake.

"Legitimate terrorism," agreed Jaune. "Normal, mundane and totally non-anomalous terrorism. That's the best kind of terrorism."

"You realise that money is going to be used for terrible purposes."

"As opposed to the money we pay in tax that gets siphoned off by corrupt politicians to favour their allies, line their own pockets and fund morally questionable business enterprises. We don't control the world, Blake, only the anomalous parts of it."

Jaune sat at the prow of the rather fancy speedboat (likely stolen) with a gun mounted to the front. It was a fast thing that had gone from cutting through the waves to aquaplaning with remarkable speed. Blake was stood behind the wheel with her right hand on the lever, grumbling to herself at the thought of the Albain brothers with half a million lien.

"Besides, it's not even that much."

"To you maybe!"

"To them as well. I mean, really, funding an international terrorist group who has to fight against Grimm, huntsmen and Atlas soldiers can't be cheap. Do you really think half a million is going to make a big difference? They'll probably use it here on the island to push the home front angle."

That didn't change what they'd done and who they had given it to. Blake shook her head and ignored the conversation; ARC Corp's motto, and thus Jaune's, was that if it wasn't anomalous then it was none of their business. Faunus were anomalous, but they were Reality Class now, so there was no point getting involved in their business. Blake wasn't sure if she liked that attitude or not, but she supposed she'd rather this than ARC Corp on an anti-faunus campaign of genocide.

"Are there anomalous terrorists?" asked Blake.

"We class the Schnee family as that."

That was, she thought, a very fair and reasonable thing to do. "Any others?"

"There are always a few that crop up every now and then. It's usually some variation of a group of people who have discovered anomalies, like the power and want to collect more to become even more powerful. It ends one two ways – either ARC Corp finds and wipes them out, or they find out just why ARC Corp failed at containing so many anomalies in the first place. The last group was the latter and got themselves killed when their anomalies breached. Pretty much a re-enactment of our past. This was all before my time," he added. "Then I suppose there's Ozpin." The name alone brought a growl from Blake's lips. "He's, like, the first anomalous terrorist I suppose. Started the containment breaches and freed all the anomalies currently rampaging across Remnant."

"He left you to die as well!"

"Yeah." Jaune rolled his eyes. "I mean, he released every anomaly across the world, but sure, the part where he tried to abandon me is totally his worst crime." The sarcasm was not appreciated, and Blake jerked the boat sharply from left to right to make him lurch about. "Blake!"

"Sorry. Speedbump."

"There are no speedbumps in the ocean!"

"They are. They're called whales."

Jaune shot her an unimpressed look and crawled back to the cabin. It was clear out, with water as far as the eye could see. Blake felt little fear or concern about that, having grown up on Menagerie and so having been out on boats since she was a young kitten on her father's lap. Jaune was perhaps a little less comfortable if the longing glances he sent back to Menagerie were anything to go by. They were well and truly out so far that no one would ever find them if they sank.

"This is the perfect place for two people to disappear and never be heard of again…"

"Do you have to say it like that?" asked Jaune, hugging his arms.

"Worried? How are you more afraid of the open ocean than all the monsters you regularly deal with?"

"Because I can fight and kill monsters." said Jaune. "And I happen to think a fear of drowning in the ocean is a very legitimate thing. Is this how you get rid of me and steal my bank balance for yourself?"

"Your family would hunt me down and kill me."

"I mean, one or two of them might…"

"Your family sucks. Have I said that recently?"

"Yes." Jaune looked past her and swore. "Uh. Blake. There's mist ahead. A lot of mist." He took a deep breath and let it go. "How likely is mist like this out in the open ocean?"

"Very."

He froze. "Really?"

"It happens mostly around coastal regions where the temperature between the sea and the land differs." Blake recited it from memory, not at all worried as she piloted them toward the fog. "Happens usually in spring or summer because of that, and it can get pretty thick. There could be some landmass around here. So, no, mist or fog on the ocean isn't anomalous."

Jaune pointed. "Is a big, abandoned tanker with mist pouring out its every orifice anomalous?"

Blake pulled the lever back and cut the throttle, slowly bringing the speedboat to a bobbing stop in the water, some four hundred metres away from said vessel. Jaune called it a tanker, but that only went to show how nautical he was not. It was a fishing trawler, replete with the crane that would have winched up nets filled with fish.

That was the only normal thing about it, however. It looked like it was belching the fog out, thick rolling waves of the stuff coming off the deck and over the sides to splash down onto the ocean and out toward them. It was like a floating fog machine that had been left on, and the air was so thick with it that keeping track of Jaune not five feet away from her became a challenge.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say this isn't normal," said Jaune.

"Yes," groaned Blake, palming her face. "Yes, this definitely counts as unusual."

"Cool." Jaune rocked on his heels. "I mean, I was pretty sure, but I'm also kind of useless on nautical matters and I didn't want to sound stupid."

"Jaune?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

It's a bank holiday today to mourn the Queen's passing. I'm not very royal-minded despite being British, but I always did respect the Queen. Mostly it was because in a world where we're increasingly seeing more and more rich and powerful people abuse their power for personal gain or pleasure (including several in the royal family like Prince Andrew) it felt nice to have someone who never did. I respected her greatly for proving that while absolute power often corrupts, it doesn't have to, and that others who have let it should therefore not be able to rely on that as a defence for their actions. I also greatly respected her for never picking sides or getting involved in politics, for which I felt she was very professional.

On the other hand, I think it's fine for people to have not liked her or to not like what she represents (the idea of monarchy and past bad things that our country has done), but I do think it's strange to blame one woman specifically for all that. Yes, she was born of the same family who, in the past, conquered and ruled over other countries and even took part in terrible things, but I'm not sure that blaming her for what her family did makes much sense.

Next Chapter: 26th September

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