The Grimm struck with little warning, no more than the sound of bone rasping against the metallic hull of the ship alerting the pair that something terrible was approaching. The ship rocked but this time it was not because of the waves or gusting winds, but by a large inky black limb that rose from the depths of the ocean and curled around their vessel with unbelievable force.
"Grimm!" Jaune roared with everything he had, his throat raw as he unsheathed his blade. The black tentacle was lined with sharp white bone spikes, each one as long and deadly as a harpoon, and as the deck creaked as the appendage flexed, attempting to drag their ship into the sea, he charged with a shout and plunged Crocea Mors into the rubbery flesh to the hilt.
Shouts sounded as sailors were roused from their slumber by the sound of his scream and the groaning shrieks of steel as it buckled. The tentacle flinched as he tore his blade through it, raking out a massive gouge that gushed with black blood and then retreated fully as Weiss chambered fire dust and took aim.
Gunfire erupted and glancing down the deck, Jaune saw smaller Grimm crawling up over the railing, small creatures with large, fish-like faces and bony webbed fins, spitting black tar as they hissed. Their hands were long and slender, their fingers grotesque with wicked claws capable of skewering an adult with ease. They rushed towards them and Jaune raced to meet them as Weiss set the massive tentacle alight.
A Kraken; an honest to god Kraken! If there was a worse Grimm that could have chosen to attack, then he didn't want to meet it!
The water rippled as a second limb emerged, slamming into the boat and almost throwing Jaune off the side. Weiss tumbled and caught herself with a glyph but Jaune had no such luxury, slamming into the wall and flipping wildly. Thankfully crashing back to the floor and not overboard, he scrambled to his feet and slashed at the fish-like gremlin creatures, his blade rending their flesh and decapitating them with punishing strikes.
Screams soon replaced the sound of gunfire as people were mauled, and Jaune powered on, shield slamming another of the gremlin's over the railing and back into the sea. Skewering another, he kicked it off the end of his sword and spun, slicing another from groin to neck.
"Jaune!" the familiar voice of Blake called, and then she came sailing into view, swinging on the end of her ribbon. She spun through the air, the sharp edge of her cleaver-sheath carving into the new limb of the Kraken, splitting its flesh effortlessly. Landing in a crouch, she mecha-shifted her blade into its semi-automatic pistol form and opened fire, quickly dispatching several of the smaller Grimm. "Where is Weiss?"
Looking back, he noticed that the heiress was missing – but not for long. The sound of cracking ice filled the air above them and looking up, they saw their friend balanced on one of her spinning glyphs, flash freezing the tentacle with as much ice dust as she could muster. That seemed to do the trick, the limb recoiling viciously and releasing the ship, flailing as it submerged back beneath the waves.
"Ren?" he asked quickly between kills, sword flashing quick as a whip.
"Up front," Blake replied.
"Cover Weiss and hold ground here, protect who you can but don't be reckless," he ordered, a calm falling over him as the surprise of the sudden attack faded. "I'm moving up."
Blake nodded, face stone. "Roger."
Then he was moving, legs pumping as he sprinted forward with everything he had. The gremlin creatures attacked, pouring over the side of the ship and lashing at him with their claws but he was undeterred, tucking behind his shield as his semblance flared to life. He barreled through them like a rampaging bull, the Grimm tossed like rag dolls as he stampeded down the breezeway.
Loud, clunking sounds issued from deep within the vessel, the sound of the cannons mecha-shifting into position. Glancing up, Jaune saw one such cannon swivel into position moments before something large loomed up behind it from the other side of the ship. The long tentacle wrapped around the artillery mount and flexed, squeezing until the steel buckled and crunched. Jaune swore he heard a brief scream before it was pulverized, the dust rounds housed within exploding. The limb was torn to shreds, blasting apart – as well as a large section of the upper cargo bay, quickly shrouded in flames.
That wasn't good. That wasn't good at all!
Up ahead he heard Storm Flower cracking, singing a song of death as bullets tore through black flesh and white bone. Ren was constantly in motion, weaving in and out almost like a dance, his feet lashing around in vicious, booming kicks that were just as deadly as any round chambered in his guns. Grimm were sent flying away, bodies broken as he unleashed the full power of his deadly martial arts.
"Ren!" he called, slamming another creature to the floor and stabbing it in the throat. It gurgled and thrashed weakly, going still as he ripped his sword free and swung it in a wide arc. Several Grimm that had attempted to sneak up on him lost fingers and arms, and even heads, the keen edge passing through their bodies without pause.
Several men had taken up position behind the massive anchor chain, using the steel as cover as they fired their rifles into the darkness. Vand was with them, wielding an impressive magnum revolver that boomed whenever he fired, the rounds punching wide holes in anything it touched. In his other hand he swung a three pronged trident, skewering any Grimm that managed to get close. About a half dozen men were strewn about, lifeblood gushing from stumps that were once arms or legs or hands, some even cradling their intestines as they attempted to push their insides back inside their bodies.
Blood drenched the deck, making everything slippery as he joined Ren in beating back the worst of the attack. They moved together like a well oiled machine, over a year of familiarity driving their instinct. Jaune was a wall, an unmovable center point for Ren to dart around, bladed-pistols flashing in wide arcs. Crocea Mors dealt with anything that threatened his brother and teammate, carving apart flesh with all the finesse of a butcher preparing fine cuts.
The tide of Grimm slowed leaving them surrounded in smoking bodies, black mist clouding their vision as the vile creatures vanished into death.
But there was no rest to be had.
"Ren, I need you to get to one of those cannons," the ship shuddered, an explosion rippling from the stern, and turning, Jaune saw one of their last remaining hopes reduced to flaming debris. He scowled.
"Jaune?"
"There is only one artillery mount left," he continued after a brief pause. "The one by the bridge. I need you to get there and protect it or we are finished. It's the only thing capable of killing that Kraken."
Ren nodded, pink eyes intense. "I will protect it with my life."
"You better not die or I'll be seeing you soon once Nora gets her hands on me," Jaune slapped him on the back. "Here, take this."
White-gold aura bloomed to life, coaxing Ren's pink to the surface. Amplifying his friend, that pink darkened into a deeper magenta, strengthened with Jaune's soul. Ren almost seemed to double in size even though that was impossible, his spine straightening as his shoulders broadened, strength and stamina blazed through his veins.
"Thanks," Ren said, and then he was gone, a green blur as he vaulted up onto the chain and then higher still, agile like a cat as he vanished onto the upper decks.
"What will you have us do?"
Turning, it was Vand that had addressed him. He was about to tell them to look after the fallen when he saw that none of them were moving, claimed by their wounds. Jaw clenched, he pointed the way Ren had gone.
"Follow him, protect the cannon. Without that, we're done."
The men nodded, invigorated by a cause. Jaune watched them move out and then he was moving also, racing back down the breezeway, killing any stragglers along the way.
All he could see of Weiss was the flashing light of her glyphs as she darted around in the sky, raining elements down on the Kraken's long, deadly limbs. They flailed and slammed into the ship, rocking it – and then with a massive heave, the ocean churned, an enormous form breaching the surface.
A wide ribbed head rose out of the depths, protected by thick white bone patterned with elaborate red etchings. Bulbous crimson eyes burned with hatred as several more tendrils seized the ship, the ancient Grimm pulling itself up alongside their vessel. The ship tilted precariously, Jaune stumbling as they threatened to capsize under its immense weight. Tilting back and presenting its bottom, it unfurled into a maw of razor sharp fangs and rancid, rotten breath, screeching loud enough to rattle his brain. Jaune clapped hands over his ears, face twisted in pain as it roared.
Blake appeared in a feat of acrobatics that would make professional gymnasts green with envy, twirling through the air and right into the gaping maw of death. Jaune felt his breath catch before he noticed a second, third and fourth Blake tumbling through the air, all making a beeline for its exposed throat.
The first shadow clone ignited in a blaze of fire, detonating in its mouth with a thunderous crack that blasted a great big chunk of black flesh free of the whole. The Kraken screamed and then the second clone followed the first, exploding in flame. The third and fourth dissolved into pure lightning, crackling as they flash fried great sections in lancing arcs.
The real Blake landed next to him, expression pinched.
"We need to kill it fast or we'll end up at the bottom of the sea," Blake said at once.
Jaune jerked his thumb upwards. "Ren is on it. We need to keep it busy until the cannon lines up a good shot. Think you can do that?"
"You ask a lot of a girl, don't you?" she quipped, flashing him a quick smile before moving.
Jaune wasn't acrobatic like his friends and his dust use was limited to throwing crystals like grenades. What he didn't lack in was aura, though. Summoning his aura and semblance, his body blazed with white-gold light. He illuminated the area like a miniature sun, his soul blindingly bright. Channeling it into his sword, he waited, watching for the perfect moment.
A tentacle rose high into the air and attempted to crash down on the ship, in danger of cutting their vessel in half. Target sighted, Jaune bent his knees and pushed, the deck cracking beneath his feet as he was launched into the air with tremendous speed. Sword tucked back, he swung it in a rising arc, projecting his aura away from his blade. A golden crescent of pure, concentrated aura leapt from the edge eagerly, bisecting the great limb in a flash. It was done so effortlessly, so quickly that blood didn't even have time to spurt free of severed vessels, the now useless limb tumbling back into the sea as the Grimm shrieked in pain.
They might just win this yet!
But no sooner did he think that when he saw something gather in the Kraken's mouth, a green light that boded ill for them all. Blake swung away quickly, taking shots at its eyes as Weiss attacked from above, razor sharp ice falling like divine retribution but it did little to stop what was to come.
Tilting back at the final moment, the Kraken's large body contracted and a beam of pure energy blasted out of its mouth. Weiss barely got out of the way, the beam destroying her glyphs like they were nothing more than wet tissue, the snowflakes shattering in motes of light. Jaune saw it at the last moment, his heart freezing in horror, her name on his lips as he screamed a warning.
"Weiss!"
But it was too late, a tentacle lashing out of the surrounding darkness and slamming into her back with tremendous force. Her aura flashed a bright white as she shouted in pain and surprise, and then she was sailing through the air, out over the open ocean, Myrtenaster slipping from her grasp.
"No!"
Blake's scream was terrible, filled with anguish as she flung her weapon out in an attempt to save her. The gun fired, propelling it further but Weiss was too far, her white dress vanishing into the darkness of the night.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
All Jaune could hear was his heart, pounding in his ears as he watched helplessly. Blake leapt from the ship, shadow clones distracting the Grimm as she stepped off its bone-plated head. That was a bad idea and Jaune swung his sword, attempting to draw its focus solely onto him, blasting its face with an arc of golden aura. Black flesh split, a massive rend that partially sliced into the protective plating of bone opening several meters long.
Even as it roared in pain as his attack found purchase, another limb surfaced and swung around right in Blake's blind spot. Jaune watched almost in slow motion as Blake was swatted from the air like an annoying insect, her aura shuddering as the strike blasted through her protection in one stroke. Much like Weiss, she was flung out into the darkness.
No. No. No!
Jaune didn't remember much after that. He fought, and fought, and fought in a frenzy, a red haze clouding his mind. But it wasn't enough because all of a sudden, he was falling, the ship buckling – and the last thing he saw as he tumbled into the sea, the water swallowing him whole was the artillery lining up perfectly with the Kraken's mouth, the beast screaming in challenge as it fired down its throat with a bone rattling blast.
( - - - )
There was darkness – and then there was light.
Jaune groaned pitifully as his eyes fluttered open, his poor retinas assaulted by the harsh rays of the sun. Covering his face with his arm, he lay there for several long moments, his entire body full of aches. His mouth tasted of seawater and as his sleeve moved across his skin, the irritating grit of fine sand scraped at his face.
What happened...?
His brain felt sluggish, attempting to connect the pieces. He was drenched and cold, though the sun was quickly warming his body and when he felt he was ready, he removed his arm and gazed up at the deep blue sky.
Where was he?
And then it hit him all at once; the ship, the attack, the Kraken. Weiss, and then Blake falling into the darkness – and then he was tumbling over the railing as their vessel was heaved up out of the ocean, nowhere to go.
Jolting up, Jaune coughed as he glanced around wildly. He was on a beach, stretching on endlessly in both directions, the sand littered with debris. Twisted steel, broken wood, personal items were strewn everywhere and with a feeling of dread, he knew all of these things were from the cargo ship.
Had it gone down?
The last thing he remembered was the artillery blasting down the Grimm's throat and then he had been consumed by the sea, sinking, water filling his mouth as he screamed. No wonder his mouth was filled with salt.
By some miracle, Crocea Mors was beside him, the sword half buried in the sand. His shield was still on his left arm, secure.
If he had survived, then maybe the others had too!
Jaune felt a little unsteady as he climbed to his feet, bending down to pick up his sword. Now that he was on his feet, he could see that the sun had only just cleared the horizon no more than an hour ago. Beyond the beach were rows of coconut palms, their slender, ringed trunks towering above him surmounted by a crown of featherlike leaves. They were laden with fruit, clusters of coconuts bending branches beneath their weight. Further in, it quickly transitioned into a wild tropical rainforest.
It looked completely untamed, untouched by man.
It didn't take Jaune long to find his first body.
He wore the uniform of the crew, sodden and torn, his chest carved open by a series of claws. Brown eyes stared at the sky unseeing and Jaune knelt briefly to shut them before moving on, saying a quick, quiet prayer beneath his breath.
That was the first – but not the last.
He must have come across a dozen bodies, broken and scattered across the beach like discarded trash. Some were missing limbs while some bore no wounds to speak of, having drowned as they were sent overboard. Blue around the lips and eyes bulging, he found these ones more disturbing.
He walked for some time, sword in hand. Waves gently lapped at the golden sands and rocky reefs, and if he hadn't been in such a dire situation, it would have been a calming, beautiful sight to behold. The sea glittered like a series of gems, the water absurdly clear. He could see to the bottom, as if he was looking through blue-green crystal.
He almost missed it, catching it from the corner of his eye. A black mass sprawled across some rocks, face down. When he turned towards it, his heart leapt into his throat. He was moving in an instant, water splashing around his boots as he entered the lagoon and scaled the rocky barriers. For one horrifying second, he thought Blake's face was submerged but to his immense relief, that wasn't the case. Crocea Mors clattered loudly as he dropped it beside her, hauling her body around to cradle it against his chest.
"Blake," he called, caressing her face. It was cold. "Blake – come on, wake up."
Feeling along her neck, he pressed lightly and waited with baited breath. When he felt the firm thump of her heart pulsing through the tips of his fingers, he almost cried. Her chest rose shallowly, his relief palpable as he picked her up and carried her onto the beach proper. When she was in a comfortable position, he raced back out to get his sword and then he was by her side, hands splayed on her flat stomach.
"Come on," he said, semblance activating. Aura poured down his arms, through his hands and fingers and into her body. Purple light flickered as her soul responded, starting weak like a fluttering candle before quickly growing into a blazing bonfire. He continued to feed her his aura until amber eyes snapped open, body jerking in shock.
"Blake!" he stopped immediately, grabbing her shoulders. She thrashed wildly. "Woah, hey – Blake, it's me! It's Jaune!"
Her eyes settled on him, wide and fearful – before he saw them visibly calm, her chest heaving as she greedily sucked in air.
"What..." she muttered, confused. Her damp cat ears flicked as her hands grasped at his forearms. "J-Jaune, what..."
He saw the moment when she remembered, her face twisting as horror filled her expression. Blake struggled into a sitting position but didn't allow him to pull away, her fingers tight on his arms.
"No," she shook her head, shooting him a desperate look. "No, Jaune – the ship, the – oh my god, Weiss. Please tell me you've found her?"
He shook his head grimly and tears quickly pooled in her eyes.
"We have to find her," she said, finally releasing him and getting to her feet. She almost fell, her legs shaky and Jaune quickly reached out to catch her, letting her slight weight rest against him. "We must find her."
"We will," he promised, not knowing if it was a promise he could keep. He could only hope that just like them, Weiss had washed up on the beach and was as well as could be. "Come on – can you walk? We'll search the whole beach several times over if we have too."
It took a little while for Blake to get her footing but once she did, they continued up the beach. They walked and walked until they couldn't anymore, the land rising up into a series of staggering cliffs. Undeterred, they turned around and went the other way, passing by where he found Blake, by where he woke up and further still.
With every step they took without finding her, he could see Blake becoming visibly upset. Jaune tried to not let it affect him but it did; he felt much the same as she did, barely holding it together as they found more and more bodies, souls long departed.
The loss of life was difficult to accept.
But no matter how far they went, there was no sign of Weiss. They walked until the debris thinned and all that remained was pristine beach. The currents had taken nothing this far and the likelihood of finding Weiss down here was slim.
She wasn't here.
They checked and double checked but the result was the same. They were the two sole survivors on that beach.
Blake covered her face, stepping away. "I need... a minute."
Jaune gave it to her, walking over to the water and peering out over the sea. There was stuff still floating in the water but nothing that looked like their friend. Hand tightening around the hilt of his sword, his arm trembled.
He refused to believe it. He refused to believe that she was gone.
Another thought wormed its way into his brain, burrowing deep. What if Ren was also out there? Jaune had no way of knowing what happened to his brother. Did the ship ultimately survive the encounter? Or had it sunk along with the Kraken, that cannon blast its final act of defiance?
Soft sniffles reached his ears and Jaune tried his best to ignore it, knowing that Blake didn't want him to see her like that. It was increasingly difficult the longer he had to endure hearing her pain, though. His instinct was to comfort her but didn't want to press.
This was just one big giant mess.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and turning, he was greeted by Blake's red rimmed eyes.
"What do we do?" she asked him, voice soft.
That was the question, wasn't it? What did they do?
This place – whatever it was, wherever it was – it was their new home for the foreseeable future. They were lost, well and truly. Their best bet would be to find shelter or build their own, and then wait. Such a large cargo ship being attacked would not go unnoticed for long and rescue teams would be sent, whether it was sunk or not. That was their best shot at being discovered. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his scroll and grimaced. It was about what he expected. The device was completely waterlogged and when he gave it a shake, salt water dripped out all over his hand.
Seeing the state of his scroll, Blake searched her own pockets. Her device was even worse off, the screen cracked. It must have happened when the Grimm had struck her.
"We could have called Weiss' number," she glared at her scroll in disgust. Even without CCT coverage, scrolls could act as two-way radio if linked.
"We should scavenge what we can," Jaune gestured around them. "We have no idea how long we are going to be here."
Food and water would be invaluable to them right now. Extra clothing, cooking utensils, weapons and ammunition would also be welcome. Basically anything that would make their lives easier. They would have to scout this island and find out how big it was and if it contained any Grimm. If there was fresh water available then setting up camp nearby was important. If not, then they would need to source it another way.
Jaune glanced up at the coconut palms.
Boiling seawater would be a last resort but that could only happen if they found a pot or metal container to even attempt it.
"How much dust do you still have?"
Blake opened her satchel and revealed a handful of clips suited for Gambol Shroud. He immediately spotted earth and ice, as well as one remaining lightning. She was out of fire.
"I don't have my weapon," she said. "I probably dropped it... out there."
Crocea Mors washing up with him had been a stroke of good fortune. It was almost a guarantee that her weapon was lost for good.
"Come on," he touched her hand briefly, trying to give her a reassuring smile. He wasn't sure if he succeeded or not. "Let's see what we can find."
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