Author's Note: I've compiled a list of video game adaptations for my upcoming one-shot multiverse fanfiction. The poll is now up. Choose wisely and stay tuned. I should have in up by early May. In the meantime, stay tuned. And if I made any mistakes, please point them out.
Review Responses
Guest Review, Chapter 41, March 10th- Thank you so much for the cast suggestions. Though, I already chose Ilia and Neo for their roles before you made them.
cmgessner24: I don't think you'll be disappointed at all. Although, it will be a while before "Dead Man's Chest" comes out if I decide to go through with it.
luhar1997: You have great taste, my friend. "Black Hawk Down" and "Saving Private Ryan" will definitely make it to future polls. RIP Tom Sizemore.
Shadow-Proclamation8: My thoughts exactly. Ozpin and Salem are indeed cursed with immortality, but at least they can enjoy the simple pleasures of life. I can scarcely imagine Ozpin (or myself for that matter) unable to enjoy a cup of coffee.
KellofSnow: Thank you. That scene wasn't easy to write out, so I'm happy you enjoyed it. Hypothetically, if I were to make adaptations of those two series, they'd have to involve only twenty-minutes of compiled footage, like how I handle these full-length movies chapter by chapter. They'd be limited to the most notable scenes. But thank you for the idea.
Pharamine- Now that I look back on it, they might have overdone the horror factor on the skeleton crew. Oh well. And it's true, video game adaptations are difficult to write unless they're done in a cinematic sort of way with cutscenes mixed with gameplay. That's how I plan to do it. And thank you for pointing out the errors I made. I fixed them as soon as I could.
GojiraRWBYSW18: Thanks. I think he was the best choice as well. And I'll never forget that legendary line about being in a ghost story. It's just so badass and terrifying.
hunterpearson2000: "The Thing" may be a bit too graphic and terrifying, but I'll think about it.
Open to a dock on Tortuga during the day. A weather-beaten gang of sailors stood in a line.
Blake moved down the line with Qrow at his side, the latter introducing the crew.
"Feast your eyes, Captain. All of them, faithful hands before the mast. Every man worth his salt…and crazy to boot," Qrow said, the last part in a sotto tone.
One of the sailors was an orange haired woman of short stature. Blake paused, giving the short female sailor a contemplative look before continuing. [1]
"Look! It's me!" Nora chirped and bounced in her seat. "And I'm playing a pirate!"
"I wouldn't be too excited to play a criminal, Nora," Ren said cautiously, not wanting to see Nora captured and punished by the authorities for piracy.
"And it looks like your even shorter here," Jaune realized.
Nora gave dismissive gesture. "Ah, don't sweat it, guys. I'll bet I'm as badass in this universe as I am in our own."
Ruby wasn't impressed. "So, this is your able-bodied crew?"
Blake shot Ruby a defensive look.
Yang smirked. "Oh, come on, sis. You haven't even seen Nora in action yet. Don't think little of her so quickly," she giggled.
"Booooo!" Nora shouted with a hand to her mouth while everyone else groaned.
Blake stopped in front of a short, pink haired woman. Perched on her left shoulder was a blue and gold colored parrot.
"Oh, goody. Neo's back," Yang deadpanned, still not fond of Roman's right-hand woman.
"Not surprising to see her as a pirate. She worked with Roman after all," Ruby said as she munched on some cookies.
"That's a beautiful parrot, though," Weiss admired Neo's parrot.
"You, sailor!" Blake beckoned Neo.
"Neapolitan, sir. Or Neo for short," Qrow introduced the woman.
"Ms. Neo, do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death?" Blake asked.
Neo stared silently at Blake.
"Ms. Neo! Answer, woman!"
"She's a mute, ma'am. Poor lass had her tongue cut out," Qrow explained.
Neo opened her mouth, showing she did indeed lack a tongue, much to Blake and Ruby's disgust.
Nearly everyone grimaced or groaned with disgust at the screen as Neo opened her mouth.
"We did not need to see that," Harriet said in a low voice.
"Why would someone cut out a person's tongue?" Ruby questioned, not wishing such a gruesome thing even on the real Neo.
"Well, Neo was once part of another pirate crew led by Roman Torchwick. One fateful day, Neo said the wrong thing, and Roman had her tongue cut out as punishment," Gold-Sith explained.
"Jeez. She must have really pissed him off," Marrow remarked.
"So, she trained the parrot to talk for her. No one's yet figured how," Qrow finished.
"Ms. Neo's parrot… same question," Blake asked the bird awkwardly.
"Rawk! Wind in your sails! Wind in your sails!" the parrot squawked while Blake and Ruby stared in confusion.
"Mostly, we figure that means 'yes'" Qrow said a slight nod.
"Of course, it does," Blake said.
Laughter filled the theater at the parrot's bizarre answer.
"Wait. How did Neo ever train the parrot to speak if she's mute?" Weiss questioned with her head tilted in confusion. [2]
Everyone else either shrugged or looked equally confused, unable to come up with an answer.
Blake turned to Ruby. "Satisfied?"
"Well, you've proved they're mad," Ruby conceded, not very confident in the crews' abilities.
"Indeed. This is the best crew you could come up with, Qrow?" she questioned irritably, since Weiss' life was on the line.
Qrow held his hands. "Hey. To be fair, this whole thing was on short notice."
"And who is she calling mad?" Nora said defensively.
Everyone familiar with Nora shot her a "Really?" look while she huffed and crossed her arms.
"What's the benefit for us?" a female voice asked offscreen.
Blake turned towards the voice, recognizing it immediately. She moved down the line and stopped in front of a hunched woman in a dress with her eyes downcast and her face half-hidden by a wide-brimmed hat.
Blake removed the hat, revealing a chameleon faunus with brown hair tied in a ponytail. And she didn't look very happy. [3]
Blake smiled to see her old friend onscreen. "Ilia."
"Why is she looking at you like that?" Penny questioned Ilia's surly expression.
Yang noticed as well. "Yeah. She looks pissed."
Blake smiled. "Ilia!"
Ilia smacked Blake hard, wiping the smile off her face. She wasn't happy at all.
"I suppose you didn't deserve that one, either?" Ruby asked sarcastically.
"No, that one I deserved," Blake said guiltily, while Ilia nodded harshly.
A few audience members couldn't help but snicker at the screen while Blake's smile turned to a frustrated frown; tired of being slapped.
"Ooooh," Yang, Ruby, and Weiss said in soft sympa
"But what did she do to her?" Elm wondered aloud.
"I have a feeling she's not just another former lover of Blake's," Maria predicted.
"You stole. My. Boat!" Ilia emphasized angrily.
"Actually..." Blake began before Ilia slapped her again, even harder. "Borrowed without permission..."
"That's just a friendly way of saying you stole it, Blake," Ren scolded lightly.
Blake was about to retort when she realized something. "Wait. Was that the same boat I arrived at Port Royal on?" she asked.
"Yes. As a matter of fact, it was," Gold-Sith confirmed. [4]
"Oh boy..." Jaune muttered, remembering that the boat sank.
"...But with every intention of bringing it back," Blake finished.
"But you didn't!" Ilia shouted.
"And she never will," Blake murmured as she rubbed the back of her head in shame.
"Maybe you can make it up to her," Ruby suggested cheerfully.
"You'll get another one," Blake offered quickly.
Ilia threateningly held up her forefinger. "I will."
"A better one," Ruby chimed in.
"A better one!" Blake agreed.
Ruby pointed offscreen. "That one."
Blake wheeled on Ruby, confused. "What one?".
Ruby gave Blake a "Follow my lead look". Blake and the crew all turned to look at the Interceptor docked nearby.
"That one?!" Blake asked incredulously.
"That one?" Ironwood and Clover said in tandem confusion.
Winter rolled her eyes. "Oh sure. Just trade Atlesian ships from one pirate to the next."
Blake pondered Ruby's idea and decided it was a good idea. "Aye. That one. What say you?"
"Aye!" Ilia agreed quickly.
"Aye!" the rest of the crew chorused.
With that, the new crew made their way for the Interceptor.
"Anchors aweigh!" Neo's parrot squawked.
"But Blake and I are using the ship right now," Ruby said.
"Well, when Blake gets the Black Pearl back, she won't need the Interceptor anymore," Qrow assumed.
"But then Ilia will be wanted by authorities," Blake fretted, not wanting Ilia to be dragged into the whole mess.
"One thing at a time. First, they need to rescue Weiss," Winter reminded.
Ilia roughly took her hat back from Blake and placed it on her head before making her way towards the ship.
"You know, I used to believe it was frightful bad luck to bring a woman aboard, ma'am," Qrow said to Blake.
Blake glanced up at the sky then back to Qrow. "Aye. But then you sailed with me."
Blake walked off while Qrow and Ruby looked up at the sky in puzzlement.
Everyone either blinked or cocked their eyebrows in puzzlement.
Yang giggled. "I gotta tell you, Blake. But your counterpart is kind of... what's the word?"
Penny thought for a second, then held up a finger. "Eccentric?"
"Wacky?" Qrow suggested.
"Yeah. I was thinking along the lines of the second one," Yang agreed with her uncle.
"Yeah. She is pretty...out there," Blake admitted about her counterpart.
Cut to later that night. A thunderstorm was raging on as the Interceptor trudged along the swells. The crew were indeed capable sailors, but they still struggled to keep the ship afloat.
Blake was standing at the helm facing the storm head on and occasionally glancing at her compass as she sailed along.
"Blake is really gutsy facing a storm like that," Marrow complimented.
"Every good captain must be bold and willing to face storms," Ironwood said as he sipped a glass of water.
A wave hit the Interceptor, sending a geyser of water over the deck that washed Ruby and Qrow to the other side of the ship. They quickly got back up and returned to their work to keep the ship from sinking.
"At least the crew is keeping the ship from sinking," Winter said, though her confidence in their ability to save Weiss wasn't very high.
"But how are they supposed to navigate through a storm like that? Blake's compass is broken, isn't it?" Oscar reminded.
Ruby gazed ahead at Blake standing at the helm.
"How can we sail to an island that nobody can find, with a compass that doesn't work?" Ruby questioned loudly, her voice barely audible over the weather.
"The compass doesn't point north, but we're not trying to find north, are we?" Qrow replied with a knowing smile.
Ruby blinked, not following Qrow's counterpart. "So... where does it point?"
Maria scratched her chin. "Hmmm. Perhaps it's not just an ordinary compass. Maybe it only points to the island."
"That could be it. Maybe it's a magic compass," Oscar agreed, giving his own opinion.
"It could be. Perhaps it only points to certain things, depending on whomever carries it," Ozpin theorized. [5]
Blake turned the wheel slightly every so often whenever her compass shifted direction.
Qrow clambered up to the poopdeck, barely keeping his footing. "We should drop canvas, ma'am," he insisted.
"She can hold a bit longer," Blake refused.
"What's in your head as puts you in such a fine mood, Cap'n?" Qrow asked skeptically.
Blake smiled. "We're catching up."
"Let's hope so. Every second they waste brings Weiss closer to peril," Penny fretted.
"Yes. But Adam doesn't know Blake and the others are coming, so they'll have the element of surprise," Clover tried to lighten the mood.
"Even so, they must be quick," Ironwood said.
Cut to the Island of Death. It was a barren, rocky place shrouded in thick fog. The Black Pearl was anchored in a small bay.
Weiss was gazing worriedly out the window from Adam's cabin.
"They need to hurry. Once they find out Weiss isn't really a Rose, she's as good as dead," Yang said.
Winter stared at Yang. "No need to remind us of that."
Weiss perked up at the sound of a door opening. Fennec and Corsac entered the cabin, holding rope. Emerald and Mercury accompanied them.
"Time to go, poppet," Mercury announced.
Weiss scowled at the screen. "I'm getting sick of him calling me that."
Up on deck, Corsac finished binding Weiss' hands with rope while Adam placed the medallion around her neck.
Next, Weiss sat in the prow of one of the several longboats rowing away from the Black Pearl, all full of treasure. Behind them, the Black Pearl disappeared into the fog. Adam sat in the lead boat with the monkey on his shoulder.
The boats entered a dark cave leading further into the island. From there, the camera zoomed out enough to reveal the island's rocky, dangerous landscape.
"That's one creepy looking island," Marrow commented as he sipped a soda.
"It's definitely the kind of place pirates would hang around," Nora added.
"It's only slightly less scary than the moon from Alien," Ren remarked with a light shiver.
Cut to elsewhere on the island. The Interceptor had just arrived. All around it, half-hidden in fog, were the wrecks of many ships that never returned from the dreaded island.
"Dead men tell no tales," Neo's parrot crowed ominously from a railing.
The rest of the crew gazed out silently at the haunting scenery around them.
"Chills the bones, how many honest sailors been claimed by this passage," Qrow remarked.
"You can say that again," Qrow agreed with his counterpart.
"So many died," Ruby commented on the sheer number of shipwrecks.
"And not all of them were pirates after the treasure," Penny added sadly, knowing not all of the islands' victims were pirates.
Cut to an underwater shot of the Interceptor from below as it sailed across the surface. Among the shipwrecks beneath, hammerhead sharks cruised through the water, looking for a meal. The Interceptor's hull struck and knocked off a piece mast from a sunken ship.
"Look at all those sharks," Oscar commented nervously.
"With so many shipwrecks, it's no wonder the islands waters are full of them," Penny said.
"Let's hope nobody falls overboard," Elm said, not wanting to watch a gruesome shark attack.
At the helm, Blake checked her compass, and turned the wheel slightly. She then shut the compass, focusing on navigating through the graveyard. Neo stood behind her looking nervous.
"How is it that Blake came by that compass?" Ruby asked Qrow, the latter adjusting one of the lines.
"Not a lot's known about Blake Belladonna before she came to Tortuga with a mind to find the treasure of the Island of Death. That was before I'd met her, when she was captain of the Black Pearl," Qrow answered as he took a swig from his flask.
"Ah. So, Oscar was on the right track, Ren said.
Nora smiled and gave Oscar a thumbs up. "Good job."
"Nah. It was just a guess," Oscar said with a bashful smile.
"But a correct guess. You've got a good head on your shoulders," Ozpin praised his host.
Ruby spun to Qrow. "What?"
Qrow's eyes widened as he realized he said too much, nearly choking on his whiskey.
Ruby glanced suspiciously at Blake. "She failed to mention that."
"That can't be the only thing she failed to mention," Ruby said dubiously
Maria tapped her chin in deep thought. "You know, I've been thinking about what Blake said about leverage against Adam," she said. "Since he apparently needs the blood of Summer Rose, or a relative of hers, wouldn't that mean they need Ruby's blood to undo the curse?"
Everyone listened intently to Oscar and realized his was correct.
"Yes. That sounds about right," Weiss confirmed Oscar's suspicions.
"So that's why she agreed to help Ruby after hearing she was Summer's child. It's all just a ploy to get the Black Pearl back," Yang said angrily as she connected the dots.
"It's not me," Blake defended, though she wasn't pleased with her counterpart's deceit either.
"She plays things close to the vest now. And a hard-learned lesson it was," Qrow explained. "Three days into the trip, the first mate says, 'Everything's an equal share'. The location of the treasure, too. So, Blake gives up the bearings," he shook his head at the last part.
"That night, there was a mutiny. They marooned Blake on an island and left her to die. But not before she'd gone mad with the heat," Qrow finished.
"Ah, so that's the reason for all the..." she did a slight imitation of Blake's odd behavior.
Everyone laughed or chuckled at Ruby's imitation of Blake. The cat faunus herself couldn't suppress a half-smile.
"Nice imitation" Elm giggled.
"Reasons got nothing to do with it," Qrow said as he knelt down, as did Ruby. "Now, Ruby. When a pirate's marooned, she's given a pistol with a single shot. One shot. That won't do much good hunting, nor to be rescued. But after three weeks of a starving belly and thirst, that pistol looks real friendly," Qrow said, making a suicide-by-pistol gesture with his hand.
"Jeez. That's awfully dark," Marrow said with a grimace.
"Well, given the alternative of dying by thirst or starvation, it's understandable," Penny said.
"But Blake escaped the island, and still has that single shot. She won't use it, though, save on one man. Her mutinous first mate," Qrow finished his tale.
"Taurus," Ruby deducted.
"Aye," Qrow confirmed with a nod.
"Is there any particular reason Adam led a mutiny?" Ironwood inquired.
"Well, Adam and the other crewmembers felt that Blake wasn't ruthless enough to be a proper pirate like them. So, he led a mutiny to gain captainship over the Black Pearl," Gold-Sith answered.
"Reminds me of when he killed Sienna Khan to take over the White Fang," Blake noted.
"But then what happened to Summer?" Qrow asked, now realizing Summer wasn't the former captain.
"You'll know soon enough," Gold-Sith replied.
"How did Blake get off the island?" Ruby questioned.
"Well, I'll tell ye. She waded out into the shallows, and waited three days and three nights, till all manner of sea creatures became acclimated to her presence. On the fourth morning, she roped a couple of sea turtles, lashed them together and made a raft," Qrow answered concisely.
Everyone stared at the screen skeptically.
"Sea turtles?" Ren muttered in question.
Ruby couldn't believe her ears. "She roped a couple of sea turtles?" she asked as she stared at Qrow.
"Aye, sea turtles," Qrow said again, holding his gaze.
Ruby still didn't quite buy it. "What did she use for rope?"
Qrow opened his mouth to answer. But then realized he didn't know. He turned to look at Blake, who was now standing nearby to supply the answer: "My own hair. Took forever to grow back."
"No way. She's making that up," Nora denied while shaking her head.
"Either way, being stuck on an island is a hairy situation to be in," Yang joked, prompting frustrated groans.
"Please stop," Elm said in exasperation.
"Never!" Yang declared smugly with her arms crossed.
"Let go the anchor!" Blake hollered to the crew.
"Lower the anchor line!" the crew chorused as they got to work.
"Young Ms. Rose and I are to go ashore," Blake declared as she prepared to disembark.
"Captain. What if the worst should happen?" Qrow asked, unaware that Ruby was listening.
"Keep to the Code," Blake commanded.
"Aye. The code," Qrow agreed as the two parted.
Ruby looked on, speculative of Blake's true motives.
Ruby arched her brow. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked with a hint of worry.
"I don't know, sis. But I'd stay on my toes if I were you," Yang warned.
"Blake's counterpart isn't exactly trustworthy," Penny said before giving Blake an apologetic look. "No offense."
"None taken, Penny," Blake assured the android, acknowledging once again her counterpart was a pirate after all.
Cut to the caves of the Island of Death. The Black Pearl pirates navigated down a narrow tunnel, carrying their loot from Port Royal. Fennec roughly yanked Weiss along, pulling her by the rope binding her hands together.
The pirate let go of the rope and moved on. Weiss stops at the sight of pirates adding their recent booty to a spectacular treasure trove: piles of coins, gold and silver ingots, jewelry, fine art, jade and ivory, brightly colored silks, furniture, etc. It was every treasure hunter's dream.
Everybody was mesmerized by the sheer amount of treasure onscreen.
"Look at all that loot they've collected over the years," Jaune said in awe.
"There has to be millions of lien worth of treasure," Vine added with wide eyes.
"And with the curse preventing injury, it was even easier for them to obtain treasure," Ironwood said, remembering the raid on Port Royal
In the very center of the cave, beneath a hole in roof letting in a column of pale sunlight, which illuminated: an Aztec stone chest.
From behind, Corsac shoved Weiss along. "Move!"
Emerald and Mercury carried a large chest. "Ten years of hoarding swag. Now we finally get to spend it," the later said excitedly.
They dump the chest, its contest consisting of fancy dresses and parasols. Mercury looked puzzled but Emerald happily picked up a red gown and placed it over herself.
"Nice items. But they won't fetch as much lien as the others," Maria said.
"Perhaps she plans to keep them for herself. That is a nice dress," Weiss appraised Emerald's choice in stolen clothing.
"Those parasols are pretty too," Penny added.
"Once we're quit of the curse, we'll be rich men. And you can buy an eye that fits and is made of glass," Mercury said as he and Emerald picked up some parasols.
Emerald was touched. "This one does splinter something terrible," she said, as she rubbed away a tear.
"Stop rubbing it!" Mercury said.
Just then, Hazel stopped in front of them. He shot them a look before rolling his eyes and moving on. Mercury whacked Emerald on the arm with his parasol for embarrassing him.
Laughter and snickering filled the theater at the antics of the two pirates.
Cut Ruby and Blake sitting back-to-back in a rowboat cruising down one of the islands tunnels. Their path was illumined by a lantern on a pole. Ruby sat up front while Blake rowed. On one side, Ruby spotted a skeleton half-buried in the sand and a sword sticking out of its ribcage.
Ruby gaped in shock at the skeleton. "What code is Qrow to keep to if the worst should happen?"
"Pirates' Code. Any man who falls behind is left behind," Blake answered.
"No heroes amongst thieves, eh?" Ruby remarked.
"Exactly. That's the pirate's life for you," Maria said while gesturing at the screen.
"So, if either Ruby or Blake don't return, they'll be left there?" Oscar assumed with worry.
"Then they'd better hurry and rescue Weiss before the others decide to flee. I doubt any of them want to spend more time than necessary on the Island of Death," Ozpin suggested internally.
"For having such a bleak outlook on pirates you're well on your way to becoming one," Blake began to goad. "Sprung a man from jail, commandeered a ship of the fleet, sailed with a buccaneer crew out of Tortuga..."
Blake paused in mid-sentence as she and Ruby spotted hundreds of gold coins shimmering brightly beneath the surface of the water.
"…and you're completely obsessed with treasure."
Ruby looked a bit offended. "What? No, I'm not."
"Maybe not. But you are obsessed with weapons," Yang teased.
"And perhaps cookies," Weiss added with a smirk.
"Better that then money," Maria said, knowing greed was a horrible trait.
Ruby and Blake reached the end of the tunnel where the pirates' boats were moored. Ruby pulled the boat ashore while Blake hopped out.
"That's not true. I am not obsessed with treasure," Ruby sharply denied Blake's claim.
Blake walked up a short rise and peered out through an opening in the cave. "Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate," she said sagely.
"Ooooh, I see what Blake is saying now," Jaune interpreted Blake's saying. "For some, the best treasure is another person. Someone they care for."
"In this case, Weiss," Penny pointed out, happy for her two friends onscreen.
"Yeah right..." Ruby said while nodding shyly while Weiss couldn't help a half-smile, sincerely touched by Ruby's counterpart.
Ruby climbed up to join Blake and looked through the opening, just as Adam began to give a speech.
"Gentlemen, the time has come! Salvation is nigh! Our torment is nearing an end!"
"Yeah! Hurrah!" the other pirates cheered in approval.
Ruby spotted Weiss was standing nervously atop a treasure pile with the Aztec chest in front of her. Next to her stood Adam. The other pirates were assembled throughout the cave as an audience.
"Weiss," Ruby whispered, overjoyed to see her friend was unharmed.
"How are they going to rescue Weiss?" Winter questioned with worry. "Even without the curse making them invulnerable, there's too many pirates for them to handle."
"Well, Blake is pretty sneaky. Maybe she can get to Weiss via stealth," Nora suggested.
Ren nodded. "That could work. But it still won't be easy."
"For ten years we've been tested and tried, and each man here has proved his mettle a hundred times over and a hundred times again!" Adam went on with strong hand gestures.
The rest of the crew cheered and hollered at their captain again.
"Suffered, I have!" Emerald shouted.
"Punished we were, the lot of us, disproportionate to our crime!" Adam said, emphasized by pounding his fist into his hand.
"Here it is!" Adam kicked off the stone chest's lid. Inside were hundreds of gold coins, each one identical to the medallion. Mixed in with them was a stone knife. "The cursed treasure of Cortes himself."
"So, they spent ten years collecting over eight-hundred gold coins from all across the Carribean Sea?" Ruby asked in amazement.
"To remove a curse like that, who could blame them?" Jaune reasoned.
"I hate to compliment the pirates, but their determination is quite admirable," Clover praised reluctantly.
"Boy, are they in for a nasty surprise," Marrow mumbled, also knowing Weiss was dead meat once the pirates discovered the truth.
"Every last piece that went astray, we have returned," Adam continued as he pointed at Weiss. "Save for this!"
Ruby recklessly tried to clamber into the cavern, but Blake restrained her.
"Blake!" Ruby protested.
"Not yet," Blake said as she pulled Ruby back.
Ruby knocked a few loose coins, sending them clattering to the cavern floor. Adam's pet monkey turned suspiciously towards the sound… and then back to the ceremony.
"Careful, sis. We know you care about Weiss, but you can't be reckless," Yang warned.
"She's right, kiddo. There must be dozens of pirates. Don't go rushing into fights you can't win," Qrow advised.
"Plus, that damn monkey will spot them in no time," Harriet finished.
"We wait for the opportune moment," Blake whispered to Ruby before she stepped down from the rise and walked back to the boat.
Ruby followed Blake. "When's that? When it's of greatest profit to you?"
Blake paused before turning back to Ruby, getting up close to her. "May I ask you something? Have I ever given you reason not to trust me? Do us a favor. I know it's difficult for you, but please stay here. And try not to do anything stupid."
Blake walked off while Ruby glared at her.
"My thoughts exactly," Winter said angrily. "Blake is just using Ruby to get the Black Pearl back."
"And did she just call me stupid?" Ruby said in offense.
Blake lowered in gaze in shame at her counterpart's duplicity.
"Who among us has paid the blood sacrifice owed to the heathen gods?" Adam continued addressing his crew.
"Us!"
"And whose blood must yet be paid?"
The crew pointed to Weiss. "Hers!"
Weiss recoiled in fear, thinking her number was up.
The Schnee siblings steeled themselves for the worst.
"Come on. Do something!" Winter said anxiously as she clenched her armrests.
"Please, Ruby! Blake! Move faster!" Weiss begged her teammates.
"Hurry up other me!" Ruby shouted at her counterpart.
Not far away, Blake surreptitiously made her way closer to the assembled pirates.
"You know the first thing I'm going to do after the curse is lifted?" Adam asked Weiss, who didn't answer. "Eat a whole bushel of apples!"
Adam grabbed Weiss and forced her over the chest while he grabbed the stone knife. The other pirates began to chant in anticipation.
"Begun by blood. By blood undone," Adam declared.
Blake continued watching the ceremony. Behind her, a shadow holding an oar appeared. Blake turned around, too late to ward off the blow that knocked her unconscious.
"Sorry, Blake. I'm not going to be your leverage," Ruby said as she dropped the oar and moved on to rescue Weiss.
"Oooooh!" many audience members groaned with a wince as Blake was knocked out.
Ruby cringed remorsefully. "Sorry Blake..."
"Don't worry about it. It's not you," Blake assured.
"It might be too late, anyway," Weiss whispered as she broke into a cold sweat.
"No..." Winter said shakily.
Everybody went tense, hoping against hope Weiss wouldn't be killed.
Adam snatched the medallion from Weiss' neck, then grabbed her wrist and cut her palm with the stone dagger, eliciting a pained gasp from her. He then clapped the medallion into Weiss' hand and closed her fist around it, then removed it, now stained with the girl's blood.
"That's it?" Weiss questioned.
"Waste not," Adam replied with a smile.
A wave of relief washed over the audience since Adam didn't draw a fatal amount of blood from Weiss to end the curse.
"Well, that's a relief," Winter remarked.
"I'll say," Weiss agreed she wiped sweat from her forehead.
The pirates stopped chanting as Adam held the blood-stained medallion above the chest and dropped it inside. Adam closed his eyes and smiled, waiting for the curse to finally end. The other pirates went tense and silent.
Not far away, Ruby silently made her way towards Weiss via the shallow water in the cave.
After a long pause, Adam opened his eyes. All the pirates looked at each other and at themselves.
Nothing was happening.
"Did it work?" Corsac questioned, confused.
"I don't feel no different," Emerald commented.
"How do we tell?" Mercury wondered aloud.
Adam rolled his eyes, drew his pistol, and shot Mercury in the heart, prompting gasps from the rest of the crew. Dumbstruck, Mercury looked down at the bullet hole his chest.
And he didn't die.
A few audience members couldn't help but laugh at the darkly humorous scene.
"Well, that's one way of finding out," Jaune chuckled.
Weiss and Winter wouldn't have minded if Mercury dropped dead right there after what he did to Klein.
"You're not dead!" Hazel noted loudly.
"No." Mercury muttered before pointing at Adam. "He shot me!"
"It didn't work!"
"The curse is still upon us!"
Adam was at a loss for words… then he turned to Weiss.
"You! Maid!" he shouted, seizing Weiss roughly. "Your mother, what was her name? Was your mother Summer Rose?"
Weiss couldn't help but smile. "No."
Adam barely kept his anger under control as he realized he'd been tricked. "Where's her child who sailed from Atlas eight years ago? The child in whose veins flows the blood of Summer Rose! Where?!"
Weiss didn't answer, her smile unchanging. Furious, Adam backhanded Weiss, sending her tumbling down the treasure pile and stopping at the water's edge. The medallion landed beside her.
Everybody glared at Adam's counterpart for his manhandling, especially Weiss and Winter.
Hazel angrily turned to Emerald and Mercury. "You two! You brought us the wrong person!"
"No! She had the medallion. She's the proper age," Emerald explained.
"She said her name was Rose," Mercury added. "You heard her. I think she lied to us."
"No, duh," Marrow mocked Mercury's counterpart.
Penny giggled. "He's certainly not the brightest member of the crew."
As the pirates all bickered, Ruby popped up from the water and swam over to Weiss. She reached over to cover Weiss' mouth and beckoned her to keep quiet. Before leaving with Ruby, Weiss snatched the medallion.
"You brought us here for nothing!" Fennec accused Adam.
"I won't take questioning, not from the likes of you, Master Fennec," Adam growled.
"Who's to blame him?" Corsac weighed in. "Your decisions have led us from bad to worse!
"It was you who sent Bootstrap to the depths!" Perry reminded Adam.
The revelation made Yang and Ruby gasped sharply in shock while Qrow looked angry, as did everybody else.
"What does he mean by that? They killed her?" Ruby whispered on the verge of tears.
Yang's eyes glowed red. "Taurus. You bastard!" she hissed.
Weiss and Penny frowned sadly and moved to comfort Ruby as she barely fought back tears of grief for Summer.
As the pirates argued, Ruby and Weiss made their escape. They were only noticed by the monkey, who screeched and tried to point them out to no avail.
"And it's you who brought us here in the first place!" Hazel shouted as he drew his sword.
"They're starting to turn on Adam," Blake said bitterly. "Now he knows how I felt when I was mutinied."
"But if a fight breaks out, it won't do any good because to the curse," Vine reminded everyone.
"Either way, it's just the distraction Ruby and Weiss needed out of there," Winter said, overjoyed that Weiss had been saved at the last second.
Adam drew his sword. "If any coward here dare challenge me, let him speak!"
Hazel hesitated to challenge Adam.
"I say we cut her throat and spill all her blood. Just in case," Corsac suggested.
"Yeah!" the other pirates chorused in agreement.
"Not likely, you degenerates," Weiss sneered, knowing she and Ruby had made their escape.
Adam also seemed to agree with Corsac's idea. But he noticed his pet monkey pointing to the cave exit. He then turned to where Weiss had fallen and saw she had vanished, along with the medallion.
"The medallion! She's taken it!" Adam shouted. "Get after her, you feckless pack of ingrates!"
The pirates ran back to their boats moored nearby. Only there was one problem.
"Where are the oars?!"
"There's no oars!"
"The oars have gone missing! Find them!" Hazel bellowed.
Just then, a woozy Blake stumbled into the cave from a dark passage, holding the oar Ruby hit her with.
"Blake what are you doing! Get out of there!" Yang shouted at the screen with concern.
"She's probably still dazed from being rendered unconscious," Penny pointed out.
"Oops..." Ruby muttered as she realized her counterpart put Blake in danger, even if it was to save Weiss.
Emerald spotted Blake and blanched at her. "You!"
"You're supposed to be dead," Mercury said angrily after spotting Blake.
"Am I not?" Blake mumbled, still groggy from being knocked out.
By now, all the pirates were alert to Blake's presence. She turned to go back way she came, only for more pirates to block her path. They forced her back at gunpoint.
Blake only had one option. "Pearlie...," she mumbled trying to find the right word. "Palu-li-la-la-lulu...Parlili..."
Blake continued stuttering while the pirates stared at her in confusion. Emerald and Mercury exchanged looks.
"Parley?" Emerald guessed.
Blake's face lit up. "That's the one! Parley! Parley!"
"Good save, Blake," Jaune complimented.
"But will that keep her alive for long?" Ruby fretted.
Penny shook her head. "I highly doubt it. Adam will likely want to finish her off."
Penny's words made everyone worried for Blake, even if she had tricked Ruby into helping her.
All the other pirates glared at Emerald, who sheepishly lowered her head.
"Parley?!" Mercury snarled at his partner.
"Damn to the depths whatever muttonhead thought of parley!" Mercury declared as he kept his pistol aimed at Blake.
Blake gingerly lowered Mercury's weapon. "That would be the Valeans."
Meanwhile, outside, long trail of oars floated in the water leading up to the Interceptor. From their rowboat, Ruby disposed of the remaining oars while Weiss climbed aboard.
"Nice thinking, sis," Yang complimented.
"That'll slow them down for sure," Qrow added with a smile.
On deck, Weiss stared at the Interceptor crew. "Not more pirates."
"Welcome aboard, Miss Schnee," Qrow greeted with a smile.
"Mr. Branwen?" Weiss said, surprised to see him again.
"Oh, that's right. She knew him from his naval service," Ironwood recalled from the film's beginning.
"She probably hadn't expected to see him again," Elm added while drinking a soda.
Ruby climbed aboard behind Weiss.
"Hey, lass, where be Blake?" Qrow asked, noticing Blake was missing.
"Blake? Blake Belladonna?" Weiss questioned, even more surprised.
"She fell behind," Ruby lied as she led Weiss down below deck.
The crew was silent for a few moments while Qrow looked downcast before saying: "Keep to the Code."
"Weigh anchor! Hoist the sails! Split-quick, you dibbies!" Ilia ordered, now acting as first mate.
The crew scrambled for their stations while Qrow stared dubiously at Ruby.
Ruby gasped softly. "They're not really going to leave Blake behind, are they?"
"Well, you are the one who knocked her out," Harriet reminded.
"No, I didn't. My counterpart did. And only to save Weiss' life," Ruby defended.
"Well, either way, that's the pirate code according to Blake," Qrow said with a shrug.
Back inside the cavern, Blake leaned on the oar, while the other pirates guarded her. They then made way for Adam as he entered.
"How the blazes did you get off that island?" Adam asked with a mixture of amazement and frustration.
"When you marooned me on that Oum-forsaken spit of land, you forgot one very important thing: I'm Captain Blake Belladonna," Blake replied arrogantly.
"Now's not the time to stroke your ego, Blake," Marrow scolded.
"Yeah. Parley or not, Adam kill you," Yang said worriedly. "How are you going to get out of this one?"
"I've survived this long. I'm sure I'll think of something," Blake assured her partner.
Adam just smiled and got in Blake's face. "Ah. Well, I won't be making that mistake again," he said before turning to the crew. "Gents, you all remember Captain Blake Belladonna?"
"Aye."
"Kill her," Adam ordered with finality.
The pirates all grinned and aimed their pistols at Blake while Adam began to walk away.
"The girl's blood didn't work, did it?" Blake asked with a knowing smirk.
Adam paused in mid-step. "Hold your fire!"
"See. That's how," Blake said with a smirk.
The pirates obeyed reluctantly, especially Mercury, who groaned in exasperation.
Adam turned back to Blake and gave a slight nod. "You know whose blood we need."
"I know whose blood you need," Blake confirmed, her smirk growing wider.
Blake's smile vanished as she gaped in disbelief at what her counterpart was doing.
"Oh, come on! Don't tell me you're joining up with them," Yang shouted at the screen in outrage.
"She's willing to do just about anything to get her ship back," Ironwood said while shaking his head.
Elsewhere, the Interceptor had set sail and cruised across the Carribean Sea, bound for Port Royal.
Below deck, Weiss and Ruby were seated at a table together, the former trying to bandage her cut hand.
"What sort of a man trades a man's life for a ship?" Weiss grumbled in frustration.
Ruby shrugged. "A pirate."
Ruby gently took over the bandaging for Weiss. "Here. Let me."
"Thank you," Weiss said softly, trying to hide a blush.
Weiss and Ruby slowly exchanged glances, then blushed and turned away. Everyone else was touched, especially the women.
Yang wore a teasing smirk. "This is so adorable," she said as she felt mushy inside.
"This takes me back to brighter days..." Ozpin said wistfully, reminded of intimate moments with Salem.
"You said you gave Taurus my name as yours. Why?" Ruby asked.
Ruby levelled her gaze into Weiss' but couldn't say what she was truly thinking.
Weiss paused. "I don't know," she lied.
Weiss then winced and pulled her hand back from Ruby's.
"I'm sorry. A blacksmith's hands. They're rough," Ruby apologized.
"No...I mean, yes, they are, but... don't stop." Weiss stammered, knowing she had to tell Ruby the truth.
The girls locked eyes again. Ruby tied up the bandage but continued holding Weiss' hand. Passion took the two women. Weiss' moved closer to Ruby.
"Weiss," Ruby whispered, her lips mere inches from Weiss' as she caressed her face.
"Awwwww!" the entire female cooed softly at the onscreen couple, expecting a kiss.
"I'm so happy for you two!" Yang cooed as she gave Ruby a bear hug.
"You two look so cute together," Blake said with a hand to her chest.
"I know," Winter agreed in a dreamy voice.
"All right. All right. Enough already!" Weiss said in irritated embarrassment.
"Let me go!" Ruby whined as she wriggled out of Yang's hug.
Ruby then looked puzzled as Weiss took the former's hand and guided it from her face, then down her neck, and finally stopping at her chest. Weiss then withdrew the medallion tucked away.
"It's yours," Weiss informed as she unclasped the medallion from her neck.
Ruby held the medallion, recognizing it. "I thought I'd lost it the day they rescued me. It was a gift from my mother. She sent it to me," she said.
Ruby smiled at her mother's thoughtfulness. "That was nice of her. But why send it to me?"
"Maybe she knew about the curse and sent it to you to keep Adam from ending it," Qrow theorized.
"Thank Monty the curse didn't pass onto Ruby," Weiss said gratefully.
"Why did you take it?" Ruby asked.
"Because I was afraid that you were a pirate. That would've been awful," Weiss reasoned, reliving the old memory.
"She has a point. If Clover saw Ruby with it, who knows how Clover would react," Elm agreed with Weiss' counterpart.
"At the very least, they'd throw her back overboard," Qrow said with a frown.
Clover once again looked ashamed of his counterpart if such a thing were true, even if it was law to brutally punish pirates in the onscreen universe.
Ruby stared intently at the medallion. "It wasn't your blood they needed. It was my mother's blood. My blood. The blood of a pirate," she said in realization.
Weiss laid her hand on Ruby's arm. "Ruby, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me," she begged.
Ruby didn't react. She didn't even look at Weiss. She simply clenched her fist around medallion and slammed it angrily against the table. Weiss eyed Ruby for a moment, then got up and left the room.
Weiss and Ruby looked saddened by the scene, hoping the friendship between their counterparts wouldn't become strained by what just happened onscreen.
[1]- I'd like to thank the Guest review for chapter 41 on 3/10/23 for this casting suggestion. You're absolutely right. Nora may be short, but she more than makes up for it with pure energy, just like Marty. I already chose Neo and Ilia's roles in the cast, but you predicted them before I published this chapter. Good guesswork.
[2]- I've often wondered this myself. It's one of the mysteries of POTC. Personally, I figured Mr. Cotton enlisted help from someone to train the parrot to speak for him.
[3]- I contemplated casting Yang as Anamaria, but that felt cruel to me because I feel it would only remind Blake and Yang of when the former abandoned the latter after the fall of Beacon.
[4]- This was actually confirmed in the audio commentary for the film.
[5]- A little foreshadowing to the true nature of Jack's (or rather Blake's) compass. Leave it up to wise old Ozpin to be on the right track.