JC: As a one-shot, I'll probably adapt Predator (1987). I'm torn between casting either Jaune or Yang to play Dutch, though.
samsoasa14: "Saw" would definitely make an interesting, if gruesome, adaptation for the upcoming one-shot fic.
Pharamine: I hate it that voting is only possible via PC. Yes. Mythbusters is an awesome show. I may have the cast react to at least one episode in the one-shot fic. Speaking of which, I'll only be covering bits and pieces for the adaptations, but Gold-Sith will still explain the full story, albeit concisely. And, once again, thanks for pointing out that error for me.
sniperbro1998: I'm sorry, but I can't picture Jaune playing either of those roles. It just doesn't fit him IMO.
Gamelover41592: Thank you. I chose Ozpin, because like Davy Jones, he's a tragic figure, although the latter is a villain instead of a hero. And Salem just feels like the best choice to play Calypso, if only because she was Ozpin's and Davy Jones' lover respectively. And both are powerful and greatly feared figures.
LeoLion1997: I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter. And you're right on all those points. Unfortunately, I DO have so much on my plate nowadays, I'm working around the clock. I may have even become a workaholic.
Fallout-Man101: Interesting suggestions for Davy Jones and Calypso. I'll keep them under consideration. I haven't done "Dead Man's Chest" or "At World's End" yet, so I can change the last chapter and insert Ironwood instead if enough people don't like the choice I've made. No promises, though.
VirusChris: I love that feeling too. Just seeing the update notification on my phone really brightens my day. And I'm happy you're enjoying watching Blake as Jack. The audience certainly is, lol. It's possible I'll get to "Dead Man's Chest" one day, but it'll be a while.
Weiss and Blake had just been brought aboard the Dauntless. Willow and Clover were present.
"But we've got to save Ruby!" Weiss begged her mother.
"No! You're safe now," Willow refused. "We will return to Port Royal immediately, not go gallivanting after pirates."
Nobody was happy to hear Willow disregard Ruby, even if it was out of concern for Weiss' safety.
"Mother. How could you?" Weiss said in disappointment.
"She's only looking out for you, sister," Winter reasoned, even though she didn't approve.
"Then we condemn her to death!" Weiss angrily informed Willow.
Willow looked remorseful. "The girl's fate is regrettable, but so is her decision to engage in piracy."
Weiss was outraged. "To rescue me. To prevent anything from happening to me," she pointed out.
"That's right! Weiss would be dead if it weren't for Ruby!" Yang shouted in defense of her sister.
Blake, under guard by Dee and Dudley, quickly sensed an opportunity and took it as she approached Clover.
"If I may be so bold as to interject my professional opinion," Blake cut in. "The Pearl was listing near to scuppers after the battle. She won't make good time. Think about it."
Clover stared blankly at Blake.
"Now that I think about it, the Pearl did take some damage from the battle," Maria recalled from earlier.
"And there was already a leak before that happened," Blake added irritably from the lack of upkeep to her ship.
"So, maybe the Dauntless can catch them and rescue Ruby," Yang said hopefully.
"But they won't be able to defeat the crew while the curse is still active. And it's doubtful they'll keep Ruby alive once it's removed," Harriet bluntly reminded everyone.
"The Black Pearl. The last real pirate threat in the Caribbean, mate. How can you pass that up?" Blake
"By remembering that I serve others, Ms. Belladonna, not only myself," Clover refused, fully aware that Blake was trying to play him.
"Awwww..." RWBY and ORNJ all groaned in disappointment, especially Yang.
"It was worth a try," Qrow said.
"He may be a hardass, but he's still straight as an arrow when it comes to performing his duty to Atlas," Marrow praised Clover's counterpart refusing to be swayed by Blake.
"All military officers should have that quality. Duty before glory," Clover agreed with a nod.
Clover turned to head back to the poopdeck while Weiss followed. "Commodore, I beg you, please do this for me. As a wedding gift," she plead.
Everyone was taken by surprise by Weiss' plea. Even Blake didn't see it coming.
A few softs gasps emanated from the audience, including Clover and Weiss, the latter blushing slightly.
"Wedding gift? Does that mean...?" Elm began to say.
"Yeah. I think it does," Marrow answered his counterpart.
"Weiss? Are you accepting the Commodore's proposal?" Willow asked.
Clover locked eyes with Weiss, his mouth agape.
"I am," Weiss replied, knowing it was the only way to rescue Ruby.
Everyone was impressed by how far Weiss' counterpart was willing to go to save Ruby.
"Such dedication," Penny commented Weiss' counterpart.
Ruby gave her partner a hug. "You're such a great friend, Weiss," she gushed.
Weiss sighed but returned the hug. "All right. Don't get all sappy about it," she said with a smile.
"A wedding. I love weddings. Drinks all around!" Blake cheered.
Clover shot Blake an irritated look.
"I know. 'Clap her in irons' right?" Blake guessed as she clapped her hands together.
A few people snickered at Blake's onscreen antics. Blake rolled her eyes but couldn't hide an amused smirk.
Clover pondered for a moment before descending back to the main deck. "Ms. Belladonna, you will accompany these fine men to the helm and provide us with a bearing to the Island of Death. Then contemplate all possible meanings of the phrase 'silent as the grave' Do I make myself clear?"
"Inescapably clear," Blake agreed as Dee and Dudley pushed her towards the helm.
"He's entrusting those two goons to guard Blake?" Weiss said in disbelief.
Winter facepalmed softly. "What could possibly go wrong," she snarked.
"This is a perilous situation. If they arrive too late, Ruby will most likely be dead. If they arrive too early, the cursed pirates could probably take out the whole HMS crew," Ironwood said warily.
Elsewhere, the captured remnants of Blake's crew were locked up in the Black Pearl's brig. Mercury and Emerald were swabbing the floorboards just outside.
"Shiver me timbers," Neo's parrot squawked.
"Neo here says you missed a bit," Qrow translated.
Annoyed, Mercury slapped his mop at Qrow to shut him up.
Qrow smirked. "Worth it," he said.
"You know, I never got why they swabbed the deck back in those days," Nora said curiously as she sipped a soda.
"Well, swabbing the deck with seawater keeps them swollen and pressed tight against each other," Maria explained from her historic knowledge. "It kept waves from drenching the rooms below decks, especially the sleeping quarters."
"Makes sense to me. I wouldn't want water leaking on me while I'm sleeping," Blake said in agreement.
Ruby was locked alone in a neighboring cell. "You knew Summer Rose?" she asked Mercury.
Mercury stopped mopping. "Old Bootstrap Rose, we knew her. Never sat well with Bootstrap, what we did to Blake Belladonna, the mutiny and all," he began with a nasty smile.
Emerald kept at her work while Mercury resumed his story. "She said it wasn't right with the code. That's why she sent off a piece of the treasure to you. She said we deserved to be cursed, and remain cursed," he finished.
Ruby furrowed her brow as a new view of her mother entered her mind. She hadn't seen it coming.
Many found it touching to see Ruby realize Summer was a good woman in this universe, pirate or no pirate.
"It's a good thing the curse didn't pass onto Ruby and Weiss as the coin came into their position," Yang said gratefully.
"Indeed. The curse only seems to work when the coin is taken directly from the chest," Penny deducted.
"Thank Oum for that," Ruby agreed as she tried to refrain from imagining herself or Weiss as skeletons.
"Stupid lass," Emerald sneered.
"Good woman," Qrow countered.
Qrow and Ruby both glowered at Emerald's counterpart for insulting Summer.
"That's right, you bitch," Yang snarled in agreement to Qrow's counterpart.
Mercury shot Qrow a look before continuing. "But, as you can imagine, that didn't sit too well with the Captain."
Emerald came up to Mercury. "That didn't sit too well with the Captain at all. Tell him what Taurus did," she giggled.
"I'm telling the story!" Mercury shouted. "So, what the captain did, he strapped a cannon to Bootstrap's bootstraps."
"Bootstrap's bootstraps!" Emerald sniggered.
"Last we saw of Summer Rose, she was sinking into the crushin' black oblivion of Ozpin's locker!" Mercury said dramatically.
Ruby stared at Mercury with silent rage.
"So, mom was cursed as well," Ruby said, then realized something. "But since she couldn't die like the other pirates..."
"Then she's probably still at the bottom of the ocean...strapped to that cannon!" Jaune finished with horror.
"Alive? After all these years?! Sweet Monty, that's terrible!" Penny cried out. [2]
Ruby began to tear up, saddened and angered by Summer's fate. Yang hugged her sister for comfort while she glared red-eyed at the screen.
"It was only after that we learned we needed her blood to lift the curse," Mercury finished his tale with a shrug.
"That's what you call ironic," Emerald remarked as she and Mercury chuckled.
"I call it well deserved karma," Qrow said with a smirk.
Ruby and Yang nodded. "Damn straight," the latter agreed as her eyes returned to their natural lilac color.
Just then, Adam appeared with Hazel standing beside him. "Bring her," he said simply as he tossed a set of keys to Emerald.
Cut to a nighttime view of the Black Pearl viewed through a telescope. Apparently, the ship was deserted.
Clover lowered his telescope. He and Blake sat in one of several longboats full of soldiers in the waters just outside the Island of Death's cave mouth. The Dauntless was visible in the background.
"I don't care for the situation. Any attempt to storm the caves could turn into an ambush," Clover said cautiously.
"Not if you're the one doing the ambushing," Blake said, her hands bound in irons.
"That's true on both accounts. But, when you factor in the pirate's curse, any move they make will be futile," Ironwood analyzed the situation himself.
"But he doesn't know about the curse. Or simply doesn't believe Ruby and Blake," Qrow pointed out.
"So, what are they going to do? They can't just wait until the curse is lifted. Ruby will be dead by then," Yang fretted for her little sister.
Blake placed an arm on Clover's shoulder. "I go in and get Taurus to send his men out in their little boats. Your mates return to the Dauntless and blast them with your cannons. What do you have to lose?" she proposed.
Clover shook off Blake's arm. "Nothing I'd lament being rid of," he said flatly.
Blake huffed. "Must he be so blunt?"
"Now, to be honest, there's a risk to those aboard the Dauntless, which includes the future Mrs. Commodore," Blake warned.
Clover lowered his gaze in consideration of Blake's words.
Back aboard the Dauntless, Harriet and a pair of marines were hustling Weiss, now dressed in marine garb, inside the ship's cabin while she struggled to free herself.
"It's for your own safety," Harriet apologized.
"I don't care, I have to tell him!" Weiss cried. "The pirates are cursed! They can't be killed!"
"He's already informed of that," Harriet said mockingly. "A little mermaid flopped up on deck and told the story."
"Seriously, Harriet?" Elm scolded her teammate.
Harriet held up a hand. "Hey, I haven't even seen the pirates under the moonlight," she defended her counterpart.
"She's right. It is a rather bizarre story," Vine added, being the logical member of the Ace-Ops.
Harriet and the other marines laughed as she shut the door.
"This is Blake Belladonna's doing!" Weiss shouted before angrily turning away from the door.
Meanwhile, a lone Blake smirked to herself as she rowed a boat into the island's big cave mouth.
"She seems pretty confident. It seems she has a new plan up her sleeve," Maria noted from Blake's smirk.
"With that silver tongue, she'll probably manage to work something out with Adam," Yang predicted while she munched on a handful of popcorn.
"At the expense of someone else," Clover refuted.
"Perhaps. But it may be the only way for the good guys to win," Elm said, recognizing Blake as a necessary anti-hero.
Further inside the caves, Adam led his crew back towards the main cavern, tossing an apple as he went.
A bound Ruby was shoved along by Emerald and Mercury. The medallion hung around her neck.
"No reason to fret, mate," Mercury assured. "A prick of the finger, a few drops of blood."
Fennec grabbed Ruby from behind. "No mistakes this time. She's only half-Rose. We spill it all!" he snarled as he shoved the girl forward.
"Guess there is reason to fret," Mercury corrected himself, eliciting a snicker from Emerald.
Ruby gingerly touched her throat and swallowed, knowing full well what Fennec meant. Yang and Qrow let out low, protective growls.
"Don't worry, Ruby. I'll get you out of this somehow," Blake promised her teammate.
"Speaking of which, I can't wait to see the look on Adam's face when you show up," Nora giggled while looking at Blake.
Inside the main cavern, the pirates had assembled once again. Ruby was pushed over the chest by Fennec and Corsac while Adam grabbed the stone knife from atop the chest. The rest of the crew hooted and raised their weapons in anticipation of finally ending the curse.
Luckily, Blake had just arrived. She shoved her way through the crowd of pirates, any she passed staring at her in disbelief.
Adam began his speech again. "Gone by blood. By blood..." then stopped mid-sentence as Blake stepped into view.
The hooting pirates all fell silent at the sight of Blake.
"Blake!" Ruby exclaimed.
Adam stared, "It's not possible," he whispered in bewilderment.
"Not probable" Blake corrected.
Adam's reaction elicited a few chuckles and snickers, most notably from Nora.
"That's true. Escaping that island twice is nothing short of amazing," Penny commented on Blake's correction.
Hazel placed a hand on Blake's shoulder, stopping her from approaching Adam.
"Where's Weiss?" Ruby asked as Fennec and Corsac held her back.
"Safe, like I promised. She's set to marry Ebi, like she promised, and you get to die for her like you promised," Blake said brightly.
Ruby shot Blake a dubious look.
Ruby lowered her gaze in discomfort. Of course, she was relieved Weiss was safe, but didn't want to see her to counterpart die in the process.
"Oh yeah, that'll put her at ease," Yang said sarcastically.
"So, we're all women of our word," Blake concluded.
"Shut up! You're next!" Adam hissed, waving his knife at Blake.
Fennec and Corsac shoved Ruby over the chest while Adam put the knife to her throat.
Ruby gasped sharply and covered her eyes. Everyone else went froze up with worry.
"No!" Yang, Qrow, Jaune, Weiss, and Penny all cried out in unison.
"You don't want to be doing that, mate," Blake warned.
Adam glanced at Blake. "No, I really think I do," he assured.
Blake shrugged. "Your funeral."
Adam paused and rolled his eyes. "Why don't I want to be doing it?" he asked as he turned to Blake, withdrawing the knife from Ruby's throat.
Ruby, Yang, Qrow, and Penny all exhaled with relief. Everyone else was likewise relieved by Blake's save.
"Well, because…" Blake began, smacking off Hazel's hand off her shoulder "…the HMS Dauntless, pride of the Atlesian Navy, is floating just offshore waiting for you."
Adam's eyes widened while the other pirates murmured anxiously to themselves.
Back outside, Clover and his troops continued waiting in their longboats on both sides of the cave mouth. Dee and Dudley sat in Clover's boat, right behind the commodore.
"What are we doing here?" Dudley asked Dee impatiently.
"The pirates come out, unprepared and unawares. We catch 'em in a crossfire and send 'em down to see Old Hob," Dee answered excitedly.
"Old Hob? What does that mean?" Oscar wondered aloud.
"I suppose it's slang for death in those days. Like Ozpin's locker. Or should I say, my locker," Ozpin assumed, the last line humorlessly.
"I know why we're here," Dudley said, annoyed. "I meant, why aren't we doing what Ms. Belladonna said we should do? With the cannons and all?"
"Because it was Ms. Belladonna who said it," Clover answered irritably, as if it were obvious.
Dudley paused. "You think he wasn't telling the truth?" he asked Dee.
"After what happened back at Port Royal, you'd think they'd know better than to trust Blake," Clover sighed in disappointment of the two marines.
"Why would you even bring them along?" Elm questioned Clover's decision, the latter shrugging.
Back inside the cave, Blake was arguing her case to Adam. "Just hear me out, mate. Order your men to row out to the Dauntless, they do what they do best."
The other pirates laughed loudly.
"Robert's your uncle, Fanny's your aunt...There you are with two ships. The makings of your own fleet," Blake went on, emphasizing her point with her typical odd hand gestures. "You'll take the grandest as your flagship and who's to argue?"
Adam listened; his arms crossed in contemplation of Blake's proposition.
"But what of the Pearl?" Blake leaned closer to Adam. "Name me captain, I'll sail under your colors and give you 10% of me plunder and you get to introduce yourself as Commodore Taurus. Savvy?" she finished her plan.
Everyone was shocked at Blake seemingly resort to joining Adam if it meant retrieving the Black Pearl.
"Wait a second... Blake isn't really joining Adam, is she?" Ruby questioned nervously.
"I honestly can't tell," Oscar said while shaking his head, given Blake's unpredictability.
Maria shook her head. "I doubt it. I think she's taking advantage of Adam's greed to trick him," she assumed correctly.
"What do you mean, Maria?" Yang asked.
"Well, while all the other pirates are aboard the Dauntless fighting the marines, Blake and Ruby can end the curse with minimal trouble," Maria explained.
"Hey, that's right," Harriet agreed with a nod. "And if they end the curse at the right moment, the pirates won't stand a chance against the Dauntless crew."
"And I suppose in exchange you want me not to kill the wench?" he asked, turning to a nervous looking Ruby.
"Not at all. By all means, kill the wench. Just not yet," Blake said, locking eyes with Ruby. "Wait to lift the curse until the opportune moment."
Ruby and Yang scowled at the former being called a wench.
"This is very risky," Elm said uneasily. "If Blake truly was joining Adam, what's stopping him from killing her and keeping the Black Pearl anyway?"
"And either way, she's putting myself and my soldiers at risk," Clover said, sounding very displeased.
"Well, we are soldiers. Danger like that is all part of our job," Marrow stated.
Ruby stared back at Blake, now realizing she had another plan up her sleeve. Adam looked from Ruby to Blake suspiciously.
"For instance," Blake scooped up a few of the Aztec coins. "After you've killed Ebi's men. Every... last... one," she finished, dropping the coins back into the chest to punctuate her words.
The pirates all chuckled. Only Ruby noticed Blake palm one of the cursed coins and hide it up her sleeve. Adam was too engrossed by the proposal.
Maria, Ozpin, and Ironwood all noticed Blake palm the coin as well and realized Blake truly was tricking Adam. But they kept it to themselves.
"You've planned this ever since you learned my name," Ruby accused, playing along with Blake's plan.
"Yeah," Blake answered shamelessly.
"Hmmm, I must say, Blake is a good planner. Even if she is a pirate," Elm admitted.
"And Ruby's just as clever playing along," Yang added with a proud smile.
"They might just pull this off," Ironwood said with a slow nod, in spite of the risk involved.
"I want fifty percent of your plunder," Adam demanded.
"Fifteen," Blake countered.
"Forty."
"Twenty-five. I'll buy you the hat. A really big one. Commodore," Blake gave a final offer with a smile.
Adam smiled back and offered his hand to Blake. "We have an accord."
Blake shook Adam's hand, sealing the deal.
"I never thought I'd see the day where I shake Adam's hand. Even in another universe," Blake said while shaking her head.
"Don't sweat it, Blake. It's all just part of the plan," Yang assured her partner.
"All hands to the boats!" Blake hollered to the crew.
Adam shot Blake a glare.
"Apologies. You give the orders," Blake said sheepishly.
Blake crossed her arms. "Oh right. It's commodore Taurus now," she said dully.
"Gents...take a walk!" Adam ordered.
The pirates chuckled as they filed out of the cave.
Penny blinked in puzzlement. "Take a walk? What does he mean by that?"
Nobody could answer for the android's question. They didn't get it either.
Blake looked at Adam in confusion. "Not to the boats?"
Adam just shot Blake a smirk.
Among the pirates, Emerald and Mercury headed back out of the cave. Until Hazel snapped a parasol across their chests, stopping them. He shot them a smile.
"Now what does Hazel have in store for them?" Oscar wondered, unnerved by the grin Hazel gave.
Outside, the clouds parted, allowing the moon to shine brightly over the waters around the island.
Cut to a view of the Dauntless from the cave mouth. Then an underwater view of the shallow waters around the island. A school of fish were swimming beneath the Dauntless. Then suddenly, they scattered as if in fear of something.
Distant figures materialized from the gloom. Slowly, they moved towards the Dauntless' hull. It was the pirates walking across the ocean floor. Music played as if in buildup of the impeding battle.
The pirates walked under the ship's hull and onto the other side. Corsac was the first to cross over as he neared the Dauntless' anchor.
Everyone looked creeped out or at least disturbed by the underwater undead pirates. It was no wonder the fish were scared away.
"That is so creepy," Nora said in a low voice.
"I guess that's how they got back aboard the Pearl earlier," Oscar deducted.
"Plus, they moved right beneath the longboats," Ozpin said, knowing the pirates had the element of surprise over the Dauntless.
On the surface, Clover spotted something that made him look puzzled.
A rowboat emerged from the cave. Seated in it were, to the marines, a pair of women. One of them rowed the boat. Both were wearing dresses and holding parasols that hid their faces.
Harriet blinked. "What the hell?" she mumbled.
"Hang on. Are those two...?" Yang began, unable to finish her sentence.
The marines all aimed their muskets at the rowboat.
"Hold fire," Clover ordered.
It turns out, it was Emerald and Mercury. They both held parasols to shield themselves from the moonlight.
Emerald fanned herself with a smile. "This is like what the Valeans done at Vacuo. Except they was in a horse, instead of dresses. Wooden horse," she said.
Mercury just rolled his eyes as he continued rowing, obviously humiliated to be dressed in drag.
There was a short pause before everyone burst out laughing or at least chuckled at Mercury's embarrassment.
"That takes me back to the dance at Beacon," Jaune reminisced on brighter days.
"Yeah. But this is even funnier," Nora said in between giggles.
"What are you two talking about?" Harriet asked in puzzlement.
Ren waved Harriet off. "We'll tell you some other time," he answered. [2]
Meanwhile, the undead pirates began to emerge from the water and clamber up the anchor line towards the Dauntless' deck.
Up on deck, Willow approached the ship's cabin, currently under guard.
Weiss and Willow looked worried for their mother, given the approaching danger.
"A moment, please?" he requested.
The guard nodded and walked off.
Willow knocked on the door. "Weiss?" there was no answer, but she went on anyway. "I want you to know I believe you made a very good decision today. Couldn't be more proud of you."
Weiss sighed wistfully, wishing she could hear her own mother speak to her in such a manner again. Winter wished for the same thing.
Inside the cabin, Weiss listened to Willow with the former's back to the latter. Weiss cast a glance over her shoulder before visibly working on something.
Through the cabin window, Willow could be seen sitting down as she continued. "But a good decision, if made for the wrong reasons, can be a wrong decision," she finished.
"Well, I disagree. She did it to save Ruby's life," Penny said sternly in Weiss' defense.
Weiss narrowed her eyes. "What are you up, other me?" she questioned her counterpart.
Fennec reached the deck and peaked over the railing, spotting two oblivious sentries.
"Look behind you fellas," Marrow said through clenched teeth, fearing a slaughter was about to begin.
On the poopdeck, Marrow spotted something. "Lieutenant?" he beckoned Harriet.
Harriet looked out and saw Emerald and Mercury's longboat. Puzzled, she took out her telescope and gazed through it.
Emerald and Mercury were rowing toward them, the former waving with a flirty "Yoo-hoo!"
Harriet and the rest of the crew were transfixed by the odd sight.
"I see what they're doing," Clover realized. "While most of the crew is distracted, the pirates move in."
"And since Clover and the marines are in the longboats, it'll be easier for them to take the ship," Vine added.
"And they'll be sitting ducks to cannon fire out there," Elm finished, suddenly worried for Clover.
Fennec gestured his crewmates forward. The skeletal pirates silently climbed aboard the Dauntless' bow.
Back to Willow sitting outside the cabin. "Weiss? Are you there? Are you even listening to me?" she asked, misinterpreting Weiss' silence.
Willow stood up and opened the cabin door to enter.
Outside, at the stern of the ship, several knotted bed sheets hung from the cabin window. Below, Weiss rowed away on a longboat while facing the Dauntless.
"Smart move getting out of there," Qrow said.
"But I left mother behind. And where am I even going to go?" Weiss questioned her counterpart's actions.
"Either the island or the Black Pearl," Winter answered, knowing either choice was dangerous.
Back aboard the Dauntless, Corsac snuck up behind the first sentry and slit his throat. Hazel strangled the other. Both dead sentries fell to the deck. The pirates then crept towards the stern of the ship.
Ironwood and the Ace-Ops glared at the screen, clearly angry to witness Atlesian soldiers being slain. Clover was especially angry, since they were under his counterpart's command.
Willow hung out the window Weiss had fled through. "What have you done?" she whispered.
"I'm sorry, mother," Weiss said remorsefully as she lowered her gaze in shame.
Back on their boat, Emerald continued to 'yoo-hoo' at the Dauntless.
"Stop that! I already feel like a fool," Mercury hissed as he rowed the boat.
"You look nice, though," Emerald complimented.
After a pause, the enraged Mercury dropped his parasol. "I look nice?!" he shouted.
Mercury began to throttle Emerald, causing her to drop her parasol as well. The two were revealed as skeletons.
Almost everybody was taken aback by the sheer freakiness of the scene: two skeletons in a boat wearing dresses and one strangling the other.
"Well...there's something you don't see every day," Jaune said wide-eyed as he slowly ate a handful of popcorn.
"It's creepy and funny at the same time," Nora chuckled uneasily.
"Or just plain creepy," Ren disagreed with his partner.
Harriet gasped in disbelief at the sight.
Noticing they'd been exposed, Mercury grabbed a pistol and fired at Harriet. Luckily, the bullet only hit Harriet's hat, knocking it off.
"Whoa!" Harriet jolted back in her chair and touched her forehead.
"Lucky you, Harriet," Marrow commented.
Clover and the other crewmates turned around just in time to see the skeleton pirates reach the stern and charge at them. A big battle broke out.
"Spoke too soon," Marrow quickly took back his comment.
"What are they supposed to do? They can't be killed," Vine said with worry for his teammates.
"I don't care. Those scumbags won't take me without a fight!" Harriet said defiantly.
An upset Willow exited the cabin just in time to witness the Dauntless crew fighting the pirates. She hastily retreated inside unnoticed.
Back inside the cave, Blake was examining a golden statue while Adam watched her appraisingly. Three additional pirates, Yuma, Trifa, and Perry accompanied them as guards.
"I must admit, Blake, I thought I had you figured but it turns out you're a hard woman to predict," Adam
Blake shook her head. "I'm dishonest. And a dishonest person you can trust to be dishonest," she advised as she tossed the statue aside. "Honestly, it's the honest ones you want to watch out for."
"There's some truth to that. The honest ones are the ones you least suspect," Qrow agreed with Blake's counterpart.
"So... does that mean Ruby is the most untrustworthy one in that cave?" Nora asked.
"From Blake's point of view, yes," Maria said.
"That's not true about me!" Ruby protested with a pout.
"You can never predict when they're going to do something incredibly...stupid," Blake finished as she approached an unwary Trifa.
Adventurous music started up as, suddenly, Blake unsheathed a sword from Trifa and knocked her into the water. Then she tossed the weapon to Ruby, who caught it and knocked Perry away from her. Adam looked from Ruby to Blake, as he registered what was happening before standing up.
Blake rounded on Adam, who drew his own sword and they begin to duel. Yuma slashed at Ruby, who turned so her hands were freed by the cut. She then began to duel Yuma and Perry.
During the fight, Trifa had recovered, meaning Ruby had to fight three pirates at once. During the fight, Yuma was knocked into the moonlight, exposing his cursed undead form. He bellowed at Ruby. Undaunted, she socked him across the face.
The audience watched the battle anticipation, hoping Adam and his crew would be defeated.
"Go Ruby! Go Blake! Kick their pirate asses," Yang cheered with her fists raised.
"This is so cool!" Nora said elatedly as she bobbed her head at the epic, catchy music.
"I know!" Marrow agreed as he grinned at the screen in excitement.
Blake and Adam continued dueling with the former slashing off feathers from the latter's hat. They fought some more until they crossed swords and came face to face.
"You're off the edge of the map, mate. Here there be monsters!" Adam snarled in Blake's face.
Meanwhile, Weiss had just reached the Black Pearl and began to climb up the starboard side.
Through one of the gunports, Weiss could hear voices. She peaked in and saw two pirates, Tuskon and Deery, had set out a feast on a makeshift table over a cannon.
"Right. What would you eat first?" Deery asked her mate. "We should decide now so we're ready when the time comes."
"Just put yourself in the pirates' shoes. After ten years of being cursed, what would you want to eat first or drink first?" Jaune asked randomly.
"A whole platter of pancakes," Nora chimed in, licking her lips at the thought.
"Hmmmm, a bowl of strawberries or a plate of chocolate chip cookies," Ruby said as she held her chin in thought.
"A fish filet. Preferably salmon," Blake said while she munched on some anchovies.
Weiss quietly continued climbing until she reached the deck. She peaked over the railing and saw the coast was clear. She then climbed over the gunwale-
-then came face to face with Blake, the screeching skeletal monkey.
Weiss was startled at first, then looked annoyed. Blake then looked scared himself.
"She's not afraid of you anymore," Ruby said smugly.
"Yeah. She's done monkeying around," Yang said cheekily, while once again, everyone groaned at the pun.
Down below, Tuskon and Deery were cutting up portions of cake. The monkey screeched as it dropped onto a cannon with a metallic clang. The monkey sat dazed on the barrel of the cannon.
"What was that?" the two pirates said in unison.
They turned to look out the gun port, and saw the monkey sitting awkwardly on the cannon, then it slid off and fell into the water with a splash.
"Finally. He was really starting to annoy me," Harriet said dismissively.
"Me too," a few audience members agreed in tandem.
Weiss peaked over the gunwale. Tuskon and Deery's heads stuck out of the cannon port, looking down at the splash mark. Then Weiss fled just as they turned to look up.
The pirates drew back inside to give chase to the intruder.
Weiss quickly ran down the stairs to the second deck, then hid behind a wall as an armed Tuskon and Deery ran up the stairs shouting. Weiss continued down the stairs.
Down in the brig, the Black Pearl crew were chatting softly. Qrow perked up as he heard something and shushed the others as he looked out from the cell and spotted Weiss enter the brig.
"It's Weiss!" Qrow said while the others looked on in surprise.
"At the very least, they can take the Black Pearl while most of the pirates are off deck," Qrow suggested as he sipped a glass of water.
"Yeah. There's only two of them. They can take em," Nora said confidently.
"Then maybe they can rescue Blake and Ruby," Yang said hopefully.
Back aboard the Dauntless, the battle continued. It wasn't looking good for the Atlesian sailors and soldiers.
Emerald and Mercury had just reached the ship via rowboat and climbed inside through a gunport.
On the Dauntless deck, a wounded sailor rang a bell to alert the marines in their longboats.
Penny smiled. "Now the Marines can join in the fight," she pointed out, despite the fact the pirates were immortal.
Nearby, Clover and his men heard the alarm and looked out to see muzzle flashes from firearms on the Dauntless' deck.
"Make for the ship! Move!" Clover ordered, and the Marines began rowing back to the Dauntless.
A pirate heard the bell, spotted the wounded crewman, and finished him off with his sword.
Ironwood, Winter, and the Ace-Ops stared angrily at the screen.
"Those scumbags are going to pay for this!" Harriet growled, prompting nods from everyone else.
Below deck, Emerald, Mercury, and a few more pirates manned the cannons and began to fire at Clover and his troops, kicking up big geysers of water around their longboats.
"To the ship! Row, men!" Clover shouted as a cannonball narrowly missed his boat.
"Hurry, Clover," Elm urged her leader's counterpart.
Back on the Dauntless, Willow peered out the glass cabin window at the battle on deck.
She dropped down below the window, panting with fear. Willow peeked up again as the face of a dead marine slammed on the glass right next to her and slid down.
Willow looked up and saw Corsac glaring down at her. Willow shrieked in terror and began backing away beneath the window. Pirate hands smashed through the windows, grasping for her. One of the pirate hands grabbed Willow's necklace and snapped it off. But Willow, who greatly valued the necklace, refused to let it go and had a tug-of-war with the pirate over her beloved necklace.
"Just let it go, mother. It's only a necklace," Willow shouted at the screen.
"It's not that simple. Her husband gave the necklace to her as a gift for their tenth wedding anniversary. She treasured it ever since," Gold-Sith explained to everyone's surprise and confusion.
Weiss blinked. "Huh? That doesn't sound like Jacques," she remarked, wondering if her father wasn't the ruthless businessman he was in her own reality.
Willow snatched a bull horn off a table behind her and struck the skeleton arm, which snapped off onto the floor.
"Looks like that pirate has just been disarmed," Marrow said smugly.
Everyone shot Marrow incredulous looks. Yang herself snapped her head at Marrow. "Ahem!" she said angrily, as she held up her prosthetic arm.
Marrow, realizing his mistake, cleared his throat nervously. "Oh...er...sorry," he said.
"Damn right, you are," Yang snarled as she relaxed.
"Nice one, Marrow," Elm said sarcastically.
Back inside the cave, Blake and Adam continued their duel with the same music as earlier. They moved up an incline until Adam kicked Blake to the ground.
Tired of the game, Adam threw down his sword. "You can't beat me, Blake," he declared, sticking his chest out.
Blake didn't listen as she got up and thrust her sword into Adam's chest. He didn't even flinch.
Adam sighed, as if in boredom, before pulling the blade out and stabbing Blake in the chest with it. Blake gagged while Adam smiled victoriously.
Gasps of shock and horror filled the theater. Blake even placed a hand over her chest, her eyes wide as dinner plates.
"Blake! No!" Yang cried shrilly, feeling tears about to well up in her eyes.
Maria held her hands up. "No, no. It's okay," she assured everyone.
Everyone who didn't notice Blake taking the coin shot Maria incredulous looks.
"How is it okay?!" Weiss asked loudly with dismay.
Blake staggered backwards into a beam of moonlight shining through the cavern roof…
…and turned skeletal. Adam's smile vanished as he stared in consternation.
"That's interesting," Blake remarked, as she looked at her right hand.
"That's how," Maria said with a smirk.
There was a pause before everyone else put two and two together.
"Oooooh, she took one of the coins," Jaune said in realization.
"Yes. She's evened the playing field between her and Adam," Ironwood commented, impressed by Blake's cleverness.
"So, the whole thing was a ruse after all," Ruby said with relief that Blake wasn't switching to Adam's side.
Down below, Ruby had shoved a vase onto Trifa's head, then shoved her away. She looked up and spotted Blake's undead form.
Blake lifted the Aztec coin she stole and flipped it between her now bony fingers. "I couldn't resist, mate," she said with a cheeky, lipless grin.
Everyone was disturbed by undead Blake's appearance, especially Yang and Blake herself.
Blake did a double take. "That's messed up," she said bluntly.
Yang nodded. "You can say that again."
"I don't even want to imagine what Ruby or Weiss would have looked like," Penny said uneasily, prompting nods of agreement.
Snarling, Adam picked up his sword and a handful of gold coins, throwing the latter at Blake as they continued their duel until Blake kicked Adam, sending him rolling back down the incline. Below, Ruby resumed her fight with Yuma. The music picked up in intensity.
Back outside, Clover and his men rowed desperately back towards the Dauntless as the pirates aboard continued firing cannons at them. Luckily, the Atlesians managed to evade the enemies fire.
"It's a good thing they're just pirates instead of soldiers, otherwise their aim would be more devastating," Vine noted.
"But once on board, they still won't be able to kill the pirates," Elm reminded.
"Then Ruby and Blake better hurry with undoing that curse before it's too late," Clover said, concerned for the Atlesian troops on board, especially Harriet and Marrow.
Inside the cabin, the severed hand began its way towards Willow, who gaped in horror at the sight. She picked up a map from a table and began hitting the arm with it.
Outside, the Dauntless crew was at least holding their own against the pirates.
Willow curiously picked up the seemingly dead skeletal arm. Then it spasmed back to life and started grasping towards her throat. After a brief struggle, she shoved the arm into a bureau drawer. She then backed up against the chest as it shook, the arm inside struggling to get out.
"The Marines can at least hold off the pirates for a while, but Willow won't stand a chance if they break into the cabin," Weiss fretted for her mother.
Yang was aware she could have made a pun about Willow 'needing a hand', but she knew it would be in very poor taste.
In the cave, Ruby continued her battle, now with Yuma and Perry. He got between them. Yuma and Perry ended up thrusting their swords into each other. After a beat, they looked at each other, then at Ruby, then they removed the swords from their chests and chased after her while she fled. In the foreground, Trifa struggled to get the vase off her head.
Up on the incline, Blake and Adam continued their duel, with the former throwing the latter headfirst into a rocky wall.
"Sorry!" Blake said insincerely as she ran down the incline to the cavern floor.
Adam followed and they exchanged a few more blows until Blake knocked the down onto a rock.
Adam sighed. "What now, Blake Belladonna?" he asked in exasperation. Are we to be two immortals, locked in an epic battle until Judgment Day and trumpets sound? Hmm?!"
"Or you could surrender," Blake suggested sarcastically.
Predictably, Adam got back up and punched Blake in the face, sending her running away while Adam pursued, laughing maniacally.
"Of course, he won't surrender. He always was too stubborn to give up," Blake commented, speaking from experience.
Yang nodded slowly, grimly remembering that fateful day she and Blake finally killed their old enemy.
Back aboard the Black Pearl, Tuskon and Deery were carefully searching the deck for the intruder. They looked over the gunwale. Then suddenly, from behind, a lifeboat swung toward them. They barely had time to scream before it hit them, shattered their bony bodies apart, and sent them overboard.
The lifeboat had been shoved by Weiss and the now freed crew. They all cheered.
"All right! I knew they could do it," Nora cheered.
"It looks like the Black Pearl is finally theirs," Ren added with a smile.
"Now to rescue Ruby and Blake," Yang said with a smile.
"All of you with me," Weiss ordered as she grabbed the side of the lifeboat. "Ruby is in that cave and we must save her."
"Ready, and...heave!" Weiss shouted as she pulled…
…and the boat barely moved. She turned around in puzzlement. The crew was staring at her impassively without moving.
Yang's smile vanished. "Uhhh...why aren't they helping?"
"Please. I need your help. Come on!" Weiss begged.
"Any port in a storm," Neo's parrot squawked.
"Neo's right. We've got the Pearl," Qrow agreed.
"And what about Blake? Are you just going to leave her?" Weiss asked in disbelief.
"Blake owes us a ship," Nora reminded.
"And there's the Code to consider," Qrow finished.
Yang threw up her hands. "Oh, come on, uncle Qrow!"
"Not that again," Blake groaned as she slumped in her seat.
"After what happened with the Interceptor, I can't really blame them," Marrow said, thinking the Black Pearl crew didn't want to mingle with undead pirates anymore.
"The Code?" Weiss said in disbelief. "You're pirates. Hang the Code and hang the rules! They're more like guidelines anyway."
Qrow glanced down, knowing Weiss was right. But even so, he and the crew didn't move.
"I doubt you're going to get through to them, Weiss," Winter predicted.
Cut to Weiss rowing towards the island by herself. "Bloody pirates!" she grumbled while the Black Pearl began to sail away.
"It looks like I'm on my own then," Weiss sighed.
"Better than nothing," Ruby said, appreciating any help she could get, especially from her partner.
Back on the Dauntless, Emerald and Mercury showed up on deck, killing as they went.
Emerald spotted the Black Pearl moving. "Is it supposed to be doing that?" she asked whilst pointing at the vessel.
"They're stealing our ship," Mercury shouted indignantly.
"Bloody pirates!" Emerald added furiously.
Most of the audience laughed at Emerald's hypocritical humor.
"Now that's irony," Elm giggled as she enjoyed an ice pop.
Down below, Clover and his marines had just reached the port side of the Dauntless.
"Boarders away!" Clover ordered.
The marines boarded the Dauntless via grappling hook and joined the battle up on deck.
"Come on!" Mercury bellowed as the pirates charged Clover and his men.
Clover himself started off shooting Corsac with his pistol and then began to sword duel him.
"Go get em, Clover!' Kick pirate ass!" Marrow cheered his leader while his teammates smirked at him.
"Now with the marines on board, the pirates will be outnumbered once the curse is ended," Ironwood said with renewed confidence.
"Let's just hope they don't suffer too many losses," Peny said with a concerned look.
Marrow stood atop a railing and swung a large block and tackle across the deck at Hazel, who ducked and took off after Marrow. The block and tackle swung back and hit Emerald in the head, causing her wooden eye to pop out.
"Me eye!" Emerald cried as she chased after her wooden eye rolling across the deck.
Dee and Dudley made it up to the railing of the ship, looking out at the battle between the undead and the Atlesians. They shook hands, then climbed up onto the deck, letting out a war cry as they joined the fight.
"Those two aren't the brightest bulbs on the tree, but at least they're brave," Harriet remarked about Dee and Dudley.
Back inside the cave, Yuma had begun flinging bombs at Ruby, the latter barely dodging an explosion that knocked her prone. She dropped her sword as well.
Yuma approached Ruby, sword raised. "I'll teach you the meaning of pain," he threatened.
"You like pain?" Weiss asked offscreen.
Yuma turned just in time for Weiss to swing a long gaffe, knocking Yuma away.
"Try wearing a corset," Weiss finished her line.
Yang giggled. "Good one, Weiss," she complimented.
"Great to have you watching my back," Ruby said with a smile.
"What else are partners for?" Weiss asked, smiling back.
Weiss looked down at Ruby and smiled. Ruby smiled back as Weiss helped her up with the gaffe. They both turned to look at the undead Blake and Adam still dueling.
"Whose side is Blake on?" Weiss asked in confusion.
"At the moment?" Ruby answered uncertainly.
"That's not an easy question to answer," Oscar stated, prompting nods of agreement from the others.
"I suppose whoever benefits her the most," Ozpin said internally, acknowledging that while Blake's counterpart was hardly evil, she was still a self-centered anti-hero.
Ruby and Weiss moved on to Yuma and Perry while Trifa finally got the vase off her head... only to be hit in the face by Weiss' gaffe. She then used it to block Perry and Yuma's sword slashes.
Not far away, Blake and Adam's duel inched closer to the Aztec chest.
Ruby got an idea. Using the gaffe tossed to her by Weiss, she struck the pirates until they stumbled in the right position under the moonlight. Then both Ruby and Weiss thrust the gaffe, using it to impale and hook all three pirates together with Yuma in the middle.
Ruby then grabbed one of Jacoby's bombs, yanked it free, and lit the fuse. He shoves it up inside Jacoby's exposed rib cage and shoved all three of the pirates out of the moonlight. Yuma clutched his now flesh chest, unable to reach the lit bomb inside him.
"Oh, man. That sucks," Jaune said through clenched teeth.
"Looks like you learned some combat pragmatism from Blake," Maria noted.
Yuma looked wide-eyed at Ruby. "No fair!" he whimpered with smoke coming out of his mouth.
Ruby and Weiss dove away as the bomb exploded, blowing all three of the pirates to bits.
"Oooooh!" several audience members exclaimed.
"I suppose even the curse won't save them from being blown up," Ironwood noted.
"Now all that's left is Adam," Oscar said.
Adam looked back, just in time to see his mates explode. Seeing an opening, Blake took the medallion she stole, cut her palm with her own sword, stained the medallion with her blood, and tossed it to Ruby as she stood by the Aztec chest.
Adam took notice of Ruby. He broke off his fight with Blake, drew his pistol, and aimed it at an approaching Weiss, who stopped dead in her tracks.
A gunshot rang out in the cavern.
Gasps filled the theater, believing Weiss had been shot. Weiss herself went rigid.
"Weiss! No!" Willow cried out.
Adam looked surprised and turned back to Blake, the latter holding a smoking pistol. She had shot Adam with her only bullet.
Adam smirked. "Ten years you carry that pistol and now you waste your shot?" he asked in disbelief.
"She didn't waste it," Ruby declared offscreen.
Adam's smirk disappeared as he turned to see Ruby standing over the Aztec chest. She held the knife in her right hand, her left hand was closed in a fist. He opened the fist. Both her and Blake's medallions dropped from her hand, revealing the cut in her palm. Both of the bloody medallions landed in the chest with all the others, finally ending the curse.
Weiss smiled with relief while Adam looked back at Blake, then down at his chest. Dropping his sword, he opened his coat. Blood blossomed on his shirt around the bullet hole in his heart.
Adam slowly looked up at Blake, dismayed. Blake herself slowly lowered her smoking pistol. A steely yet somber look in her eyes. As if she were nearly upset Adam had to go.
"Oh, Adam...you pitiful man..." Blake thought, not wasn't happy to see him die again, but she wasn't going to shed tears either.
"He should have given up and walked away when he had the chance," Yang thought to herself, referring to that fateful day back in Argus.
"I feel...cold," Adam said softly.
Finally, Adam collapsed onto his back. The apple in his grip fell. His eyes were wide open.
To their own surprise, some of the audience members felt a grudging pity for Adam's surprisingly tragic death, even if he did deserve it. [3]
"Jeez. Ten years of living with that curse, and the first thing he feels is the coldness of death approaching," Qrow said, almost feeling bad for Adam's counterpart.
"Adam is lucky as far as I'm concerned..." Ozpin gave his opinion internally, wishing he could finally be free of his own immortality.
"Not a good night to be him," Harriet said as she sipped a soda.
"Or his mates," Marrow added, knowing what was coming next.
Back aboard the Dauntless, Clover had just struck a blow onto Corsac.
This time, Corsac cried out in pain. The battle abruptly stopped; the pirates all looked dumbstruck. Corsac gave a small gasp before falling dead to the deck.
In the cabin, the dresser had stopped shaking. Curious, Willow opened the drawer, gasped, and then shut it again in disgust. Her hand going to her mouth.
Fennec, who had been fighting nearby, saw Corsac fall and looked up in surprise at Clover. He then looked up at the full moon and realized what had just happened. Clover put his sword to Fennecs throat. Outmatched, and disheartened by his brother's death, Fennec dropped his weapon. One by one, the other pirates followed suit.
"Not so tough without that curse, are you, you dirty cowards," Harriet sneered at the pirates.
"They're common criminals, not soldiers. Without the curse, they'd all be slaughtered," Vine pointed out.
"They'll likely all be hanged for their crimes, anyway," Winter presumed.
Emerald, still chasing her wooden eye, finally caught it and put it back in the empty socket.
Dee and Dudley approached sternly, pointing their muskets at the pirate duo.
With his hands raised, Mercury smiled nervously. "Parley?"
"You're the last person to request parley, you scoundrel," Weiss hissed out of anger for Klein's earlier death.
"The ship is ours, gentlemen," Clover announced triumphantly.
"Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!" the soldiers and sailors cheered, raising their fists and weapons into the air.
Willow peaked through the shattered cabin window and smiled. She exited and joined the marines in celebrating their victory, wagging her finger at one of the pirates as she did so.
Ruby, Yang, Oscar, and Nora all smirked and joined in with cheering "huzzah!"
The Ace-Ops smiled with pride at their victory. And were relieved that the onscreen casualties were relatively light.
Weiss couldn't suppress a giggle. "You spent the whole battle inside the cabin, mother."
"To be fair, she's a politician, not a soldier," Winter defended, though she was grinning herself.
"Even so, she did well against that one pirate's severed arm," Penny stated, giving credit where it was due.
Back in the cave, Ruby slowly approached Weiss as the latter stood in a beam of moonlight. Weiss turned around, locking eyes and exchanging smiles as their faces inched closer...
The audience, especially the women, all anticipated the young couple finally sharing their first kiss. Yang and Willow were the most excited.
...And then there was a crash offscreen. They turned to look at Blake nearby rifling through some treasure, trying to determine the most valuable she could find.
Groans echoed throughout the theater as the moment was ruined while Blake rubbed the back of her head with a sheepish grin.
With the moment ruined, Weiss shrugged. "We should return to the Dauntless," she suggested.
Ruby paused. "Your fiancé will want to know you're safe," she said in soft understanding.
Weiss nodded, then turned to walk away. Ruby looked heartbroken about the engagement.
Blake casually approached Ruby, carrying and wearing a lot of treasure, including a bejeweled crown. "If you were waiting for the opportune moment, that was it," she informed Ruby.
"Thanks to you," Weiss said irritably.
"Sorry..." Blake mumbled with a lowered gaze.
Ruby shot Blake an annoyed look as the latter strolled past her.
"Now, I'd be much obliged if you'd drop me off at my ship," Blake requested offscreen.
"Yeah...about that," Qrow said regretfully, knowing what was going to happen next.
Back outside, the trio sat in a rowboat. The Black Pearl was nowhere to be seen, much to Blake's disappointment.
"Sorry Blake..." Qrow apologized for his counterpart's action.
"I'm sorry, Blake," Weiss apologized.
"They done what's right by them. Can't expect more than that," Blake said resignedly.
Ruby shot a backwards look at Blake, then looked away with a scowl.
"So...what's going to happen now?" Nora asked tentatively.
Cut to Fort Charles courtyard at daylight. A pair of Atlesian soldiers were playing snare drums. Blake stood atop new gallows with her hands bound. All around, Atlesian marines patrolled the fort walls. A crowd of people had gathered to witness the execution.
Blake's ears flattened in apprehension of her counterpart being on death's door.
"Oh no..." Yang half-whispered in fear.
"I had to ask," Nora sighed.
"But…Blake helped save Weiss?" Ruby said in sadness.
"As Clover's counterpart said, one good deed doesn't make up for a lifetime of crime," Ironwood recalled, although he didn't approve Blake being executed on a moral level.
A court official opened a scroll. "Blake Belladonna..." he began to read.
Blake rolled her eyes. "Captain Blake Belladonna," she muttered to herself.
Blake scoffed. "Really, other me? You're about to be hanged, and that's all your concerned about?"
"She's surprisingly calm given her situation," Vine remarked on Blake's lack of fear.
"Hey. If you're gonna die, do it with some dignity," Qrow said with a shrug.
"...for your crimes against the Crown. Said crimes being numerous in quantity and sinister in nature. The most egregious of these to be cited herewith: Piracy, smuggling..."
Weiss, Willow, and Clover all stood together to watch the proceedings. Ruby, now wearing a red cloak and hood, was among the other spectators. She pushed through the crowd toward the gallows, seemingly looking for something.
"It appears at least Ruby has been pardoned for her crimes," Penny noted with relief.
"And I'm wearing my cloak," Ruby said with a half-smile.
"But what's she up to? She seems to be looking for something," Ren observed Ruby's counterpart.
Ruby shot a glance over her shoulder towards Weiss.
Weiss was clearly uncomfortable with the execution. "This is wrong," she protested.
Clover was silent.
"You're right it is," Yang agreed with Weiss' counterpart.
"Why am I even there?!" Weiss said angrily at being forced to watch her teammates own hanging.
"Commodore Ebi is bound by the law, as are we all," Willow spoke for Clover.
"...impersonating an officer of the Atlesian Royal Navy, impersonating a cleric of the Church of the God of Light..." the court official droned on.
Blake smiled at the mention of that particular crime. Then she shot a look at the executioner and her smile vanished.
"...sailing under false colors, arson, kidnapping, looting, poaching, brigandage, pilfering, depravity, depredation and general lawlessness…
Yang whistled. "That's quite a rep sheet you've got, Blakey," she commented.
"I wonder what that story is behind her impersonating a cleric?" Oscar wondered, and he wasn't the only one who was curious about it.
"I don't know. But the church was far more revered and influential back then. That offense alone could get her the gallows," Ozpin answered from his past life experiences.
"For these crimes, you are sentenced to be hung by the neck until dead. May the Brothers have mercy on your soul," the court official concluded.
Suddenly, Neo's parrot flew into the courtyard. It landed on a flagpole held by Dee. The parrot defecated on his coat. Annoyed, Dee looked up, spotted the bird, and surreptitiously tried to shake it off.
Half the audience laughed at Dee's misfortune. The other half just looked disgusted.
"Well, looks like someone's having a crappy day," Yang snickered, eliciting groans all around.
Elm then perked up. "Wait a second. If Neo's parrot is around...then the rest of the crew must be nearby," she said in realization.
Blake's face lit up. "Oh, yeah. That's right. So, they've come back after all," she said with relief.
Ruby took notice of the parrot and headed back into the crowd.
Ruby approached the trio. "Governess Schnee. Commodore. Weiss," she greeted.
The three nodded to Ruby.
"I should have told you every day from the moment I met you...I love you," Ruby finally confessed before moving along.
Clover and Willow were dumbfounded. They cast a look at Weiss, who gaped at Ruby in shock.
"Aaawwwww!" Yang, Nora, Elm, Penny, and Maria all cooed at the screen, in adoration and sympathy.
Ruby and Weiss would have been happy for their counterparts if the latter wasn't currently engaged to Clover's counterpart.
"Right in front of your fiancé, Clover. That's pretty gutsy of her," Marrow commented teasingly while looking at Clover.
Clover shot an annoyed look at Marrow before turning back the screen.
The executioner placed a noose around Blake's neck. The drummers intensified their beats.
Weiss looked over and spotted Neo's parrot flying off the flagpole. She then realized what was happening. Ruby pushed roughly through the crowd towards the gallows.
Clover noticed Ruby and started for her. "Marines!" he shouted.
"I can't breathe!" Weiss cried as she pretended to feint as a diversion.
Willow and Clover noticed. "Weiss!" the former exclaimed.
A few people chuckled or snickered at Weiss' obvious fake feint.
"Oh, come one. That was so fake," Harriet said, shaking her head.
Weiss shrugged. "Hey, it still worked," she said, though she wasn't too pleased with herself for deceiving her mother, even if it was to save Blake.
"Move!" Ruby shouted as she pushed through the crowd.
The executioner pulled the lever. Blake fell through the trap door. At the very last instant, Ruby drew and hurled her sword at the door. The lucky Blake's feet balanced on the blade. As this was happening, Willow fanned Weiss with her hat.
"Nice one. Just like when they first met," Yang recalled from earlier.
"Only this time, it was to save her life," Jaune added.
Suddenly, Weiss sat up from her false feinting.
Willow stared at Weiss in confusion. "What…?" then she sighed in realization.
Ruby raced up the gallows steps and began to fight with the ax wielding executioner while Clover and the marines moved to intercede.
The executioner managed to disarm Ruby, then swung at her again, inadvertently cutting the rope holding Blake, sending the pirate falling to the ground below. Ruby then tackled and shoved the executioner, sending him falling into the crowd, narrowly missing Clover.
"I'm thankful for this, Ruby. But you know you'll
Beneath the gallows, Blake got up, and cut the rope that bound her hands on the sword still sticking out of the trap door.
Blake ran out from under the gallows while Ruby somersaulted off.
Blake pulled off the noose and tossed one end of the rope to Ruby. They knocked over three marines rushing toward them across the yard, then two more coming the steps while they ran up towards the battlements overlooking the bay.
"I'm not happy to see them attack Atlesian marines, but the three of us make a great team in this universe," Weiss praised RWB onscreen.
"Just like we are in real life," Ruby said with a smile.
"If we can reach the docks, we might have a chance at escape," Blake said hopefully.
Brawling with marines left and right, Ruby and Blake fought their way to the battlements, the former retrieving a sword as they went…
…and found themselves surrounded by marines pointing their muskets at them.
"Uh-oh…" Ruby muttered.
"Or...not," Blake rescinded her last comment.
Yang looked very worried, well aware that both Ruby and Blake could now face the gallows.
Clover caught up to them, crossing his sword with Ruby's. "I thought we might have to endure some ill-conceived escape attempt, but not from you," he said to Ruby.
Willow and Weiss showed up at the scene.
"On our return to Port Royal, I granted you clemency. And this is how you thank me?" Willow berated Ruby. "By throwing in your lot with her? She's a pirate."
"And a good woman," Ruby retorted, dropping her weapon.
"Such great character development. Ruby's learned that breaking the law doesn't automatically make you a bad person at heart," Penny praised Ruby's counterpart.
"Well, helping her save Weiss and avenge Summer's death definitely helped," Qrow reasoned.
Ironwood frowned. "Yes. But unfortunately, the law is the law," he said regretfully.
"If this means the hangman will earn two pairs of boots instead of one, so be it. My conscience will be clear," Ruby declared defiantly.
Clover took a step forward. "You forget your place, Rose," he snarled.
"It's right here, between you and Blake," Ruby shot back with a slight grin.
Weiss stood beside Ruby. "As is mine," she declared, taking Ruby's hand in hers.
"I guess that means the engagement is off," Marrow said dryly.
"Geez. That didn't last long," Qrow added.
"Weiss," Willow said softly before turning to the marines. "Lower your weapons. For goodness' sake, put them down!"
The marines complied, slowly lowering their muskets.
"So, this is where your heart truly lies?" Clover asked his now former fiancé.
Weiss gave a slight nod. "It is," she admitted.
Clover's gaze shifted down. It was a standoff.
Everyone watched with tensed up uncertainty on how the standoff would end. Clover in particular wished his counterpart wasn't bound by law, nor obligated to hang all pirates.
Blake looked worried until she glanced up and saw Neo's parrot take off flying from a cannon.
Smiling, Blake spoke up. "I'm feeling good about this. We've all arrived at a special place. Spiritually, ecumenically, grammatically," she said as she got uncomfortably close to Willow, who recoiled in disgust.
Blake then moved on to Clover. "I want you to know that I was rooting for you, mate. Know that," she claimed, while Clover stared in befuddlement.
"Could you at least respect my personal space, Blake," Clover criticized.
"Sorry," Blake apologized on her counterpart's behalf.
Blake moved onto Weiss, the latter locking eyes with Ruby, hand in hand.
"Weiss," Blake beckoned, Weiss turned to look at him. "It would never have worked between us, darling. I'm sorry."
Weiss looked confused while Blake approached the edge of the battlements.
Blake shot a look at Ruby. "Ruby…nice cloak," she finished, unable to think of anything else to say. [4]
Nevertheless, Ruby actually smiled in gratitude for the compliment.
Ruby smiled as well. "Thank you," she said as she caressed her own cloak proudly.
With that, Blake took a step closer to the edge of the battlements. "Friends. This is the day that you will always remember as the day that..." before Blake could finish, her legs hit the low wall, and she lost her balance and fell.
There were gasps throughout the theater as Blake fell over the ledge.
"Not again," Weiss sighed, even though she didn't fall that time.
Everyone rushed over to look over the edge as Blake plummeted towards the water, barely managing turn her fall into a dive as she hit the water below.
"At least she didn't hit the rocks," Yang sighed with relief.
"But now where will she go? She can't just swim away into open ocean," Ruby fretted.
"Don't worry about it, kiddo. I think I know what's going to happen," Qrow assured his niece with a knowing smile.
"Idiot. She's nowhere to go but back to the noose," Harriet said smugly.
Down below, Blake surfaced.
"Sail ho!" a marine hollered as he pointed at something down below.
Blake turned around and spotted the Black Pearl appear from behind rocky edge of the bay's mouth. Smiling, Blake began to swim towards it.
"All right! Qrow and the others came back after all," Yang cheered.
"But the Dauntless will be right behind them. How will they escape?" Oscar reminded, prompting worried looks.
"What's your plan of action?" Harriet asked Clover.
Clover didn't answer. He was still taking in the outcome of the last few minutes.
"Sir?" Harriet beckoned.
Willow looked at Clover, recognizing his dilemma. "Perhaps on the rare occasion, pursuing the right course demands an act of piracy," she theorized. "Piracy itself can be the right course."
RWBY, ORNJ, and Winter were all touched to hear Willow was willing to give Ruby leniency despite breaking the law to rescue Weiss.
"That's comforting to hear. But will Clover share her sentiments?" Vine wondered aloud.
Clover nodded at Willow's words. "Ms. Rose," he called as he turned to Ruby.
Ruby started toward Clover, but Weiss still held her hand, worried for her.
"I will accept the consequences of my actions," Ruby said in a low voice.
Ruby approached Clover, the latter holding up his sword. "This is a beautiful sword. I expect the woman who made it to show the same care and devotion in every aspect of his life," he advised, wanting Weiss to be happy.
"Thank you," Ruby said, the two understanding each other.
"He wants Weiss to be happy, no matter who she's with," Jaune said, reminded of when he encouraged Neptune to dance with the former heiress back at Beacon.
Clover shrugged. "Olden days or not, I feel I'm too old for Ms. Schnee anyway," he said simply.
"And Ruby's finally getting due credit for her blacksmithing," Penny finished happily.
Clover and his troops turned back towards Fort Charles.
"Commodore! What about Belladonna?" Harriet asked loudly.
"I think we can afford to give her one day's head start," Clover decided with a smile of anticipation.
Everyone was grateful for Clover's mercy, especially RWBY. But the Ace-Ops, Ironwood, and Willow were skeptical on the decision.
"I understand it's out of gratitude for saving Weiss and defeating Adam, but allowing a pirate escape is still illegal," Vine pointed out.
"That's right. I have a feeling my counterpart is making a big mistake," Clover said with concern. [5]
"I'm thinking the same thing. But only time will tell," Ironwood said.
After the soldiers left, Willow turned to Ruby and Weiss.
"So, this is the path you've chosen, is it?" she asked. "After all, she is a blacksmith."
No," Weiss replied, giving Ruby a wide smile. "She's a pirate."
Willow smiled as well and walked away to give the young couple some privacy. At long last, they shared their first kiss while romantic music played.
Everyone cooed, cheered, or applauded loudly as the onscreen couple shared their first kiss. Weiss and Ruby blushed but were still very happy for their counterpart's romance.
Penny even gathered Ruby and Weiss up into a hug. "I'm so happy for you two!"
"So am I," Winter sniffed as she wiped away a tear of joy.
"Thanks Penny," Weiss said as she and Ruby gently brushed off the android.
"Finally! I thought they'd never kiss," Yang said as she clapped fervently.
Meanwhile, aboard the Black Pearl, Qrow threw a rope from the deck. In the water below, Blake caught the line.
"Heave!" Qrow ordered as the crew hauled their captain aboard the ship.
Blake landed roughly on the poopdeck. She looked up at Qrow as he approached, as did Neo and Nora.
"Thought you were supposed to keep to the Code?" Blake questioned.
"We figured they were more actual guidelines," Qrow replied as he helped Blake to her feet.
Nora giggled. "Nice running gag they've got there," she commented on the code being mentioned as guidelines.
"That and the parley thing," Ren added with a grin.
Neo, with her parrot on her shoulder again, smiled and handed Blake her hat.
Blake smiled back. "Thank you," she said, placing her hat on.
"Captain Belladonna," Ilia said before approaching Blake and draping a blanket over her shoulders. "The Black Pearl is yours."
Smiling, Blake walked over to the helm and caressed it. It felt so good to be reunited with her ship.
Blake smiled with joy that Ilia had forgiven her for stealing her boat earlier and accepted her as captain.
"She finally has her ship back," Yang said softly in happiness for her partner.
Ruby frowned. "Now it's back to the pirate life. With the Marines chasing her," she said with concern.
"Don't worry, kiddo. Clover's given her a head start," Qrow reminded his niece.
Then suddenly, Blake noticed the whole crew was staring at her. "On deck, you scabrous dogs! Hands to braces! Let go and haul to run free!" she ordered.
The crew scrambled away to their duties.
"Now... bring me that horizon," Blake murmured to herself and hummed lightly before gazing at her compass, took a reading, and adjusted the Pearl's course slightly. "And really bad eggs Drink up, me hearties. Yo ho!"
Blake flipped the compass close as she gazed out at the open sea, ready for her next adventure.
"I wonder where Blake will go next now that she has the Black Pearl again," Ruby wondered aloud.
"I suppose that's another story for another day," Maria assumed.
Meanwhile, back within the treasure cave on the Island of Death, Adam's apple floated in the water. Next, Blake the monkey emerged from the water, having swam back to the island. [6]
Chittering, Blake leapt out of the water, climbed the treasure pile, and up to the cursed chest. The lid was half-open. The Monkey plucked a coin from the chest.
"Stupid monkey," Harriet scoffed.
"He's just an animal. He doesn't understand the nature of the curse," Blake defended the monkey.
"Awww, the poor guy can't catch a break," Nora cooed with sympathy.
Undead once again, Blake turned to the camera, and lunged at it with a loud screech.
Several people jolted in their seats from the monkey's jumpscare.
"Gah!" Harriet gasped and jumped in her seat.
"Maybe he heard that 'stupid monkey' quote from you, Harriet," Marrow joked while shooting his teammate a grin.
The movie ended there.
The overhead lights turned back on, and Gold-Sith's shimmering image appeared on the screen while the audience applauded briefly.
"It looks like you all enjoyed that one very much," he said with a pleased smile.
"It was definitely a nice change of pace from 'Alien'," Nora said, grateful to see something much more lighthearted while Ren nodded in agreement.
"It was great to see Weiss, Ruby, and I together in a major role," Blake said happily.
"Yeah. Too bad Yang wasn't there with us. It would have completed the team," Ruby sighed.
Yang patted Ruby on the shoulder. "Well, maybe next time, sis."
"I enjoyed it, though I personally wouldn't mind seeing the Ace-Ops play a larger role," Clover said.
"I promise you, specialist Ebi, the Ace-Ops will play a major role in a future presentation,"
The Ace-Ops looked excited to hear that.
"Well, let's save it for another day," Ironwood said as he stood up. "Even with your time dilation abilities, two films in one day is enough for me, Gold-Sith."
"I second that. We need to get cracking on our mission anyway," Ruby added, excited for their assignment.
"Very well. I bid you all farewell until next time when you have some spare time," Gold-Sith said with a bow.
Penny waved to Gold-Sith. "Take care, Gold-Sith. We'll see you next time," she said with a smile.
With that, everyone filed out of the theater, bound for their mission at the Schnee Dust Mine.
Author's Note: Whew! This was the longest chapter I've written: almost 13,000 words. That's why it took longer to publish than previous chapters.
Anyway, I'll be taking down the voting poll for the one-shot fic shortly after this, so vote now if you haven't already. In the meantime, I won't be able to post another full-length feature adaptation for at least a few months. My work schedule has changed, and I simply don't have the time anymore. But, rest assured, I'm far from finished with writing. So, be patient and stay tuned my loyal readers.
[1]- I don't know just how long Bootstrap Bill was strapped to the cannon before he was recruited by Davy Jones. But, since we haven't gotten to that point in this adaptation yet, then as far as the audience knows, Summer remains at the dark, cold, bottom of the ocean, strapped to that cannon and unable to die. Can you imagine a worse fate than that?
[2]- A nice callback to the dance at Beacon. If RWBY or JNR ever told the Ace-Ops about it, I would have to loved to see their reactions, lol.
[3]- I know there's no way I was the only one saddened by Barbossa's death, even if he was a bad guy.
[4]- I decided to leave out the hat. I just felt it would look a bit silly on Ruby, lol.
[5]- A bit of foreshadowing for "Dead Man's Chest" if I get to it.
[6]- For those of you who didn't know, this was an easter egg in the movie showing how Jack the Monkey became cursed again.