Author's Notes;
-Man, nearly a month for this chapter. Thank you all for your patience. I won't lie, this is probably one of the hardest chapters I've had to write so far. Between five fighters (plus ship crew members Captain Odell and his young ward Chrysaor), trying to raise the stakes and questioning my decisions more than what might be healthy (not to mention other responsibilities), I had to rewrite a lot of aspects of this chapter. So I hope you appreciate the time and effort I put into this and enjoy the show!
As the alarm blew off and the red lights alerted the crew members to the crisis at hand, Ruby Rose knew she was in a lot of trouble. How could this be happening? Was it... her fault that this creature came from the depths?
She didn't have time to think it over, for Captain Odell's words brought her back to reality. "All hands to battle stations!" Ruby went to one nearby digital grid and Chrysaor to another. Other crew members went outside to interact with nearby kiosks. "Ready the cannons!"
"But Sir, we've never fought anything this big! Heck, I've never fought any Grimm at sea beforehand!" Chrysaor told him.
Neither have I! Ruby silently screamed.
"Well there's no time like the present." Odell told him. "We'll take him down!"
I hope my friends can do something to aid us... Ruby hoped within her head.
Within a matter of seconds, team JNPR rushed to the front deck of the ship. Pyrrha looked all wide-eyed at the sea dragon and Nora appeared nearly frozen in fear. Ren, normally stoic and quiet, appeared highly rattled, and Jaune... looked like he was trying very hard not to pee his pants.
"Holy crap! What is that thing?!" Nora asked in sheer terror.
"Trouble, and lots of it!" Ren answered.
The Sea Leifong let out a piercing cry. Ren fired a barrage of shots from StormFlower, but to no avail. From Milo's rifle form, Pyrrha also took a number of shots at the Grimm at the same time, but her gunfire was no more effective than her friend's efforts.
"Of course it's highly durable." The water dragon went towards the ship, moving Odell to spin the wheel harshly to move the ship out of its path, causing Pyrrha and Jaune to stumble over as Nora and Ren kept most of their footing. "Where is his weak spot?"
"The underside maybe?" Nora guessed.
"Likely answer, but we need to get closer." The side of the ship opens up and the cannons come out. "But will such things actually be possible?"
Captain Odell gave his order to his two closest workers. "Fire!"
The ship's cannons fired away, but they too were mostly ineffective, and Ruby was having some trouble aiming them. One of her cannon balls went into the ocean, creating a wave that leaned the ship from one side to another.
Aw, crud! Ruby thought.
Jaune noticed the lack of damage in the Grimm and contemplated the matter as he tried to regain his balance. "Pyrrha, do you think you can get me close to the sea snake?"
"I believe so."
Pyrrha got out her shield and shifted it to be over her head. The Grimm was about to smash the ship from the front, only for Ren to fire at its face to distract it.
"Now Jaune!" Ren exclaimed, continuing fire.
Jaune quickly ran from one end of the ship, the first time normally. As he ran towards Pyrrha, he super-charged his semblance to make himself faster, and as he jumped onto her shield, he was sprung forth towards the Grimm.
The knight leapt forward, taking out his sword from behind his shield and pierced the snout, digging his sword into it. Ren ceased fire, believing his team's leader could handle the rest. The Grimm thrashed about, soon knocking Jaune off and getting the sword out of its nose. He fell for a few feet before gaining coordination and latched onto the tail of the feilong. He tried to impale one of the spikes near the tail, only for the feilong to throw Jaune off along with his sword in hand, causing him to be thrown right back onto the deck of the ship.
He groaned in pain, his head spinning as he succumbed to dizziness. From his view, his vision started to blur as his girlfriend ran to his side.
Pyrrha gasped upon seeing her significant other hurt. "Jaune!" Upon realizing his injuries were not fatal, she instructed her gingered-haired friend. "Nora, keep Jaune safe in case the ship tips over. I'm going after this beast."
"Do you really think you should charge recklessly towards the snake like that?" Ren questioned.
As she tried to come up with a plan to defeat the Grimm sea snake, Captain Odell reminded his crew, "Hold steady everyone, it's not done with us yet! GET THE HEAVY CANNON LOADED!"
There's a heavy cannon? Ruby thought. I guess that would make sense...
Said cannon rose through a trapdoor on the deck, extended itself, and aimed at the Grimm. The Grimm's dorsal fin quickly split apart and an extra bone unfolded, revealing two wings. The Sea Feilong let out a roar as it flew into the air.
"Wings?! It has secret wings?!" Chrysaor asked.
"Heavy cannon, OPEN FIRE!" the captain commanded.
The heavy cannon shot at the Grimm three times, but the Grimm easily evaded every time. The Feilong's beating wings sent a gush of air at the ship. Pyrrha soon realized the ship was in danger of tipping over and sinking everyone. She extended her arms out and strained to use her semblance to rebalance the ship, using it on only the very upper rim. After a few strenuous moments, the ship remained upright, keeping everyone from falling into the ocean.
All the while, Ruby grew apprehensive. "Captain Odell..." she began. "If we don't make it out of this, there's something I need to tell you."
He didn't look at her, his eyes remaining glued to the Grimm in the air as Pyrrha kept the ship from sinking. "Ruby, whatever it is, I'm sure it can wait."
"It really can't..."
Odell looked at her heavily perplexed. "What could possibly...?"
"I lied!" she blurted out.
"What?!" Odell and Chrysaor exclaimed in unison.
"I lied!" Ruby burst out. "I'm no sailor! I don't have any prior experience! I lied to get team JNPR the last room on the ship and so that I could have a place to stay! There, I said it!" She glared at the sea snake. "Are you happy now?!"
The Grimm roared at her response and started charging an electric breath from its mouth.
"Get down!"
She pushed Chrysaor and Captain Odell to the floor of the cabin. Not even seconds later, he breathed out electricity and blasted off the top part of the captain's quarters, leaving it exposed to open-air.
Gregory Odell looked at his first mate in sorrow. "Ruby..."
Before he could say anything else, the Grimm thwacked the ship from the left side. The ship turned on its side faster than Pyrrha could reorient it and gravity started slipping away. Ruby scrambled to unfold her scythe and implanted it into the wooden floor as the floor turned on its side with the ship.
Chrysaor, soon realizing he had nothing to grab onto, quickly grabbed onto Ruby's left leg.
All the while, Ruby herself tried to extend her free hand to catch the captain, but it was no use; he was already falling.
"Captain Odell!" Ruby called.
"Greg!" Chrysaor cried out.
Both screamed, "NO!" as the captain couldn't hold on and fell into the water below. Ruby's eyes started to form tears as she held on for dear life, the gravity of everything beginning to crush her.
Meanwhile, a cloaked Lionheart was roaming the streets of Mistral. Unbeknownst to him, the Spider spy was following him, keeping about fifteen feet from her target as she hid behind various walls and lamp posts. As he went up to a paved mountain sidewalk, he shivered.
Why do I have the feeling I'm being watched? He looked around him, but found no one.
He looked again, but there was still nothing. The tortured Haven headmaster sighed. Am I being paranoid?
The Headmaster continued onward not seeing that the spy was hidden behind a nearby dumpster in an alleyway. Softly breathing through her mouth, she exhaled to avoid breathing in nasty odors.
Alright, I know I heard something!
Leonardo turned around, this time speaking to the air around him.
"Hello? Is anyone there?"
There was no answer.
I'm losing my mind. Unless...
The cloaked fiend searched the area, soon seeing the Spider Spy hiding behind the dumpster.
"What are you doing here?" he asked accusingly. "Were you stalking me?"
She scoffed, lying through her teeth. "I wasn't stalking you."
"Really? Then why were you hiding?"
Not having a legitimate answer, she bit back, "You can't prove anything."
"Wait a second... You're one of the spies from Mildred Malachite!"
"That's right. And I'm going to find out who you are, you elusive criminal!"
She lunged forward, only to be struck with a miniature bolt of purple lightning. At the back, she tried to scream but it was subdued, as if by an unseen force. As the spy fell to the ground, he saw his savior... was none other than Salem.
"Your Grace." Leonardo quickly bowed his head to her.
Salem raised an eyebrow, a look bordering on disapproval. "You went to the Spider's Web for help?"
"You said to use every resource I had to get the information you desired. You never said information gathered by criminal syndicates didn't count."
The witch used her magic to suspend the unconscious spy a few feet off the ground. "Those were my words, and you followed them to the letter."
Leonardo looked around. "Should we really be out in broad daylight like this?"
"Don't worry. I've cast a barrier of invisibility around us while you were showing your respects to me." At that moment, he noticed a sphere of purple magic shimmering throughout surrounding them. "To everyone else passing by, they see nothing."
"Very clever, Your Excellency."
Salem smiled. "Thank you. Now, you have information for me. Let us get to your office and view it over."
The witch teleported herself, Lionheart and the unconscious spy away, snapping her fingers on both hands. Unbeknownst to them, Warden Cayenne happened to see the magic barrier fall, much to his confusion.
Back in Lionheart's office, the headmaster set the files down on his task. The spy floated a few feet before them.
"So, what did you find from Malachite?"
"Well, I haven't been able to go over all the files yet, but from what little they told me, they couldn't find Rosa Vernal. But, they were able to find someone else with the same surname." Lionheart answered.
Salem saw the profile information. "Marigold Vernal. Member of the Branwen Tribe." She looked at the image of Vernal given to her, comparing it to the image of Rosa Vernal. Tan-colored skin, short brown hair and icy blue eyes. Not like the pale skin, red hair knotted into a bun (usually), and green eyes Rosa had. Their outfits couldn't have been more different either; partially ripped dark clothes versus a bright, flowery outfit. "I had faintly seen Marigold's image once many years ago... But she doesn't look much like Rosa Vernal..."
"Perhaps they are half-sisters? Or cousins?" Leonardo suggested.
"Hmm... There is something strange here... I will have to look into the possible relation between them, and keep my eye on the Branwen Tribe. In the meantime, I have a spy to lock away."
He shuddered. "What are you going to do with her?"
"Well, let's just say I've been needing a test monkey for some spells. And it will benefit Cinder and her growing powers in dark magic."
With this, Salem and the unconscious spy vanished, leaving Leonardo Lionheart chilled to the bone.
All the while, Salem stood in her castle, the unconscious spy tied up. The witch waved her hand to see the Sea Feilong fight from afar.
"What is this? The silver eyed girl falling apart?" Salem smirked. "Well, I'll have to enjoy this while it lasts."
At that moment, a black ball of energy was conjured in her right hand. Out of the ball, a black thread came up, linking Ruby's negative emotions directly to Salem.
And with every Grimm crisis, I can drain energy. This one is more potent than most Grimm fights. The feeling of regret will surely crush her! Who knows? If the Feilong prevails, perhaps they can bring Ruby to me. If not, it'll slow her and her team down enough for Tyrian to catch up with her. Either way, I win.
[cue RWBY Music- Red Like Roses, Part II]
Back at sea, Ruby and Chrysaor were still hanging on for dear life.
"Chrysaor, I'm sorry for lying. I..."
"Ruby! I know you have regrets, but you must focus! We have a Grimm to fight and a ship to save!"
Soon Pyrrha rebalanced the ship with her semblance, but her aura broke immediately thereafter.
"Ruby! Chrysaor! Are you alright?!" she cried out.
"We're fine, but the captain fell into the water below!" Ruby answered.
Ruby unhooked her scythe from the floor and stood up as Ren dived into the water.
"Ren, be careful!" Nora called out.
Ren dove into the water, searching for the captain. He soon saw Captain Odell scared for his life as he stood only ten feet before a Grimm shark. The lotus warrior shot at the shark, diverting its attention. The shark swam to Ren, only for him to activate his semblance, confusing the shark. Other sharks soon started to come. He quickly got over to Odell.
In the shark's red-tinted Grimm vision, it turned back to a highly frightened Odell trying to swim away, only for him to disappear as well, with swishing sounds heard in the background. The sharks looked around in confusion as Ren and Odell were shown camouflaged in grey energy as Ren guided them to the surface.
The two found themselves lagging behind the ship, as they tried to catch back up.
Back on the ship, the ladies and Chrysaor were trying to figure out how to deal with the Grimm, who was currently in the air, circling the ship like a hungry vulture. He spat out electricity, forcing Ruby to spin the ship's wheel rapidly to avoid being caught in it.
"We need a plan, and quickly!" Chrysaor yelled. "Otherwise we're all going to have watery graves!"
"But how?" Nora asked. "My hammer can't reach them, and I'm not even sure my grenade launcher would. Not to mention Ren's down below, Jaune's still dizzy and Pyrrha's out of aura! And can Ruby even face this threat?"
"Unless Ruby has a plan, we may be done for..."
Crud! This is bad! Ruby thought. We can't count on Pyrrha's semblance to save our ship anymore! She looked at the Grimm, studying its wings. If we could slow it down by injuring its wings, we might be able to shoot it!
"Chrysaor, I need you to take the wheel!" the first mate ordered.
The young lad blinked his eyes. "What?!" He looked like he was being handed a newborn baby and asked to take care of it. "But, but, I can't! I only have six weeks of experience!"
She told him, "You have just as much experience as I do! And I guided us this far! You can do this! With Captain Odell gone, you're the only one who can take the helm!" The silver eyed girl's eyes met with Chrysaor's yellow ones. "Do you trust me?"
"I do. I'll take the helm." Chrysaor told the wheel. "But what will you do?"
Ruby blinked. "What I know I can do; fight the Grimm and save this ship from sinking."
The young huntress trainee went forth, her unfurled scythe in hand. Using her semblance to speed herself up, she got to the deck. "Pyrrha, can you use Penny's swords to draw its attention?"
She silently nodded and got out one of Penny's swords. Using what little aura she had left, she threw one of them into the creature's eye. The Sea Feilong swooped downwards and was close enough for Ruby to dash over to it.
Activating her semblance once more, she turned herself into a stream of rose petals, making her way to the beast. She then embedded her scythe on the left side of the creature's skull. As the Feilong opened its mouth to breathe electricity down on the ship, Ruby pulled on the left whisker with her arms, trying to stop it from hitting the ship.
She was partially successful, but Chrysaor spun the wheel hard to get them out of the way. She soon found her scythe falling from the Feilong as it took his head, only for Ruby to use her semblance to retrieve it. She unfurled her scythe and ran down the creature's back as the flying sea snake went back and tried to strike the ship from behind.
Ruby ran from one end of the wing to another, slicing through the wing with her scythe like a hot knife through butter.
The Grimm landed in the water with a big splash, causing Ren and Odell to be slammed into the ship. The Feilong thrashed about, causing Ruby to fall off before using her semblance once again to get back on him. The young trainee slashed through the other wing to completely ground him to the sea.
"Nora, Chrysaor, fire now!" she yelled from afar.
Nora transformed Magnhild from her hammer to her launcher, the same one she used during her fight with team BRNZ in the tournament. She fired the grenades as Chrysaor ran to and manned the heavy cannon. The silver eyed girl dashed away from the beast, her red aura starting to flicker as she reached the ship.
Seconds later, a massive explosion of pink and black was seen. From the smoke cloud emerged the severed sea snake head, and as the smoke cleared, the upper half of the sea snake was shown to be gone. As the smoke faded, so did the Grimm.
The young lad wiped away the sweat from his forehead. "Phew. That was way too close for my liking."
"Yes!" Nora cheered.
"We did it!" Pyrrha exclaimed at the same time.
Ruby wanted to cheer, but she couldn't. After putting away her weapon, she sulked as she walked to the front deck. Civilians exiting the interior of the ship to see what had happened had noticed her dragging her feet. Chrysaor was the first to notice her sorrow, followed by Nora, Pyrrha and finally Jaune, who had just recovered from his injury.
He was the one to ask her, "Ruby? What's wrong?"
"All of this... this Grimm attack. It's all my fault! And as a result, the Captain's gone!"
"You were saying?" Ren asked, a coy smile, showing himself and the captain, soaked to the bone but still very much alive.
Nora smiled with delight. "Ren!"
She threw her arms around him, twirling around with him as she did. Ren returned the embrace.
And at same time, Chrysaor exclaimed, "Greg, you're alive! Glad to see you're alright!"
He ran up to his mentor and gave him a hug. Although shocked at first, the captain returned the hug. And just for the heck of it, Pyrrha embraced Jaune. Returning the hug, he looked happy to be alive. He smiled knowing that no one was dead and the ship was mostly undamaged.
"We made it. Now, um... Ruby." Gregory Odell began. "Those words you spoke before the Grimm blew off the top of the ship..."
"They were true." Ruby answered. "I... I need to tell you the truth."
Chrysaor raised an eyebrow. "Haven't you already done so?"
"No, he deserves the whole story." She looked at the crowd of civilians surrounding them. "All of you. I... I have a confession to make."