Chapter Text
It was dark out when the Exalted Gorgon, an Aquilan galleon bearing a white and red jackal symbol on its mainsail, set out from the Isle of Dogs. Leaving the docks behind and flying across the open skies of Westminster Skyway.
A boy in his late teens, with long blonde hair and pale skin, looked out over the wide open expanse of the skyway from the deck of the ship. He was dressed in a black jacket that had once belonged to the infamous Captain Blood, and holstered at his sides were a wand and a handgun. He watched as the vessel passed over clouds and past the dangerous animals that populated the skyway.
That boy was Edward Holystone, captain of the galleon, witchdoctor, and fugitive from the Valencian Armada. For him, today felt like it was going to be a good day. The message the Clockwork Birds’ had was translated, and he had a potential lead on defeating Kane, which would let him steal the remaining pieces of the map to El Dorado.
He had told his first mate, the fox sharpshooter Bonnie Anne to steer the ship back to Skull Island while he spent some time on deck. The fox had obliged him, letting him spend the voyage enjoying the sights while she brought the ship closer to the first stormgate they’d have to pass through on their journey. The one that led from Marleybone to Mooshu
Edward wouldn’t say it aloud, but even after going through them dozens of times, it was hard to believe that the massive, swirling maelstroms in the sky were so easy to traverse. That there was absolutely no danger in taking your ship into one, as long as it had a proper windstone. The first time he went through one in a dinky little frigate, a part of him thought it’d get torn apart. Yet, it ended up completely fine, not a single scratch on it… From the stormgate, at least. There were definitely scratches on it from previous naval engagements with cutthroats and patrols from Port Regal.
“Whew, it feels weird thinking back to then… Going from skirmishing with Royal Navy ships to acting as a commissioned captain in that same navy.” Edward mused, before he stepped away from the edge of the deck. He could see the Exalted Gorgon fast approaching the stormgate, and even if it was safe he didn’t want to be on the edge of the deck when going through it.
Then, a few moments later, everything went black for him as the ship entered the storm gate, being transported through the maelstrom and into the space between worlds. Leaving behind the dark clouds of Westminster skyway.
Soon Edward regained his vision, and now the Exalted Gorgon was in what he can only call the open cosmos of the Spiral. He could see the glimmer of stars all around, and below the ship were great golden clouds of cosmic dust… Or at least, that’s what Edward always thought of it as. He was many things, but he wasn’t an astronomer or an expert on the cosmology of the Spiral.
That aside though, he walked back over to the edge of the deck, and looked at the ethereal blue line winding its way beneath the ship, the windlane crossing the entire span between Marleybone and Mooshu. He didn’t exactly know why there were windlanes here, in this space between worlds, but they were very helpful. The ship pretty much automatically followed along these paths, and the hostile animals that dwelled among the skyways and places between worlds never crossed along them for some reason.
It made traveling between one world and another pretty easy, so they were always a pretty welcome sight. Though as Edward looked away from the blue windlane, his eyes passed over a pink windlane across from him, one he was already pretty familiar with, and his gaze landed on a gray windlane he had never seen before. Instead of connecting Marleybone and Mooshu, it trails a path out and away, leading toward a swirling black vortex that crackles with red lightning. Something that Edward has never seen within this space between worlds.
“...How utterly bizarre. And ominous, ” The young captain said, before he started making his way up to the wheel. This was something completely new, something he’s never seen before even after all this time traveling through the Spiral and going through stormgates. That meant he just had to check it out before the opportunity could pass him by! Chasing the lead on a method to defeat Kane could wait. The Armada couldn’t get to El Dorado first without all of the map pieces, so it wasn’t that urgent that he head to Valencia.
As he approached, Edward could see Bonnie Anne standing at the wheel. The fox sharpshooter dressed in a maroon overcoat with a gold trim, boots and brown gloves, her rifle slung over her back. Her orange and white fur was clearly well groomed, and her yellow eyes gazed down at Edward as he approached her. “Aye captain, what is it?” She asked him.
“There’s a third windlane here, and I wanna investigate it!” Edward said, before he pointed out in the direction of the gray windlane, which prompted Bonnie Anne to look over as well.
“...Edward, that looked rather dangerous, don’t you think?” She asked, looking back over at him. “We don’t know where that leads, and we should tell Captain Avery about the message the Clockwork birds had.”
Edward shrugged in response. It did look like it might be dangerous, and she was right, they should probably head straight to Captain Avery… But he had a nice feeling about today, and about following that windlane to its end! “Avery can wait. The Armada needs our map pieces anyway if they want to get to El Dorado, and if things start looking dangerous we can turn right back, right?”
“I dunno… But if you insist, then I’ll follow your lead.” She replied, stepping away from the wheel to let Edward take it. Which he quickly did, taking it and steering the ship to the gray windlane. It didn’t take too long to reach it, and then the Exalted Gorgon was taken along on the ethereal winds. Heading towards the vortex in the cosmos.
When he got a closer look at it, it reminded Edward of a stormgate. Though he had never seen one in this sort of place. “Wonder where it leads…” He commented, and Bonnie gave him a concerned look.
“What? It has to lead somewhere! All the stormgates and vortexes in the Spiral lead somewhere , why’d this one be any different?” He asked her.
“You’re not wrong captain, all the stormgates do lead somewhere.” She conceded, before she added, “Though they don’t appear in this place, do they? So what if that isn’t one?”
“The Exalted Gorgon’s a good ship, one of the best in the Spiral. If it is something dangerous, then it’ll be able to handle it. At least long enough for us to turn around and sail away.” Edward replied, and the fox nodded, leaving it at that.
Which was reasonable enough, when she’d seen the ship handle barrages of cannonfire and confrontations with legendary monsters in Aquila. And she’d seen the effort and money put into maintaining and equipping the vessel.
With the matter settled, Edward continued bringing the ship up to the vortex, the sounds of the swirling maelstrom and his ship being the only things to break the silence of the cosmos. Soon, he felt the familiar pull of a stormgate on the ship, and he smirked. Seemedlike he was right that this was something like a stormgate!
“Well Bonnie Anne, let’s see where this leads us!” Edward said as the ship reaches the vortex, being drawn into the swirling cosmic winds… Before everything went dark.
When Edward regained his vision, everything was dark still. Though rather than the utter pitch black void that came with traveling through a stormgate, it was the dark of night.
Edward groaned, and noticed that he was no longer standing up at the wheel, but had been thrown to the ground while traveling through it. Which wasn’t something he was used to as a result of stormgate travel, but compared to what Bonnie Anne had been worrying about? It wasn’t that bad.
Speaking of Bonnie Anne, Edward looked over to her… And blinked. He rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was really seeing this, or if it was some weird visual hallucination he was having.
Also knocked onto the ground was what looked like a human woman, dressed exactly like Bonnie Anne was, down to the rifle on her back. She had the same golden eyes, and had orange hair that was the same shade as Bonnie Anne’s fur. Except, she wasn’t entirely human either. Edward could see her long and bushy fox tail, which was definitely Bonnie Anne’s.
“Eugh, captain… Are you alright?” She asked, groaning a little as she stood up and looked at Edward. “Captain?” She repeated, having noticed the way he was staring at her.
“Bonnie, you might want to look in a mirror…” Edward said, and the sharpshooter reached into her overcoat, pulling out a purple hand mirror and taking a look into it.
Immediately, her eyes widened. “What the devil! Cap’n, I- I’ve… What happened while we went through that vortex?!” She exclaimed, looking at Edward before looking back at the mirror, a gloved hand going up to her face. As if she was making sure that this was in fact real.
“Hell if I know! Let's go back through it and get you-” Edward stopped, going still as something occurred to him. He could no longer hear sounds of the swirling, crackling vortex. He slowly got up, and took a look off the edge of the ship.
Instead of open skies, he saw endless water. Perhaps the biggest body of water he’d ever seen in his life. Going as far as the horizon with no end in sight.
“It’s gone.” Edward said, feeling his breathing start to quicken as the full gravity of the situation fell upon him. “The vortex, it’s gone.”
Bonnie Anne watched as Edward paled and started breathing quickly, and stepped forward. “Cap’n, we’ll find another way back. It’s alright.” She said, taking in a deep breath and putting a hand on his shoulder.
“Its not alright! I… I got us stuck in some strange, skywayless land, when I should have just listened to you and ignored the vortex!” Edward replied. “You were right, and I was an idiot.”
“Aye, you’re right that you should have ignored it. But you’re not an idiot captain, you couldn’t have known it would close behind us, or that it would lead…” Bonnie Anne paused, and looked at the endless ocean before looking up to the night sky, where a broken moon loomed above them. “Wherever this place is. I’ve never heard of a world with a broken moon before.”
Edward blinked, and looked up at the sky. It was the first time he really noticed that the moon here was broken. Some pieces looked to be large, and others were like lunar dust in the night sky. “Neither have I, huh.” Edward said. It was strange, sure, but for someone who traveled among the greater cosmos between the worlds it wasn’t that impressive of a sight.
That was just a momentary distraction from the matter at hand though, and he turned around to look at Bonnie Anne after a few more moments of looking at the broken moon. “I really messed things up, doing this… I don’t know how you feel really, going through a transformation like that, but I’ll make up for it, somehow, someway.”
“Aye cap’n, thanks for the concern, but I just feel shocked more than anything at the moment.” Bonnie Anne assured Edward. “I don’t want to stay like this, of course, but it’s not that bad.”
“Well, that’s good, that’s good.” Edward said, relaxing a little. “Though, do you think the others have changed too?”
“Maybe we should head below deck and check, Captain.” The markswoman replied, and he nodded.
The two of them walked down to the lower decks of the Exalted Gorgon, where the crew were supposed to be staying. Edward felt glad that only a few members of his crew had actually been on the ship when they went through the vortex, the rest being sent out on various errands to do. He couldn’t imagine how bad it would be if he got everyone stuck out here.
Currently on the ship, besides Bonnie Anne and him, were Old Scratch, Ratbeard, Mormo, Gracie Conrad, El Toro and Hawkules. And when they got down to the quarters, the two of them could see all the crew still sleeping in their beds… Except for Old Scratch.
The skeletal houngan stood there outside of his bed, and though it was hard to read the expression of a skeleton, he seemed rather confused. His normal, organic eye scanned over the rest of the crew, which had been transformed much like Bonnie Anne, before his gaze landed on Edward and Bonnie.
“Captain my Captain, what has happened? I an I felt some dark mojo, and now most of the crew has been changed. Them no longer retain their true forms.” Old Scratch said, the ruby gemstone that now acted as one of his eyes, the Eye of The Serpent he had gotten from his magical patron Sister Snake, gleamed as he looked at his captain.
“I took the ship through a stormgate that took us somewhere in the Spiral and transformed…” Edward looked around, and noted that all the crew who got changed weren’t human, “All the non-human members of the crew to basically a human with animal features.”
Bonnie Anne nodded. “Right. The stormgate closed behind us too, so we’re gonna need to find a way back to Skull Island while we’re here.”
“Aye. Captain my Captain, there is something else though. Dark forces are in this world, I and I can feel it.” The undead houngan said.
“Really? Must be a small world then, or there’s just a lot of bad in it, in which case we ought to be careful.” Edward replied, thinking on the skeleton’s warning. “And, we should find someplace to make landfall… I dunno if any docks here would be friendly to us showing up out of the blue. Especially with a living skeleton on the ship.”
“Right. Edward, think you should try sailing in search of land? Old Scratch and I can stay down here and get the crew up to speed on what happened.” Bonnie Anne suggested, and Edward gave her a nod of affirmation.
“That sounds good to me. Well, good luck to you two on explaining this all to them.” The witchdoctor said, before he left to head back up to the ship’s wheel.
For the first time since going through the stormgate, Edward was alone with his thoughts. Namely… How was he going to get everyone back home and undo his screw up? Would he be able to do that? What about El Dorado? He didn’t know anything about this place, but he was sure that he wouldn’t be getting any closer to reaching his parents’ grave here.
Edward sighed as he reached the ship’s wheel. “There’s no time to mope around about things I can’t change yet. Let’s see if sailing this on water works as well as on land.”
Bonnie Anne felt a headache coming on, and it had nothing to do with being transformed into a different species. It had more to do with listening to Hawkules.
The hawk had become a massive, musclebound titan of a human man, with tanned bronze skin and piercing green eyes. The only feature that was still definitely hawk was that he retained his taloned hawk feet. And he was still as loud as she was used to.
“What sort of strange curse has befallen us! I, Hawkules, son of Zeus-” Bonnie Anne tuned out the demigod’s words, and waited for him to finish.
When he was done, she responded, “We went through a stormgate, and when we came out we were all transformed. It closed behind us, and now we need to find a way back.”
“Hmmm… Sounds like I have a new quest then, to return us safe and sound, restoring our proper forms! An easy enough task for Hawkules!” He said, nodding to himself.
Well, at least his heart was in the right place. “Right, nothing the son of Zeus can’t handle.” She said, and she smiled a bit at the way he preened after that.
“Mormo wonder… Are we even in the Spiral? Every world has skyways, no world transforms Mormo’s body.” Another voice chimed in, and Bonnie Anne looked to the source of it.
Mormo had been one of the first to join the crew, and the Water Mole witchdoctor had been loyal to the captain throughout the entire journey. He too had been transformed of course, now appearing as a short and stout human with light tan skin. Though, his hands remained the same as they used to, dark colored and with four fingers, with some venomous spurs on them too..
Though she wasn’t looking too closely at his body. Plus she couldn’t see many details on his face when everything but his mouth and golden eyes were covered by an elaborate red and white horned mask, framed by crimson feathers.
She would normally call such an idea absurd, but she wasn’t an expert on stormgates and how they worked, and he did raise a good point…
“Pshaw, does it matter if we’re in the Spiral or not? We gotta get back to Skull Island regardless!” Ratbeard said, the older rat still recognizable by his right peg leg, the eyepatch over his left eye, his large light gray beard, messy gray hair and his ornate red Admiral’s uniform, which he had picked up sometime in Marleybone. His long rat tail sways behind him.
“Well, we can’t know anyway, can we? Not until we meet some locals to ask. But there’s no way we left the Spiral… Right? There’s not any end to it..” Gracie Conrad chimed in, yawning a bit. She was still dressed in her Engineer’s “uniform”, which amounted to a white button down shirt and some red pants, matching the crew colors. She still had her black dog ears, and light blue eyes.
“Aye, when we get to land we can ask some of the locals. Though I dunno if all of us should come along at once.” Bonnie Anne said. “Such a large group of armed strangers would probably be suspicious to anyone.”
“You’re right! It wouldn’t do for the people of this land to have a bad first impression of El Toro!” And Bonnie couldn’t help but roll her eyes at that, though she still smiled. Figured that El Toro wouldn’t be too distraught at the whole situation. Though really, most of the crew didn’t either. Which wasn’t too surprising when recently they’d gone through that whole sordid affair with Moo Manchu… Nothing could be as bad as that.
El Toro wasn’t as big or outwardly muscular as Hawkules was, but his body was still rather toned and athletic it seemed, plus he kept his long, forward pointing ivory white horns. He wore the same black outfit as always, down to the mask and wide brimmed hat… Even if everyone here knew his identity, and no one they met would be able to recognize him as Don Rodrigo anyway.
“Nor would it do for them to have a poor first impression of Hawkules, son of Zeus!” The mighty hawk said, nodding at the bull.
“I and I agree that we shouldn’t all go together. It would be foolish to leave the ship unguarded.” Old Scratch said, and Ratbeard nodded in agreement.
“Aye, we wouldn’t want any uninvited guests, now would we?” He said.
“It will also be easier to gather information on this new land if we were to split up. I can’t imagine us being able to cross a lot of ground if we had to travel in one big group.” Gracie added.
“Aye, I can agree with that.” Bonnie Anne replied. “We’re not the quietest group either, which could attract some unwanted attention.”
The conversation halted as the ship started to slow to a halt, and Ratbeard got off his bed. “Seems like we’ve reached land!” The rat pirate said, as the crew started to file out, heading up to the top deck to see why they’ve stopped.
Edward stared out at the coast and nodded. He had a good feeling about this place, and sure, the last time he had a good feeling he stranded himself and his crew in another world, but the second time’s the charm.
Past the beach he saw an endless forest of red leafed trees, and he started to lower the gangways so that the crew could disembark soon. “Wonder if we arrived during autumn…” He idly wondered to himself as he worked.
As he finished up, he heard the sounds of footsteps approaching, and saw his crew walk onto the deck. “Hello everyone, how are you all doing?”
“Mormo feels weird without Mormo’s tail, but Mormo is fine.” The transformed Water Mole said, and Edward received a variety of similar responses from the crew.
Well, they were in good spirits despite everything… Which was reassuring, since he didn’t know how he’d deal with them being angry at him. Especially when he didn’t have half as good a reason for getting them into this mess as he did at the Tower of Moo Manchu. “Aye, that’s the spirit everyone! I’m sorry for getting you all into this mess, but how do the lot of you feel about getting out of it with me?”
“What do you have in mind Captain?” Bonnie Anne asked him, and he smiled.
“I think we ought to split up, and start exploring! Me, Hawkules, Mormo and Bonnie Anne in one group, El Toro, Ratbeard and Gracie in another.” Edward said. “Old Scratch… Well, I dunno how people would respond to the undead here, so you should probably stay with the ship.”
“I and I understand, my Captain.” Old Scratch said, nodding in affirmation. “The ship will be safe when you return.”
“What should we do if we encounter danger, or any civilization?” Gracie asked Edward. “We shouldn’t go out without a plan of action.”
Which was a good point, they should have something in mind for if they encounter danger or other people. “Well, if any of us encounter danger, take it out if you believe you reasonably can without permanent damage. If you can’t do that, then run away, double quick.” He said. “As for civilization… Well, try to get information about it, but be inconspicuous. We don’t know how aware the people around here are of the Spiral, or their feelings on pirates.”
WIth the question answered, the rest of the crew started getting into their two groups, and Edward looked among the group he chose for himself. He felt pretty good about it! He himself may be a witchdoctor with a lot of skill at fighting, but Mormo had a lot more… Spiritual awareness, which could be useful. Hawkules was probably one of the strongest here, in terms of pure brute strength. And Bonnie Anne was pretty good at first aid, if it would come up.
“Right then, let’s be off!” Edward said, and the two teams set out into Forever Fall, unaware of what sort of creatures lurked in the forest.
El Toro, hero of Santo Pollo, defender of the defenseless, and the most handsome landowner in the skyways of Cool Ranch… Was not the best at navigating through this forest.
He’d been declared leader of his group rather quickly, due to his immense charm and ability to inspire… And the other one interested in leadership was Ratbeard, who wasn’t exactly the most morally upstanding character. Making it an easy argument for Gracie to settle, when they had both started arguing over who would lead.
As leader, it was of course his responsibility to lead this noble band of comrades in arms! However, everywhere he looked, it was just more and more red. As far as he knew, he was leading everyone around in circles. He couldn’t let them down like that! It was unbecoming of one who bore the mantle of El Toro, to be vexed by forestry!
He hadn’t even seen another living being besides the group! No one to impress and woo with his heroic deeds… Or to ask about where they were, maybe. Nor were there any malevolent monsters or vile villains for him to bring to justice.
“Do ye know where we’re even going? We’ve passed that blasted rock three times!” Ratbeard said from behind him, gesturing to a rather inconspicuous rock.
“...We passed a rock- I mean, of course I know where we’re going! El Toro has an impeccable sense of direction, it’s why no evildoer can hide from him!” The bull replied, as he flashed a charming grin at the rat.
“I didn’t think I’d be saying this, but Ratbeard’s right. That rock does look familiar, and we haven’t seen anything but trees around here.” Gracie said, ignoring the indignant look Ratbeard shot her when she mentioned how unlikely it was that she’d agree with him.
El Toro’s shoulders slumped. Was he really doing such a poor job as leader, that they couldn’t trust him to lead them in their exploration of this land?
No, that wasn’t right. They were right that he’d been leading them in circles, if he couldn’t even tell that they’d seen the same rock again and again. “Well, if you insist, then we will go another way. Onward!” He said, drawing his rapier and pointing south with it, while getting into a rather dashing and heroic pose.
“Get on with it already!” And at Ratbeard’s insistence, he started to lead them south on their noble march!
“So, El Toro, what do you think about the situation we’re stuck in?” Gracie asked as they walked.
“Hmm? Oh, well I’m still devilishly handsome,” He’d been sure to check his reflection in the ocean waters when they got off the ship, “and still feel as strong as ever! And we’ve been… Well, I don’t know if we’ve been in worse situations than this, but it’s certainly not the only time the odds have been against us.”
“Aye, the bull’s right! This ain’t too bad… No blasted clockworks shooting at us, no annoying birds squawking at us to run their errands. The way I see it? Things could be a lot worse than some quiet forest!” Ratbeard said, grinning as he gestured around.
“No disagreement there. I can’t say I missed the feeling of Armada Fusiliers taking shots at me, and I’ve always wanted to see more of the Spiral!” Gracie said, as she took a good long look at the forest around them.
“Yes, that’s the spirit, friends! Things here are certainly less dang-” El Toro was cut off by a sudden roar, and at a moment’s notice he brandished his sword and whip, ready for a fight!
Since of course, there had to be an enemy approaching. The roar of a beast in the middle of him talking about how peaceful things were? El Toro knew that could be no coincidence!
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ratbeard raise his cutlass, and Gracie grab her wrench. Their noble arms ready to be used to fend off whatever vile fiends might be approaching!
Then, he sees the malevolent monsters! Two large bears, their furry forms as black as the darkest night. Which stood in stark contrast to the crimson glow of their eyes, as well as the bony protrusions and skeletal face of the creatures.
There wasn’t a doubt in his mind about their ill intentions! Especially when one of them started to charge towards him. The bear reared up and tried to strike him with one of its vicious and sharp claws, but he raised his rapier in time to fend off the blow.
He saw the other monster charge towards Ratbeard and Gracie, the former pirate captain stepped forward to hold the line and nobly protect his more vulnerable compatriot!
Meanwhile, in his own fight, the small blade of his rapier managed to hold back the attack of the bear, and he pushed against the beast! Making it stumble backwards as he repelled its assault. Taking advantage of this, he lunged in with his rapier, thrusting it into the unprotected neck of the monster! “The likes of you will never best El Toro!”
He pulled back his blade, watching as the beast collapsed to the ground dead. It then dissipated into black smoke, though El Toro had other things on his mind. Dead, and after only a single blow too! Perhaps the fauna here were much less dangerous than elsewhere in the Spiral? He knew that Buffaloons put up more of a fight than this, and they were infinitely less intimidating than these monsters.
Or, his time with the young captain had been doing wonders for his strength. He’d certainly fought against a lot of strong opponents while working with the pirate. The likes of Captain Blood or Rooke were much more threatening than Banditoads and Frogerales after all. He wasn’t at the same level of skill and strength he had been when he first met Edward.
Regardless, he was taken out of his thoughts by the sound of Gracie’s wrench slamming into the skull of the other bear! The savage blow from the dog’s choice of weapon caved in the skull of the monster, and soon it dissipated into smoke as well. Gone almost as quickly as it had arrived.
“Good work my friends! Looks like the animals here are none too friendly, but they are no match for the defender of Santo Pollo and his comrades!” El Toro said, grinning as he looked at his compatriots.
“Yer right! These blasted animals are no match for us, if even she can give one a good thrashing!” Ratbeard said, chuckling a bit.
“Yeah. I’m not much of a fighter and it still went down without a problem!” Gracie said, not minding Ratbeards words. “Though, these don’t seem to be normal animals… Besides the bony plates and protrusions on them, animals don’t just turn to smoke when they die.”
“Indeed. These were not mundane beasts, nor did they seem to be undead either. They’re not… Spectral, or skeletal enough for it.” El Toro said, the confrontation with Captain Blood in Miranda coming to mind.
The place had been haunted by quite a few different kinds of undead, both among the poor denizens of that town and the villainous crew of the dread pirate. None were like these creatures though, and he felt rather confident ruling out the possibility that they were some sort of undead.
“Well, we aren’t gonna find out by standing around now are we?” Ratbeard said, as he started walking south again. “Times a wastin!”
“I suppose you’re right my friend! Let us go!” And then El Toro ran off ahead of Ratbeard, leaving Gracie to run along after the two of them!
The masked hero of Santo Pollo couldn’t help but wonder how the other group was faring though, as he led the way south.
“Mojo Reaver! Mojo Reaver! Mojo Reaver!” Edward cried out, again and again conjuring up ethereal crimson blades. The swords rose up from the ancient earth before shooting out to eviscerate the pitch black and bone white wolves that assailed him!
He was not having a good time, to say the least. Things had gone well for a while, and they’d even found a hill that they could use as a good vantage point to get a lay of the land from. Bonnie Anne had even spotted what looked like a city in the distance!
After that, they started the long march towards it. Along the way, Mormo mentioned sensing some very bad mojo nearby. Their group took a little detour to see what was causing it. Both out of a heroic desire to deal with whatever evil Mormo was sensing, and a somewhat selfish desire to endear themselves to the locals by dealing with a threat outside the city.
What they came across was a massive pack of monsters. Large wolf-like creatures, with dark fur, crimson eyes and skeletal faces. The moment they drew close, the wolves set upon them.
They weren’t much of a threat individually, with the thunderous shots of electricity from Bonnie Anne’s rifle being able to take one out pretty quickly. Not to mention how easily Hawkules crushed them beneath his mighty club. Or how quickly Mormo was able to slaughter them with blasts of lightning and gouts of flame. None of the monsters were able to withstand a single Mojo Reaver or Mournsong from himself either
There were a lot of them though, and it was draining to be calling upon his mystic powers so rapidly. He drew his handgun and fired a burst of electricity at one of the monsters while it tried to pounce on him. The shot landed, hitting it midair and knocking it back down to the ground, where it got caught in the radius of one of Mormo’s attacks. Flames enveloped its body, and soon it was nothing but black smoke, dissipating into nothingness.
“Captain, looks like their numbers are starting to thin!” Bonnie Anne called out, taking aim with her rifle before she fired at one of the beasts. Another one of the wolves tried to attack her, but she was quick to raise her rifle up in time to block the blow.
Edward would have been surprised to see how easily it held against the sharp claws of the monster, but he’d seen her use it to block the brutal axe swings of the Armada’s general, Rooke. “Good! I’m not sure I’d be able to keep this up much longer if they weren’t.”
“Well I could do this all day! These monsters are barely a threat at all!” Hawkules said, a wide grin on his face as he struck another one of these dark wolves down.
“No monster can stop Mormo!” The water mole said, as he launched another attack on one of the beasts. Lightning shot out from one of his hands whilst the other held his Hoodoo Staff up to the heavens.
Well, even if he himself was running low on stamina, it seemed like his crew had less problems with that. He also noticed that Bonnie Anne was right about the number of these monsters. Where there had once been an absolutely giant pack, there were now less than a dozen of them.
“Press on everyone! Leave none of these beasts standing!” He said, taking a shot at another one of the wolves as it tried to attack Hawkules from behind. The sparkthrower’s shot knocked it back, and the follow-up blast of mystic power from his wand defeated the beast.
“Aye cap’n, we’ve got this!” Bonnie Anne said, as she knelt down and started firing again and again at the remaining monsters. Her tail swished in the air as she shot again and again. Blasting wolves as they tried to charge her, either killing them on the spot or leaving them vulnerable to the attacks of Hawkules and Mormo.
Though the wolves trying to attack her failed, one of the few remaining wolves did manage to reach Hawkules. It struck him with one of its claws, drawing a pained grunt from him as well as blood.
“You dare wound Hawkules, son of Zeus!?” The hawk asked, stepping back to avoid a follow-up attack from the monster, before he hit it with a vicious right hook! The brutal blow dazed the creature, and he slammed down his massive wooden club on its head. It died instantly, and soon started to dissipate.
A few moments later, Mormo killed the last one. Fire consuming the beast as they all stow away their weapons. The group took a moment to breathe after the massacre of the monsters. “Whew, I haven’t seen that many enemies at once since… Probably the Hydra.” He said.
Bonnie Anne nodded as she went to tend to Hawkules’ wound. “Aye, they may have been weak, but with so many of them around… It was pretty tough! We’re lucky we got off so lightly.”
“I think its astounding that one of them even landed a hit on me, but it is impressive that you all made it out unhurt! Fitting performances, for my companions!” Hawkules said, sitting down and letting Bonnie Anne work.
Bonnie Anne raised her hand over his wound, and beneath her a sigil formed. In blue light a circle formed, inside it the symbol of a steering wheel with a skull and crossbones. Golden light enveloped the wound, and it started rapidly healing.
“Wonderful! You have my gratitude.” Hawkules said, standing back up and flexing after his wound was healed, and Bonnie Anne laughed a little at the display.
“It was no problem. Just try not to get hurt for the next hour ya big galoot. I’m not any sort of trained healer.” Bonnie Anne said, smiling at Hawkules.
“No worries! I don’t intend to let any more monsters get in lucky shots like that one.” Hawkules replied.
“And hopefully we don’t encounter anymore. I’m not looking forward to walking into that city all bloody and bruised, if stronger ones are out here.” Edward said. “Anyway, we’ll rest here a bit, then we can keep going.”
“Mormo wonders how the others are doing. Mormo hopes they’re ok.” The water mole Obeah sat down, ready to relax after the battle.
“Eh, I’m sure they’re fine. El Toro is a master of the sword, Ratbeard is the toughest man I know, and Gracie… Well, I doubt any of these monsters would get past El Toro and Ratbeard, or any landmines or golems she deploys.” Edward said, shrugging. “Hopefully they’ve seen the city though, so that we can meet up with them there.”
Blake Belladonna had done it. She had finally cut her ties with the White Fang. With Adam.
She couldn’t abide tossing aside the lives of all the crew on the train. They weren’t the ones mistreating faunus, they weren’t responsible for the evils of the Schnee Dust Company.
It was the straw that broke the camel’s back. There was no denying that the White Fang had changed from what it was when she joined. That Adam had changed from when she met him.
Blake didn’t have much time for introspection though. She couldn’t stick around on the train, not when it meant a one way ticket to a jail cell the moment it stopped.
So, the faunus looked off the edge of the train. She could easily make the jump and find her way to Vale from here.
When she was in Vale, she’d be able to apply for Beacon. She didn’t have a formal education from a school such as Signal, but she had combat experience and training from her time in the White Fang. Passing the entrance exams would be a cinch.
She could… She could make a difference there, as a Huntress. Without having to compromise her morals.
With a course of action planned, she knelt down, bracing herself… Before she jumped off the train car! She landed safe and sound on the ground, her Aura taking the brunt of the impact.
The faunus dusted herself off after standing up, and was about to make her way toward Vale when she heard an explosion nearby.
“What?” Immediately, her assumption was that somehow the White Fang had managed to finish the job despite her interference. However, the explosion didn’t come from the direction the train had been heading in, so that couldn’t be it.
Whatever the case, she couldn’t just ignore it! So, she runs off in the direction of the sound. Holding Gambol Shroud, she rushed through the crimson forest of Forever Fall and knew she was getting close when she heard the sound of voices.
“Haha! Good job Gracie, seems like these foul beasts aren’t strong either. Nothing in this forest can best us!” A masculine voice called out, one with an unfamiliar accent.
“You flatter me El Toro.” Replied another voice, laughing a little at the words of the first one. It was definitely this Gracie person, and… Had they been fighting Grimm? Forever Fall was outside the bounds of Vale, and the Grimm roamed beneath the crimson canopy of the forest.
Perhaps they were huntsmen, and the explosion came from them fighting the Creatures of Grimm. In which case they were safe probably, but they could also protect her from any pursuit from the White Fang.
She doubted that Adam would accept her leaving him and the organization, he could be gathering others from their camp to go after her right now… But if she were with a group of huntsmen, she was sure that she’d be able to safely make her way to Vale.
“There’s been a…” A third, gravelly voice started talking, but it paused. “Yar, I think I hear someone coming! Avast, who goes there!” He called out, as Blake drew close.
It was impressive that someone heard her quick and light steps, but if he was a huntsman like she thought, then she shouldn’t be too surprised that he had some impressive awareness.
Blake put Gambol Shroud away as she drew close. She could finally see the three people she heard, and saw a group of three… Strangely dressed faunus standing around the dissipating corpse of a Beowolf. The Grimm’s front legs were blown off and were evaporating into smoke nearby.
It took one look at the dog faunus, and only female of the three, to see what had done in the Grimm. She was carrying a satchel on her waist and the flap was still up, revealing what looked like mines inside it. The explosive kind.
“I’m Blake. Are you three huntsmen?” Blake asked. All three of them looked at her as she approached, looking surprised by the sight of her.
The first one to respond was the bull faunus armed with what looked to be a rapier and wearing a black domino mask for some reason. “We are defenders of the defenseless! Protectors of the innocent!”
Blake cocked an eyebrow as she looked at them. It was a very theatrical way to put it, but it wasn’t wrong really.
“Errr… Yes! We are, yes, definitely. Isn’t that right El Toro, Ratbeard?” The dog faunus said. She was dressed the most… Mundane, outfit of the three.
Really, if not for the explosives in the satchel, Blake would have thought her to be a civilian escorted by the other two. Even more, the way she wielded what looked wrench with the same sort of confidence Adam had wielded Wilt meant that it must have been her weapon as a huntress. It probably had some sort of mechanism, to use Dust or turn into a gun or… Something.
The rat faunus, who she could only assume went by Ratbeard for some reason, replied. “Yer right, yup! We are certainly huntsmen. Huntsmen hunting these blasted creatures.”
To be honest, the three of them didn’t exactly seem all that confident in answering to that title, and sounded like they were mostly just going along with it… But what else could they be? They certainly weren’t White Fang, since she didn’t recognize them and they didn’t recognize the daughter of the people who founded the organization in the first place. Criminals didn’t exactly spend their time fighting Grimm in the forest, and she didn’t know any civilians who would be out here, dressed like this and fighting Beowolfs.
By process of elimination, they must be huntsmen, or huntsmen in training at least. Probably. She hoped.
“Right, well, if you three aren’t busy with an important mission, then could you escort me to Vale?” Blake asked.
However, the three of them had blank looks on their faces after she asked her question. A second later though a grin returned to the face of the bull faunus, who was probably El Toro if she heard Gracie right.
“Ah, there’s an issue with that my friend. It would be my great pleasure to see you to safety, however my compatriots and I are rather… Lost. We aren’t from around here, and we’re looking for Vale.” El Toro said.
Well, that was definitely strange… But Blake didn’t know if she should pry, when that would invite questions about herself. There was no way she could get into Beacon, or have much of a future at all, if others found out about her time in the White Fang. So instead of prying, she replied, “Then I could lead you to the city, I know the way there.”
The three other faunus looked at one another, before Ratbeard looked back to her. “Well then, lead the way lass!”
And thus, Blake Belladonna started leading the three travelers from another world to the City of Vale.