Like Morning Follows Night

-Somewhere Across the Ocean-

The boat had glided across the water, like an aircraft in the clouds. Many of its passengers on board were either enjoying the view or just running about the deck. Blake Belladonna was one of it's passengers that had stood among the crowd, looking upon the ocean, just having thoughts about all that has happened over the course of a few moments.

At one point she looked down at a beaded bracelet around her wrist, as she couldn't but reminisce. She had been worried about the two sisters since the Fall of Beacon. It was bad enough that Cristal had been put into a coma, but for Destiny to turn up missing? She couldn't help but feel like she was to blame.

The only reason why it had been like this was because of the White Fang.

A group she had been a part of.

She had to leave for everyone's sake.

For her teammates sake…

She couldn't risk any of them getting hurt.

She looked upon children playing nearby, without a care in the world; for a single brief moment she saw two familiar faces appear before her very eyes, having the familiar smile on their faces. The little one for a moment turned to her and--

"Hey sis?"

Blake had been startled when she saw a girl looking no more than sixteen beside her; she had the same eyes as her as well as a set of cat ears like she did; she appeared to have her right ear chipped and looked to have a scar under her lip and cheek. She had on a pair of golden bracelets, a gray jacket with a dark brown shirt, and a pair of black shorts, with dark red boots. One her hands, her left looked to be wrapped in bandages while her left had been a vambrace in the color of gray.

"Shae…" Blake said with relief, "... You scared me."

"Sorry about that…" Shae said, as she handed her a bottle of water, "... Here. Just bought this. Thought you might be thirsty."

Blake took the water bottle from her, "... Thank you."

She took a sip from it, as she gazed at the ocean once more; Shae did the same as she stood by her awkwardly.

"... It's weird being with you again." Shae couldn't help but say, "... Not that I'm saying I'm grateful or anything, but… I didn't expect you to forgive me after all I said to you when you left…" Her ears on her head slanted a little, "... Sorry… I'm bringing you down, aren't I?"

Blake shook her head to her, "... It's alright. I'm just glad you were able to come to your senses and leave the White Fang."

Shae only gave a small smile, "After what Adam did to you and that girl, and… What he made us do to Beacon… It was the wake up call I needed." She soon had a guilty look on her face, "... I just wished I could've stopped it."

Blake pulled Shae closer to her, as she allowed her head to lean on her shoulder, "... It's not your fault…" Was the only thing she had told her.

Shae stayed silent as she slowly shut her eyes, just listening to the sound of the waves and wind.

There was a time when there was a distance between Blake and her younger sister; that time was when they were a part of the White Fang. When they were only children, they participated in the protests and rally's; as they had always been at the front of the line. They began to grow apart, when the White Fang turned to a more violent approach. Shae appeared to fully support their new leader and Adam's strategies while Blake had realized their mistakes and saw the path they were on, wasn't the right one.

The final nail in the coffin was when Blake left for Beacon.

At the time, Shae hated her own sister to her core… But not in the way Adam did.

When she had been told about what he did, she couldn't believe it. No… It was more like she didn't want to believe it.

From then, and especially the horrors she witnessed at Beacon… She came to realize Blake had been right all along. She did want to hurt people that called them freaks and ridiculed her people for so long, but no one ever told her they would bring in Grimm, hurt innocent people, and what's worse… Follow orders from the very people they were trying to hurt.

She knew it would only get worse, so she decided to leave before she became a part of something, not even her own family could save her from.

She knew what she had been leaving behind, but it was at that point she didn't care what others thought of her.

She had managed to find Blake at the docks, catching the last ship leaving for their home; She mentally prepared a whole speech for her, and prepared to get on her knees and beg her to forgive her.

Though she had been surprised when she had gotten no reply, or even so much as a yell. All Blake did was give her a hug. Shae had been paralyzed with shock, but was glad to have her sister back after so long.

Now here they were, on the same boat, literally; heading in the same direction, wanting the same thing.

They were enjoying each others company, until--

"You two traveling alone?"

Blake immediately became alert as she put Shae behind her back, and had been prepared to draw her weapon. Turns out, it had been the ship's Captain.

"Now, now, there's no threat here." The Captain reassured her, "I just want to chat."

Blake took her hand away from her weapon and Shae emerged from behind her back, "... And why is that?"

The Captain replied as he leaned on the railing, "Well… Not many people travel by themselves. It can be quite lonely on a voyage, even if it's just two people. But I found those that do… Tend to have interesting stories."

Blake looked away from the Captain as she moved from her sister, "... Sometimes it's just better for some people to be alone."

"Sis…" Shae said with worry.

Blake jumped as she went to protect her sister again as she became alert; a couple of children passed them by, making Shae look at her awkwardly.

The Captain laughed, "Maybe, but with your paranoia, I think a few friendly faces wouldn't hurt."

"Who says I'm being paranoid!?" Blake said angrily.

"You did, just now." Shae pointed out.

"Shae!" She exclaimed as her face turned red.

The Captain laughed again, "Well, it's nice to see your little sister has a sense of humor. I'll leave you two be."

With that the Captain proceeded off deck, but took a moment to turn back to the siblings, "But uh, fair warning, these trips can get awfully boring." Soon, he left the two be; Shae only sighed, "Well, that was a thing."

Shae went to turn to her sister, but noticed her remove her bow from her head.

"Won't be needing this…" Blake said before she let go of the bow, letting it flow in the breeze before gently hitting the water. She watched as it disappeared in the distance.

"Come on." She said turning to Shae, "Let's head inside for now."

Shae only nodded silently before they went off deck; neither of them seemed to notice a hooded figure watching them from a distance.

***

-Patch-

The days had been slow for Yang, in the few months she had been back home. She didn't find herself as active as she used to, as she found herself doing the same thing. Sitting at the couch, or her room, eating dinner with her father and cousin, occasionally helping around the house, before sleeping in and repeating this routine the next day.

She was at a time a thrill seeker, wanting nothing more than adventure.

But since Beacon… She had changed.

She didn't have her hair down loosely anymore, she instead had it tied back; she no longer had her smile, only one bland expression on her face. Her eyes looked cold and practically colorless, as they didn't look alive as they did anymore over the course of the few months.

She found herself sitting on the couch again, with a familiar corgi plushie on her lap, as she held it close. She looked to a stack of books on her right, but didn't bother to reach out to them. She instead turned to her left, and took the remote before switching on the television in the living room.

It hadn't been long before someone emerged from the kitchen; it had been a familiar girl with black hair with red streaks, and golden eyes, holding a tray of food.

It had been her cousin, Maize.

"Hi Yang." Maize said with a warm smile, "Hope your hungry, I made us some pizza."

Yang stayed silent as she looked at her, before turning her attention back to the TV.

"... Thanks." Yang said softly as she continued to flip through the channels, "... I'll eat in a bit."

Maize's eyes softened a little before she set the food on the table, taking her seat beside her. Maize decided to start up a conversation as she noticed the doll on her lap, "... That little corgi plush is cute… It kind of looks like Zwei doesn't it?"

Yang didn't say anything as she kept her eyes on the television as she flipped through one channel after another.

"...Ruby told me… That little girl got it for you." Maize said, "... Her name's Destiny right?"

"... She won it for me." Yang soon said, "After what happened in the festival… She wanted to cheer me up…"

"That's so sweet of her." She said with a smile, "What's she like?"

"... She's kind… and sweet… " She said, "... I didn't get a chance to thank her…"

Maize's gaze softened a little, though she soon gave a smile again, "... I'm sure wherever she is… She's alright."

"... I hope so too." Yang said.

She soon stopped on a certain channel that featured Lisa Lavender; her eyes focused on this particular story.

"... Multiple rumors continue to circulate as to who was behind the attacks at the Vytal Festival. While no one knows for sure, officials have confirmed that high-ranking White Fang member Adam Taurus was present at the attack. Any and all attempts to bring him into custody have been met with brutal force--"

Yang shut off the television as she tossed the remote to the side. Maize noticed that Yang looked uneasy, after having heard of the news. She placed her hand on her shoulder to comfort her as Yang let out a shaky breath.

The front door soon opened.

"I'm home!"

Maize and Yang both turned to the door, to see Tai standing there with a couple of boxes and various bags. "Hi dad." Yang said in her usual tone.

"Welcome back Uncle Tai!" Maize greeted with a smile, before she removed herself from the couch, "Let me help you with those bags."

"You're a lifesaver Maize, thank you." Tai said, handing off a couple of bags to her. She took the bags to the kitchen, as Tai turned to Yang, "Hey, Sunny Dragon! You'll never guess what came in today!"

Yang looked puzzled at this, "... What is it?"

"I can't wait for you to try this!" He said as he went to the kitchen.

After a few moments he brought back one of the boxes he had been holding, setting it in front of Yang just on the coffee table. Yang took notice that the box had Atlas's logo on it.

"It's… For me?" She said surprised.

"For you and you only." Tai replied.

Yang looked back to the box. Placing the corgi plush on the side, she proceeded to open it. Inside the box, revealed to be that of a silver arm. Her eyes widened in shock, yet she looked more distressed then pleased.

"Wow…" Maize said as she came back into the room, noting what had been inside the box, "... I've never seen this model from Atlas before."

"It's pretty cool isn't it?" Tai said, "It's brand new state of the art Atlas tech! You know, I thought I was going to have to pull some strings, call in a few favors… But Yang earned this all on her own."

Yang looked at her father confused as did Maize. He soon explained, "Before I could even talk to him, General Ironwood already had one of his top scientists working on this for you. He wanted me to know that you fought admirably. You should be proud of yourself."

Yang sat back on the couch, as Maize took notice of the look on her face; she looked to her cousin with worry.

"Well?" Tai said, "Aren't you going to try it on?"

Yang soon answered, "... I'm… Not feeling too great at the moment… Maybe later…?"

Tai looked deflated at this as he ran his hand through his hair, "... Well… Alright."

Yang soon stood up from the couch, taking the small corgi plush with her. As she went up the stairs she looked to Tai, and Maize, "... Thanks you guys…" She soon disappeared up in her room, leaving her concerned father and cousin behind.

***

Blake found herself up on the deck once more with her younger sister, as they both looked upon the ocean. They admired the sunset over the horizon, as they both wished a moment like this could last forever. They both thought about their destination, as they had their own concerns about where exactly they were going.

"... What do you think they're going to say Blake?" Shae soon asked, "It's been so long since we've seen them, what do you think they're going to say?"

"... You mean our parents?" Blake said, "... Who knows. We won't know until we get there."

Shae only chuckled, "That's easy for you to say. It's not like I don't want to see them. I really do, but, you know how they can be… Especially father."

"Yeah…" She said, "It's going to be like we never left."

Shae had been about to say something else, when the top of her ear twitched, as did Blake's. They both turned around fast and saw a cloak man disappear on the second deck above them; Blake drew her weapon.

"WHO'S THERE?!" She yelled.

Neither of them had gotten an answer.

Before they could go after whoever the cloaked figure had been, Blake and Shae nearly stumbled as the boat began to rock due to the enormous waves that seemed to have come out of nowhere. They managed to stay on their feet, and soon took notice of a great creature that arose from the very waters.

"RED ALERT!!" They heard a crew member yell.

The alarms on the boat went off and the passengers started to run inside. The Captain and the rest of the crews ran out, to see the shadow that towered over them.

"By the Gods…" The Captain said.

The creature that emerged from the waters, was what many know as the Sea Feilong. It's eyes glowed a burning red, and it's body glowed a similar red pattern along it's bone-like body. It let out a roar as it spread its forearms.

"ALL HANDS TO BATTLESTATIONS!!" The Captain ordered his crew.

"But sir, we've never fought a Grimm this big!" One of his crew members said.

"We've never seen something this big…" The Captain said, "... But we'll give 'er a fight nonetheless!"

On deck, Blake and Shae looked on towards the Sea Feilong. "That thing is huge!" Shae exclaimed.

"Shae! Get below!" Blake said, "I'll handle this!"

Blake soon took off running as Shae started to shout her name.

Arming herself with her Gambol Shroud, she leaped high into the air, using her semblance to help her gain the momentum needed, as she switched it to it's kusarigama form. She tossed it towards the Grimm, as the blade attached to its neck. She swung above the creature, and started to fire at it once she had gotten above.

The dragon let out a roar, as Blake distanced herself from the creature, landing on the crow's nest. The Captain steered the ship towards the beast, turning the boat to its side as a set of cannons emerged; it started to fire at the Sea Feilong, but it was quick to evade as it dove into the water.

She armed her sword and leaped towards it once more, though as she attacked it's face it didn't leave so much as a scratch. The canons proved to be useless as well as they kept on missing. Due to the blast from the cannons Blake ended up flying back as she landed on the ship.

"SISTER!" Shae shouted as she ran to her as she noticed she had trouble standing back up.

"Shae!?" Blake said surprised, "I thought I told you to get below deck!"

"No way!" Shae told her, "I'm not leaving you out here!"

They soon heard the Captain shout, "Hold steady men! It's not done with us yet! Get the Heavy cannons loaded!"

From the deck, they saw a pair of canons come out, and aimed it at the dragon. As it began to charge, they saw the Sea Feilong sprout a pair of wings; it soon took to the skies.

"HEAVY CANNONS OPEN FIRE!" The Captain yelled.

The cannons fired and it hit the Sea Feilong just as it took flight; it flew towards the ship as it started to form an electric ball in it's mouth.

"Crap!" Shae exclaimed, "If it hits the ship, we're dead!"

Just when Blake was about to take action, the cloaked person from earlier leaped onto her head and beat her to it.

"THE HELL!?" Shae exclaimed, seeing as how the man just jumped on top of her older sister's head.

The man threw away his cloak, and it was revealed to be someone familiar behind it. He activated his semblance, and multiple clones of himself appeared, flying towards the dragon. Blake's eyes widenend at who it had been.

"SUN!?" She yelled with disbelief.

"WHO!?" Shae shouted.

Sun and his clones landed on top of the dragon's head, and they gripped its topmost tendrils while he grabbed on its upper lip.

"SORRY PAL!" Sun yelled, "NOT TODAY!"

The Sea Feilong released it's attack and it missed the boat by several feet in the air.

"Do you know him Blake!?" Shae exclaimed.

Blake ignored her question as she shouted to Sun, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?"

"OH YOU KNOW--!" Sun yelled as he struggled to hang onto the dragon, as it tried to shake him off, "--JUST HANGING OUT!!"

The Sea Feilong sent an electrical charge throughout its entire body, shocking and Sun, making him fall off his back.

"HE'S FALLING!" Shae yelled as she panicked.

"I SEE THAT!" Blake yelled back as she had been too quick to spring into action.

Her and Shae jumped off the boat as they flew high into the air. Switching her weapon to it's kusarigama form she let the blade latch onto a rock before she swung herself; her younger sister grabbed onto her ankle. She was able to catch Sun in mid-air and held him in her arms bridal style, while Shae landed on her feet beside them.

"My hero~" Sun said.

"YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!" Blake yelled, making him freeze up.

"Yeah?" He said, "Well it looks like you can use all the help you can get!"

Shae groaned, "Okay, I have no idea who he is, or why you know Monkey Boy, but he's right! You won't be able to take out that thing on your own! You need us!"

Blake sighed, as she rolled her eyes she dropped Sun to the floor, "Just shut up and fight!" She said, as she still had been angry with Sun.

"Sir, yes ma'am!" He said as he saluted.

Blake turned to her sister, "Do you have your weapons?"

"Are you kidding me?" She said, before she pulled out a pair of steampunked shotguns that had been around her waist, "I don't leave home without them!"

Blake nodded, before she said to her sister specifically, "Stay close to me!"

Blake, Sun and Shae soon ran along the rocky plains towards the ship, where the dragon was firing surges of electricity. The three of them took a leap high into the air, and landed onto the deck; they prepared to counter it's attack as it fired another surge of electricity towards them. Sun ended up jumping between the two as he used his weapons, Ryui Bang and Jingu Bang to deflect it; the attack landed on one of the heavy cannons that had been on the deck, breaking it instantly.

"And… There went one of the powerful weapons on the ship." Shae said awkwardly.

"Eh, nobody's perfect." Sun said with a shrug.

"Huntsmen!" They soon heard the Captain shout; They turned to him, "If you can clip its wings, and draw it towards the bow, we could take it out!"

"Got it!" Shae said, giving a thumbs up.

Blake turned away from the Captain and looked over to Sun.

"I mean…" Sun said, "... You're the one with the sword!"

She rolled her eyes and turned to Shae, "... Let's go."

Shae gave a nod, before they started to move again. Sun jumped high into the air making clones of himself with the help of his semblance. The clones helped Blake and Shae fly into the air. Though Sun opened his arms to Blake, she ended up jumping to his head, while Shae jumped onto his back and leaped off of him.

They both soon dove towards the dragon as they readied themselves. Blake armed her sword, while Shae flipped her shotguns to a set of axes.

It fired electrical blasts at them though the siblings were too quick enough to dodge it's attacks as they towards it. They both ran along it's left wing and sliced through the membrane before the jumped off; the dragon let out a roar of agony.

While Shae landed on a rock tower nearby Sun had gotten below where Blake was going to land. He opened his arms wide before he caught her; he was now holding Blake in his arms bridal style.

"This is the part where you say it." He said with a smile, causing Blake to roll her eyes again

"WATCH IT MONKEY BOY!" Shae shouted, "THAT'S MY SISTER YOUR TRYING TO FLIRT WITH!!"

"You never told me you had a sister." Sun said.

Blake had been about to answer, though the three of them nearly fell over when the rock formations started to break apart. Blake moved fast as she jumped from one rock formation to the next, as did Shae.

"OKAY, YOU CAN FILL ME IN LATER!" Sun yelled before he followed close behind them.

Shae soon armed herself as she began to fire from her weapons; each bullet had been laced with ice, in an attempt to slow the beast down. Despite this, the Grimm had been able to break free easily. With a whip of it's tail, the attack hit Shae breaking her aura instantly as she flew.

"SHAE!" Blake shouted

With the help of her Gambol Shrouds ribbon, she swung towards her sister as she had managed to catch her before she could land in the water below. "I totally meant to do that!" Shae said as she groaned.

"Oh good, you caught her!" Sun said with relief as he landed just above them.

The moment didn't last however when they saw the Sea Feilong had been right in front of them; the three of them had equally been helpless as it began to charge it's attack. The boat soon rammed into the dragon's side, ceasing it's attack.

"HEAVY CANNON OPEN FIRE!" They heard the Captain yell.

The weapon soon fired, as it blew off the Sea Feilong's head, leaving behind it's lower half; the body began to disappear as the whole crew began to cheer. Blake and Shae couldn't help but sigh with relief while Sun cheered as well.

"Yeah!" He said before holding up his hand, "Up top!"

Shae only gave him an awkward look, while Blake turned to Sun and glared at him.

"Come on!" Sun said with a grin, "Don't leave me hanging!"

Blake only let out a cry as the next thing Sun knew, her hand met his cheek.

***

-Later that Night-

After everything had settled down and the Grimm's body disappeared, the boat was back on its course. Blake, Shae and Sun had been above deck, as they had been taking a breather after what they had just gone through.

While Blake filled Shae in on who Sun was, Sun himself had been busy looking after the passengers.

"Seriously, it's no big deal!" He said to a couple, "Just enjoy the rest of your trip and everything will be cool!"

With a wave the couple proceeded off the deck; he soon went over to Blake and Shae. "You'd think they've never seen a fight before."

"Right…" Shae said as she looked to him awkwardly.

"What are you doing here?!" Blake asked as she still sounded angry.

Sun on the other hand ignored her completely, "Digging the new look by the way. Never did like that bow."

"Sun!!" She practically yelled, annoyed at this point, "Have you been following us!? Following ME!?"

"Lady asked you a question." Shae said, as she was annoyed as Blake had been.

Sun soon let out a sigh before he started to explain, "... I saw you run off. The night Beacon tower fell… Once we landed in Vale, you made sure everyone was okay, and than you just took off without saying anything." He soon pointed over to Shae, "When I saw her… Your little sister apparently met up with you at the docks. Let's just say I had to come."

Shae noticed the look on Blake's face as she couldn't help but worry. Blake soon looked upon the ocean, "... You wouldn't understand why I had to leave…" She told him as Shae gave her a pat on the shoulder.

"No, I get it!" Sun said, "The moment you left, I knew EXACTLY what you were going to do!"

Blake looked at him shocked, but relieved by this as she smiled at him. Although--

"You're gonna go on a rampage against the White Fang!"

--It wasn't the answer she wasn't expecting to hear.

As her smile fell from her face, Shae's jaw dropped slightly.

"WHAT!?" Blake and Shae exclaimed.

"You always felt like the White Fang was your fight!" Sun said, "They show up--Trash YOUR school--Hurt YOUR friends! It makes perfect sense!"

"You think she's here because of--" Shae started to say before she scoffed, "--Can you believe this guy Blake?!"

"Yeah… I can't!" Blake said as she sounded angry again.

"Granted you've got your sister Sheila here to help you out, but there's no way I'm gonna let you have all the fun!" Sun said putting his arm around Shae, making her hiss a little, "You gotta have someone to watch your guy's back! Us Fanus have to stick together after all!"

Shae shook out of his grip as her pupils dilated, "First of all… I'm not Sheila! The name's Shae Belladonna!" She stated, "Second, what you said just now couldn't be farther from the truth! You don't know anything about her! A thing about ME!"

"What are you talking abou--"

"Shae and I aren't going anywhere near the White Fang." Blake soon said, cutting Sun off, "... Not yet."

Sun looked shocked at this, "Seriously?"

"Well… Yeah." Shae added, "What? You'd think we're crazy enough to take on the White Fang after all that's happened?"

"... You were a part of the White Fang too?" He asked, turning to her.

"WAS." Shae stated again, "... There's a difference."

"What did you do to piss them off?"

"Same thing that Blake did… I left."

Though he didn't quite get it, Sun nodded in understanding before he looked over to Blake, "So… If you guys aren't going to the White Fang… Why not sort things out with your team?"

"Like your one to talk!" Blake said, "Assuming that Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet aren't hiding below deck!"

Sun only scoffed at this, before he sat on the railing, "You'd really think I could get Neptune on the ocean? They flew back to Mistral! I told them I'd catch-up! It's not the first time I left them to take a boat!"

"You ditched your own team!?" Shae said surprised.

"Like I said, not my first time!" Sun said, before he asked, "Where are you guys going anyway?"

"... Home." Blake replied, "To Menagerie."

"... We need to sort a lot of things out." Shae added.

Sun nodded in understanding again, before he said with a smile, "Welp, looks I'm tagging along too!"

The two sisters couldn't help but give a quizzical look. "Why?" Blake asked.

"Hey, you saw how the Grimm are!" Sun said, "Ever since what happened, they've been getting worse out here. And just because you and your sister aren't going after the White Fang, doesn't mean that they'll be coming after you both."

"Huh…" Shae said, as she scratched her ears a little, "... You do make a good point."

"Exactly!" He said before stating awkwardly, "... That and I'm kind of already on the boat."

Blake looked amused at this, "... There's really no stopping you?"

"Nope!" He said, giving a peace sign, "This is going to be great! I've never been to Menagerie before! It'll be like a regular journey to the East!... Yeah! I like the sound of that."

"Great…" Shae said with a groan, "... We're gonna have to deal with this, the whole ride over… Just kill me now, why don't you?"

Sun gave her a pat on the head, making her pupils dilate again, "Don't be like that, you know you love me!"

"NO TOUCHY THE EARS!" Shae shouted as she hissed again.

Blake couldn't help but chuckle at this, as she looked onto the horizon again. Placing her hand on her wrist where the beaded bracelet had been she had a look of solemnness.

"... Destiny… Cristal… Ruby… Weiss… Yang… I'm sorry..."