To her left, Velvet heard rapid shots from Coco’s Gatling gun, the explosive impact of her Aura-enhanced bullets on a crab’s carapace, and soon the sound of the shell cracking and crumbling. The creature screeched horribly as it died.

But Velvet’s crab was still very much alive and frisky. It lunged for her again. She dove and rolled out of the way. She just needed her camera—

Suddenly Yatsuhashi was by her side, as always.

The large crab didn’t look quite as intimidating next to Yatsu, who was a foot and a half taller than Velvet and much broader.

The creature chittered nervously. Yatsu grabbed its claw with both hands, holding it closed. Then he twisted his torso and tossed the creature up and away with a roar. It spun through the air like an oversized discus with spindly legs, until it crashed into a dune fifty feet away. There it lay, stunned, half-buried in sand.

“Hey, that one was mine!” Velvet said.

“You’re welcome. Give me a hand?” He nodded to another nearby crab, which he had also flipped onto its back. Its legs twitched frantically in the air as it struggled to right itself.

Velvet approached the overturned crab, getting close enough to see her face reflected in its beady black eyes, each the size of her head. She looked away, almost feeling sorry for it. She turned to face Yatsu, knelt on one knee, and interlaced her fingers.

Yatsu sprinted toward her, drawing his greatsword from behind his back. As he stepped onto her linked hands, she heaved upward and stood, boosting his jump so he catapulted high over her head. She spun around and watched him fall toward the crab, sword pointed downward purposefully. The blade pierced the mole crab’s soft underbelly.

The crab keened and thrashed, but Yatsu held on to his sword and stayed on top of it. He plunged the blade in deeper. Clear liquid gushed from the wound and drenched him.

Ew, Velvet thought.

The crab’s death throes sent sand flying everywhere, including right into Velvet’s eyes and—of course—her open mouth. She coughed and rubbed at her stinging eyes until she could see again.

The crab’s body still twitched, but it was clearly no longer a threat. Yatsu jumped down and walked toward Velvet. His green robe was soaked dark, almost black. She backed away from him, covering her nose.

“I think it’s just … water?” Yatsu swept his fingers through his short, damp hair and then examined his hand.

“Stinky water. You smell like a swamp,” she said.

“I know,” he said sadly.

The liquid was already evaporating in the hot afternoon sun, but the stench remained.

- RWBY: After the Fall, Prologue