Spinal vs Cervantes de León
"Onward, men! Davy Jones himself cowers at the sight of your vile faces!" the call cried out over the roaring waves. The ship heaved and swayed as it cut through the ocean, its cream-colored sails flapping violently in the wind, crowned with the black flag of the Jolly Rodger. The sailors worked tirelessly on the deck, bustling back and forth, footsteps deliberate and assured on the slippery black wood.
"Get the lead out of your asses, we have a hellish paradise to forge!" the shout rang out again. The men kept their eyes to their task, avoiding the watchful gaze with their captain. At the helm stood the man issuing commands, the Immortal Pirate himself, Cervantes de León.
His tricorn hat sat flamboyantly atop his head, a large white plum erupting from its center. The man's white mutton chops met his mustache, framing around his sun-bronzed face, a devious smile spreading across his jaw. He wore a red coat, the tails frayed from wind and use, with the chest opened to reveal the man's well-defined muscles. At his belt he had sheathed two large swords, one conspicuously with a gun in the hilt.
Cervantes peered through his looking glass to the horizon, gulls circling a distant island amongst jagged rocky outcroppings and the remains of ships cast upon the rocks. A smile cracked across his lips as he rose a tankard of rum to his lips, a few streams of liquid escaping his mouth to flow down his exposed chest.
"Keep true ahead men," Cervantes shouted, eyes shining with greed. "Treasure and souls await…"
A loud scream halted Cervantes' shouting, pulling his attention away from his distant prize. His eyes wandered to the deck of his ship, seeing one of his pirates slashed across the torso, his legs and stomach being sloshed around with the swaying ship while his upper chest and head sliding in the opposite direction.
"Who dares to defy me?" Cervates called out, his heavy footsteps carrying him down to the deck among his men. He stepped through the gore left by the mysterious attack, the assailant nowhere to be seen. Cervantes approached one of his men, grabbing him by his collar and raising him to the air.
"Who stands against me? Who…" Cervantes shouted in the man's face, only to be cut off once again by a bloodcurdling scream. The dreaded captain turned ferociously, dropping the seaman he held. He saw another of his pirates' body fall to the deck, headless. This time, however, he caught a quick glimpse of the assailant.
Standing over the fresh corpse was a decrepit skeleton, wrapped in ship rope and a red bandana wrapped tightly around the brow of its skull, just above the red glowing orbs in its eye sockets. The skeleton had a large portion of a steering wheel lodged into its back as well as a large rectangular shield in its left arm bearing a squid-like face, the tentacles dangling low. The macabre skeleton's cutlass dripped with fresh blood and sea water.
"To Cervantes, you are nothing!" Cervantes raged, drawing one of his swords and pointing it at his adversary.
The skeleton cackled, a bright green energy surrounding him. Cervantes ran forward swinging at the specter. The skeleton, however, disappeared in a puff of bright green smoke as Cervantes' sword slashed down and stuck into the deck of the ship.
He removed his sword from the ship's wood, sheathing it once again.
"That creature, I've heard tale of such an abomination," one pirate murmured within earshot of the captain. "Spinal, the protector of the Mask of the Ancients, defender of Shipwreck Shore!"
Cervantes pondered the thought, "Mask of the Ancients…"
"None return from the shore alive! We must return to safer waters!"
"Stow you fear," Cervantes sneered, placing a massive hand on the man's collarbone, forcing him to the ground. "We are on course for Shipwreck Shore as we speak. No beast or abomination shall keep me from the well of souls that thing must carry."
Cervantes let go of the man who instantly grabbed for his bruised shoulder. The captain moseyed his way back up the stairs to the helm, taking the wheel in one hand as his other rested atop the hilt of one of his swords. His eyes squinted at the distant island, where glory, gold, and souls awaited.
The small dinghy beached on the rocky shore while the moon was high in the sky. Cervantes's boots crunched on old skeletons left on the coast by the crashing waves, the two men who rowed him there staying in the boat, shivering in terror.
A crab scuttled across the beach, crawling up to the dread captain, its eyes pointing upward in curiosity. Cervantes bared his teeth as he stomped on the crustacean, a sickening crunch splattering its remains.
"Hehehehehe!" the spectral cackling rang out once more, echoing off of the surrounding wreckage. Cervantes grinned, drawing both of his swords as his head turned, attempting to find his opponent. The two pirates in the rowboat jolted to life, kicking off the shore with their oars and paddling back to the main ship.
"Cowards!" Cervantes bellowed, raising his gun-sword and aiming it at the fleeing boat. He pulled the trigger placed in the handle, the pistol within the hilt firing a deadly bullet into the forehead of one of the pirates, killing him instantly.
The other pirate shrieked in horror, grabbing the other oar and rowing even more furiously. As he did, however, a green spectral skull flew from the shore, attaching to his face in a gruesome bite as it pulled him over the side of the boat and into the murky depths.
Cervantes' eyes filled with fire as he turned back, seeing the skeleton Spinal standing menacingly, head tilting jaggedly from side to side.
"The Mask of the Ancients will be mine!" Cervantes called out, readying his swords. "Whether I take it before or after I take your soul is up to you!"
The skeleton did not respond in words, but simply cackled once more as it raised its shield and lankily charged the captain, its scimitar waving wildly overhead. Cervantes ran forward as well, catching the skeleton's shield with one of his swords. He thrust forward with his other sword, although it passed directly through the separated ribs.
"HEHEHE!" Spinal cackled, disappearing in a puff of green smoke once again. Cervantes spun wildly, swords raised in defense as he seemed to stand alone on the rocky shore.
Another puff of smoke and Spinal formed behind the dread captain. The skeleton threw its bony hand clutching his sword upward, catching Cervantes off guard and sending him into the air. Cervantes grunted and shouted as he was juggled by Spinal's relentless attacks, a series of shield bashes and sword flails keeping him aloft.
"Enough of this!" Cervantes bellowed, spinning in the air with one of his blades outstretched. His sword struck the skeleton in the skull, spinning it on its axis a few rotations until it looked forward again.
Cervantes landed to the shore on his feet with rage, a pale sickly gray pigmentation creeping up his neck.
"To Cervantes, you are nothing!" He screamed, swinging his blades with a fluster of steel. The blades struck against the shield and bones of his adversary, who recoiled in pain as he was staggering. Cervantes kept the skeleton on its back foot, continuously slashing. "Beg for mercy!"
Spinal finally caught both blades with his shield, the shield's tentacles wrapping around each of the swords keeping them in place.
"Hehehe," the skeleton cackled as a massive green, skeletal spectral hand rose from between the two warriors. The hand grasped Cervantes by the face, wrapping around the top of his head and raising flinging him far across the beach.
Crashing into scuttled ship remnants, the dread captain rose, the gray pigment creeping up his neck now enveloping the entirety of his face. His eyes glowed a bright white as parts of his open chest seemingly began to decay, the skin peeling from tight muscle.
"Fool…" Cervantes muttered, regaining his fortitude. "You should fear my power!"
"Hehehehe!" Spinal shouted once more, a pair of spectral green skulls forming above him. The skulls flew at the pirate, their jaws chomping up and down as they did. Cervantes scoffed as he raised his gun-sword. The shot rang out, shattering one of the skulls, and he swung his blade into the other, spectral shards raining onto the rocks.
Spinal charged forward, again shield raised and sword swinging overhead. He slashed overhead, swiping air each time as Cervantes stepped back to avoid the blows.
"Annoying wretch!" Cervantes called out, swinging his blade in parry. His sword struck Spinal's skull, tearing his bandana in two as it floated away in the coastal wind. The skull cracked, a bright orange light shining through the split.
Spinal dropped to his patellae, his sword clanging to the ground along with his shield.
"All will speak of the day that Cervantes bested the abomination of Spinal!" Cervantes cried out, raising his gun-sword once more. He fired the pistol, blowing a hole through the skeleton's face. The remaining bones clattered to the shore, devoid of life once more.
Cervantes chuckled, sheathing his swords as he walked the rocky shore. His eyes wandered to the sea where his ship was anchored as another ship strode the horizon. Taking out his spy glass, he targeted the other ship, the script "Flying Dutchman" emblazoned upon its side.
Winner: Cervantes de León
Stay tuned for Castle Crashers vs Shovel Knight!