Sisters Of Red Scarlett

It was a calm, peaceful day in the skies. Scarlett was falling asleep at the steering wheel of the Esperanza. She knew she shouldn't as the skies are unpredictable, but she didn't care, because Astell had kept her awake all night, anyways with her constant complaining about how it was cold.

"Spoiled brat..." she murmured.

Astell walked in. "Hey, Scarlett!" she called out joyfully. "I just finished the paint job on Esperanza! Tee hee! It looks great!"

Scarlett was uplifted by this. "Ah! So ye finished! Good! Can I see?"

Astell waved her hand, suggesting that Scarlett follow, and she did.

"Ta-da!" Scarlet called out, pointing to a wall mural of what appeared to be...

"A TEDDY BEAR?!" Scarlett cried out in horror. "The Esperanza is th' Red Death!" She grabbed her hair and started to pull it in panic and fury. "A Teddy Bear, she paints! A Teddy Bear!" She kicked over the bucket of paint, and began to tear apart the wall mural. "I wanted ya to spruce it up 'cause yer an artist, Astell!"

Astell choked a sob. "I'm sorry, Scarlett..." She began to tear up. "I...I thought you'd be happy..."

"Aww, don't start cryin, Astell!" Scarlett consoled her, immediately simmering down. She put her hands on her despaired sister's shoulders. "It woulda looked better as a wall mural... jus' not on the Red Death."

Astell wiped her tears away. "W-would you rather something garish, like a skull?"

"Wit' the crossed bones, yeh." Scarlett said. "Like the Jolly Rogers, eh?"

"Like the Jolly Rogers..." Astell confirmed with anguish in her voice as she picked up another bucket of paint, getting ready to spend 2 more hours on a paint job.

Scarlett went back to her den and decided to read a book titled "Le Vite Delle Donne". She had resumed from her bookmark and read about seven pages into it, when she heard Astell scream. She jumped out f her seat, dropped the book, and ran to the port of the ship, where Astell had been painting, only to observe something truly chilling.

"No..." Scarlett said in shock. "It can't be ye..."

"Yes it is." the female voice called from off-screen. "I'm here to kill you!"

"No!" Astell cried. She had not been expecting this visitor.

"Yeh Strega!" Scarlett insulted her in Italian. "How dare ye come back from the dead?! How DID ye come back from the dead, come ta think o' it?"

"Because I am a necromancer, d-uh!" the woman stepped onto the deck with them and ceased to levitate. "I am Yang Gui the vacant! I know you remember!"

"Vaffanculo!" Scarlett yelled at her, rushing her with her rapier. The sword plunge dhome, but with a problem; Yang Gui is non-physical. The sword did nothing to her.

Astell focused a beam of energy and blasted at Yang Gui, who absorbed the magic hit. Astell smirked as Yang Gui fell overboard.

"I'LL BE BACK FOR YOU, TRAITOR!" Yang Gui cried out as she fell.

"I don't think so." Astell replied with sass in her voice. Scarlett ran up to Astell and hugged her, and decided to tease her by removing her pink beret and giving her a noogie.

"Ouch!" Astell pulled out of Scarlett's grip. "Scarlett, I hate noogies!"

"I hate yer whinin'!" Scarlett replied. "But I'm glad yer okay. That puttana keeps on comin' back, doesn't she? Like a cold sore."

Astell nodded in agreement. "Oh, yeah, Scarlett, don't look at the wall yet, I'm not done painting, obviously!"

Scarlett raised a hand and rolled her eyes and walked away, leaving Astell to paint. She just couldn't shake Yang Gui's mysterious reappearance off her mind, though.

What exactly were they in for?