The sound of cannon shattered the silence of the skies, an Aquillan Imperial Galleon had engaged a Clockwork Vessel. After that, came the sound of shouting, swords clashing, and guns firing. Captain Alex Windlass rolled across the deck of the Armada ship, levelled his Hibana Musket and pulled the trigger. The shot flew across the deck and sent a clockwork over the ship rail. Laughing, the young musketeer joined up with his first mate Wing Chun.
The crane disciple kicked down 3 soldiers before speaking. "Captain, perhaps your alchemy could help turn the tides of this battle." Alex chuckled "I'm on it Wing." He raised an armored hand to reveal a transmutation circle. "However, I think only destruction alchemy will be needed for this fight." He took off his helmet and set it down. "Let's do this!"
Running at the nearest clockwork, Alex slammed his hand down on its chest plate. In a flash of red light, the clockwork exploded in a burst of scrap metal, gears, wires, and lubricating oil. Calling to his crew, Alex yelled "All crew back to the ship." His crewmates fell back to his ship while Alex used the oil of several clockworks to form a large transmutation circle. He summoned his alchemic energy, slammed his hands to the deck, grabbed his war helm and ran back to his ship.
The gangplanks withdrew and Alex's ship pulled away. They were about three nautical miles from the armada vessel before Fin Dorsal approached the helm. "Captain, I saw the alchemic reaction initiate, but there seems to be no results. Did it fail?" Alex shook his head. "It did not fail on me Fin. It's a delayed reaction transmutation, just wait." The shark bowed and walked back to his station. "Sorry to question you captain." He said as he walked away.
Behind them, the armada flagship exploded in a fiery blast. The reaction had been a slow heating of the spark powder kegs in the gunnery deck and powder magazine. Wing Chun took to the helm while Alex retired to his quarters. He opened the alchemy notebook he had started using information from libraries across the spiral. As he wrote, there was a knocking on his door. "It's open." He called. There was a growl from the other side of the door, Alex knew it was Handsome Dan, his bulldog crew member. Dan wasn't quite tall enough to reach the door knob.
Standing up, Alex walked over and opened the door. The bulldog commander walked in and looked to his captain. "Captain, we've been requested by Captain Avery. His message says that it is urgent." Alex nodded "Alright, tell the helmsmen to set course for Skull Island." Dan saluted and marched out the door.
Alex changed into his Mooshuan Adventurers Garments and as soon as the ship docked in the skull island harbor, Alex signaled his wingman, and left the ship telling his crew to keep it ready for immediate departure. With Wing at his side, Alex ran up the steps and straight to Avery's Court. Captain Avery was in his office studying sky charts when Alex and Wing entered. "Good morning Captain Windlass, have a seat on my couch." Alex sat and Avery walked over with two glasses in one hand and a bottle of yum in the other.
As he poured the Yum, Captain Avery sat down and handed Alex a glass. Alex pulled down his hood and mask, and took the glass. "Captain, I have received a bit of news that might be of interest to you. A spy of mine tipped me off that your sister was apprehended by the armada recently." Alex nodded "That was over a month ago. The price on Krystal's head isn't enough for the armada to warrant for her execution. I know that the clockworks will follow protocol and just throw her in prison. More than likely, they're using her as bait to lure me in."
Avery nodded "That's probably their reasoning. Your bounty exceeds mine and Boochbeard's combined. Very impressive." This made Alex smile "I do plan on rescuing my sister. I won't lose her." Captain Avery dug in his pocket and pulled out a carefully folded map, "This will lead you to the Armada Fortress in Valencia where your sister is being held. Good luck to you captain." The two shook hands, Alex slammed the yum and walked out the door with his first mate in tow.
"Captain, you aren't thinking of a frontal assault on the Armada Fort, are you?" Wing asked. Alex shook his head "Not a frontal assault, not without the needed power. I need to get a hold of Alex Firefist and Chris Dragonblood if we want to do something like that. Otherwise, without their magic, the idea of a frontal assault on the fortress would be purely suicidal. Alert the crew to ready the ship, we sail at dawn."
The crane nodded and walked off leaving Alex to teleport back to his Sharpshooter's Citadel. Whenever Alex wanted to be alone, he'd go up to his tower or into his crow's nest. At the top of the spire, Alex closed all the windows and then pulled out the crystal ball that Alex Firefist had given to him. He tapped in Alex's crystal ball number, 84-27-357 and waited. The ball glowed and emitted a pinging noise before Alex Firefist showed up on the ball. "Hey, Captain Windlass! What's the good news buddy!" the Pyromancer seemed to be happy to see his pirate friend.
Alex chuckled, "Not much hothead. My sister got arrested by the armada, I need some help breaking her free. Can you get here without having me set sail to come pick you up?" Alex Firefist nodded "Chris and I will get there using our magic." Captain Windlass smiled, "Alright, I'll see you guys when you get here."
The crystal ball dimmed down and Alex walked away. After a few minutes, Alex Firefist and Chris Dragonblood appeared in a flash of fire and sand. The two wizards dusted themselves off and walked up to the pirate. "Hey there Alex, what do we need do to spring your sister?" Alex W. shook his head. "I haven't got my recon report yet. All I know is that the fortress isn't impervious to magic. That's why you guys are here."
Chris pulled off his armor helmet and shook out his shaggy auburn hair. "You're an alchemist now Alex, why couldn't you use that to rescue your sister?" Alex W. was flat in his response "If I tried a solo rescue, I'd be arrested and executed faster than you can say "Oops!". That's why I'm not doing this alone."
Alex F. looked to his sorcerer friend "He makes a pretty valid point. The bounty on his head is so large that if he were to be caught, the Armada could execute him on the spot." Captain Windlass grabbed some weapons off his wall rack and walked past the wizards "We ship out in 10 minutes, you two better be on board." With that, the young pirate left the spire. Alex Firefist tightened the straps on his armor, tested his dragonbite bow and jogged down after Alex Windlass. Chris put his helmet back on and ran after his friends.
The Windlass pirates set sail at sunrise. The crew went about their business, Alex W. stood at the helm, proudly bearing his Mooshuan Adventurer Garb. The wizards on board sat on the foredeck practicing their magic by playing Battle Towers. Alex Firefist was winning two standing towers to Chris's one remaining tower. Below deck, Wing Chun was overseeing the arming of the cannons, "Move quickly to load the cannons." The crane ordered "Remember, powder charge, shot, then ram rod it!" Within 20 minutes every cannon, port and starboard, was armed and ready to go.
At the helm, Alex felt the wind whipping at his robes. He pulled his mask over his face and sailed on. By sundown, the Windlass Pirates had docked at the villa of Alex's friend Steed. The crew camped out there for the night. Alex, Chris and the Wizards went ashore to meet Steed. Steed was happy to help Alex. "Captain Windlass. I will let you know this tactical advantage. The prison your sister is in may appear well fortified. But if you can get around to the south end, your cannons could blow a hole in the weak point.
Steed pulled a scroll out and opened it. "Take a look at this schematic of the prison. Its area is 174,240 square feet. There are some short range embankment cannons built along the walls and each watch tower is equipped with fixed point long nines. Now that you know that, the weak point is hidden by an armada banner to hide it from the clockworks. Get it in range of your long guns, fire, and blow the wall open." Alex nodded "Thank you Steed. You were very helpful."
As they left the estate, Alex watched the skies "Armada ships moving closer. That's not good." He turned to the wizards "Alex, Chris, think you can give those ships some serious hell?" The Pyromancer turned to his best friend "Totally. Chris, I need you to cover me while I power up. You have that magic spear, use those powers to buy me the time I need." Chris D. held up a gauntleted hand and closed it into a fist. "Hell yeah bro. I'll get you all the time you need. Here's your first booster, a Balance blade."
Alex F. drew his first booster, Fire Blade. "Alright, two 35% damage boosters so far. I need to hex and fire trap that fleet. Then I'll be able to unleash the full fury of my fire magic!" Chris D. was having fun. He dodged shots from snipers and marksmen almost as easily as Alex and Captain Windlass. Alex drew his cards he needed "I'm good to go guys." Under his Sentinel's Cowl, the pyromancer smirked. "Time to turn up the heat!" In his head all he could think was I know this will hurt me, but I'm like a phoenix. I'm reborn in the flames.
Captain Windlass cocked the hammers of his revolvers and looked to the armored sorcerer who was protecting his pyromancer friend "Everyone stand clear!" Alex F. yelled. Everyone stepped back as Alex's body was consumed by fire. Captain Young stepped forward to try and help him, but Chris D. held up a hand to block him. "Leave Alex be, what he's doing is called immolation. He's sacrificing a small portion of his health energy and some of his mana to destroy that armada fleet."
Just as Chris had said, the armada fleet ships all simultaneously burst into flames. With this obstacle out of the way, Captain Windlass was free to unleash his Aquillan Galleon. Behind him, Alex F. collapsed to his knees "That took more out of me than I thought it would." Alex W. walked over and held out his hand "You know, back in Mooshu we have a saying that goes like this." He paused. "Tomo ni mou ichido tachiagare mamore hitotsu no inochi tayasanu you ni."
The pyromancer looked at his pirate friend. "What does that mean?" The musketeer smiled "Together, let us rise up once again. Protect, not allowing a single life to be exterminated. It's part of a song I used to sing a lot when I was younger."
Once Alex changed into his Aquillan Gladiator Armor, they set sail. Alex's crew was inspired by their captain to sing a song. Alex smiled at the thought before counting them off "1, 2, 3, 4!" The whole crew started singing.
"Tomo ni mou ichido tachiagare
mamore hitotsu no inochi tayasanu you ni
futatabi otozureta yoake ni me ga samete
kimi o omoidasu yume no tochuu
me no mae no zanzou susumanai ashidori
toozakatteyuku hiriki na boku
taisetsu na mono wa doko ni aru?
ashita o shinjiru nara wasurenaide
ima koso saa inochi o kakete susumidasu toki
omoi ga tsuyoi hodo tsuyoku naru
hengen suru tsugihagi darake no risou de wa sugu ni kieteshimau kara
towa e tsuzuku kawasu chikai
furuedashita karada no soko kara
totsuzen arawareta hitsuzen no deai
guuzen no deai nanka ja nai
seoikirenai yume fuan na yoru mo atta
sono toki anata wa hohoemi kureta
sotto tsukiakari ga yuraida
kitto mirai wa kawaritsuzukeru kara
fukami o mashi yuganda kioku o hikisaku nara
moedasu atarashii suteeji e
kono basho kara kyoumei suru kokoro de mirai e no tobira o tatakou
atsuku atsui honoo matoi
tsumuideyuku kokoro o hitotsu ni
todoke... todoke... sympathy itai... itai... empathy
mou yuruginai kimochi hibiku ashioto ga kikoeru...
ima koso saa inochi o kakete susumidasu toki
omoi ga tsuyoi hodo tsuyoku naru
hengen suru tsugihagi darake no risou de wa sugu ni kieteshimau kara
toki ni shizumi toki ni mayoi
taemanaku mau chikai no honoo!"
That's when they arrived at their target location. The Obsidian Tower Prison. The crew took their positions as they approached. Alex's orders rang out "Ready the long nines and prepare for the assault." Crew members rushed around the deck as the ship came to a standstill and dropped anchor. The ship was in range and the crew waited for his command. Alex stood silent, the wind whipped at his robes. After a few minutes h yelled "FIRE!" The long nines fired and just as Steed had said, the wall collapsed. "Bonnie Anne, let's clear the guards on the wall. We're out of their range, but they're not out of ours."
Alex grabbed his rifle, Bonnie Anne pulled her sniper off her back and followed Alex to the foredeck. Alex flipped up the sight and lined up the crosshairs "Alright, let's go!" He took careful aim, took a deep breath, and pulled the trigger. His rifle cracked and the first clockwork went down. The made quick work of the rest. "Chris! Take the helm and bring us in."
The ship came closer to the hole in the wall and Captain Windlass whistled for El Tiburon and rode in. Chris Y. spun the wheel of the Dark Siren and dropped the gangplank. "Here we go." The wizards and Alex's crew charged in. Leaving Chris Y and Egg Shen on the maindeck to defend the ship.
Inside, Alex was popping clockworks left and right. He looked to Wing Chun "Wing, think you and the others can hold off the Armada while I find my sister?" The crane disciple nodded and tilted his hat. "Captain, you already know my answer." Wing ran off to join the others in combat while Alex turned on his heels, drew his revolvers and ran down the prison's halls. The musketeer slipped silently down the hallway towards the cells. Setting his helmet down out of the way, he hoisted himself into the rafters.
He made his way silently across the beams until he heard a familiar voice. Krystal. Two armada troopers were talking to her. Alex moved in closer so he could eavesdrop on the conversation.
The armada marine spoke first. "Prisoner, listen to me now. There is no way your brother's weak crew will make it passed the courtyard. Your rescue will never come." Krystal's voice was weak, it sounded like she hadn't been fed in a while and was only receiving minimal water rations. "My brother and his crew are the strongest pirates in the spiral. They break you clockworks like bottles of Yum."
The Armada Captain was the next to speak "Understand this. Not one member of your brother's crew has made it inside this prison yet, they're still pointlessly battling the forces in the courtyard. That's when the door broke open and Deacon stepped in. There was anger in the spymaster's voice.
"You… you poor excuse for prison wardens. I received word the Windlass Pirates were here. I thought you had captured them both, instead I find four dozen soldiers turned into scrap metal in the courtyard. And as I was coming to confront you, I find THIS!" Deacon held up Alex's Gladiator Helmet. That pirate Alex Windlass has managed to get inside."
In her cell Krystal smiled, "Told you he'd come for me. But you piles of trash didn't believe me." Deacon strolled up in front of the witchdoctor. "That's enough out of you." With that he pulled out his pistol and shot her in the stomach before shooting his men, dropping Alex's helmet to the floor and teleporting out. Alex dropped down and looked at his sister laying on the cell floor. "Alright sis, let's get you out of here." Using a bit of oil from the clockworks on the floor and his Mooshuan Calligraphy pen, Alex drew an ornate transmutation circle on the lock. Putting the pen back in his boot he said to himself "No time for reconstruction, just going to have to settle for destruction."
Alex pressed his hands to the circle, there was a flash and the door was gone. He picked up his little sister and his helmet. He ran back out to the courtyard where his crew was battling another shipload of Armada Troops. The musketeer handed his sister to Fin Dorsal "Get her back to the ship ad tell the crew to retreat, the fire wizard stays with me. Have El Tiburon ready for my signal."
The shark sheathed his cutters and took Krystal "I'll remember this day captain. The day you showed you're a truly noble pirate." He turned and yelled at his crew mates "Captain's order! Fall back to the ship, the fire wizard stays with the captain." The Windlass Pirates fell back to the Dark Siren and the ship pulled away. This left both Alex's in the courtyard to finish the job. They made quick work of the remaining troops and Captain Windlass kicked the door to the storehouse open. "Firefist! Come check this out. There's enough blasting powder and naptha to blow this prison to smithereens." The two set the kegs in strategic points around the prison.
As they finished their work, Alex F. noticed another fleet of Armada ships. "Captain Windlass, if those ships land their soldiers, we'll be done for. I'll handle the ships, you get out of here." The pyromancer drew his spell deck and looked back at his friend "Give my friend Chris this treasure card when you get back to the Siren, and tell him I'll see him back in Wizard City."
Captain Windlass tried to say something, but couldn't. He took the card, put it in his pocket and looked his wizard friend in the eyes "It's been an honor fighting alongside you my friend." The wizard responded "The feeling is mutual my pirate brother. Now go, your sister will be wanting to see you."
Alex ran back to the hole, let out a sharp whistle and rode off on El Tiburon. On the prison dock Alex Firefist was ready to use immolation. His fighting energy was low, his crystal ball necklaces confirmed it. A tear came to his eye as he held the card in his hand. Then in a voice that was full of courage, Alex Firefist spoke.
"I am a pyromancer. My powers make me great, I make me who I truly am. Anger me, and you will burn. I am strong… like a raging fire. I am a phoenix! Strike me down and I will rise from my ashes. Stronger than ever!" He let out a battle cry as his body burst into flames. The armada ships began to catch and were completely incinerated. With his last ounce of energy Alex let the flames consume him. In a final flash, he was gone.
On board the Siren, the crew watched the aftermath of Alex F.'s spell. Chris D. held the treasure card up. "In the name of my best friend, I call down the destructive fires of the meteor shower!" The armored sorcerer watched as flaming rock began to fall. The prison exploded in a fiery conflagration and was gone.
Once they had reached safety away from Valencia, Chris looked at his pirate friends "I had fun, but I need to go home, my friend Alex is waiting on me. Bye guys." He turned to Captain Windlass "Always be there when your sister needs you Alex." With that Chris was gone in a whirlwind of sand. Alex looked to Fin, the cutthroat was protectively holding on to Krystal.
Walking to the helm, Alex gave Fin a simple order "Take her below deck to Ol' Scratch. He'll take care of her." He grabbed the ship's wheel and sailed off "Raise full sail and set course for Skull Island!"