Chapter 3: A Final Embrace
Thunder and lightning. The sound of drums. Explosions and screams as wood shattered and splintered. Still the wind howled in Matthew's ears, seeming for all the world that existence around him was collapsing into darkness as night fell. The boat heaved, rocked, swayed, and all Matthew could do was hunker down, Sveta in his arms, and hope that no stray cannonballs or deadly shrapnel came their way.
"Eoleo!" Han rushed towards the Captain, holding his hat to his head and cutlass drawn. "They've nearly caught us!"
"I can see that!" Eoleo shouted, spinning the wheel. "We're taking the fight to them!"
Matthew could hear shouts of approval from the pirates below, many had already drawn their weapons and were baring their teeth at the fast-approaching ship. Though he could barely see it, he felt the fear rise in his chest.
"Get Sveta downstairs and get your weapon arm ready." Eoleo grinned, spinning the wheel again, the heavy rain splattering on him making him seem for all the world a dangerous pirate. "We're gonna need as much manpower as we can get."
Matthew nodded, rushing down the stairs, Sveta still in his arms. Unsure where she would be safe, Matthew ran towards the galley, the furthest on the ship from where the cannons were. If something happened to her...
"Be safe, Sveta." He laid the unconscious girl down in a corner, away from any sharp objects that may fly towards her if a cannonball whizzed through the room. He stared at her longingly, brushing a few strands of soaked hair from her face before turning and running from the room. He dashed through the halls and up the stairs, Sol Blade drawn and ready.
There will be a death by your very hands. Matthew swore, shaking his head. Despite the situation, he had to make sure he didn't kill any of the Yamata soldiers. He couldn't allow that prophecy to come true!
"They're coming alongside! Battle stations!" He heard Han shout. The pirates yelled in response, though Matthew could see nothing. The only light there was were the lightning strikes, each illuminating the field in a ghostly white light for a fraction of a second. Rain poured around him, wood creaked, people shouted. Chaos unleashed itself in all of his senses, and Matthew could do nothing but stand in fear.
More booming. Explosions. Screams, shrieks, shrapnel flying. He heard the shutter of wood striking wood, the crunch and shout of a man's back breaking. The enemy had lowered their gangplanks.
"They're trying to board us! The ropes! Swing across! Take the fight to them!" Han shouted. Matthew stood paralyzed, watching the scene play out in front of him, staggering motions made in still frame as the lightning flashed through the air.
In one he saw the first men run across the gangplank, another saw a man swinging to the other boat, yet another was a pirate being stabbed as an enemy lunged at him. Matthew was paralyzed, fearful. What monstrous fight was this? How can you fight an enemy you cannot see, surrounded by noise from the darkest of nightmares?
He backed away, falling against the door as another flash rang through the air. The shriek of a dead man pierced his ears, but was soon drowned out by the carnage. Somewhere above him Eoleo shouted orders, only for a soldier to fall from the helm above Matthew, crashing into the floor in front of him. He gasped, staring at Matthew with hatred in his eyes, unable to move.
"Yoseph! Take the wheel!" Matthew heard Eoleo's voice moments before the pirate crashed down in front of him, driving a short sword into the chest of the fallen warrior. He stood, tall and imposing, drawing his golden axe from his back. As Eoleo turned, a fire seeming to form in his eyes, a broad smile formed on his face.
"Eoleo, I can't-" Matthew started, though the thunder screaming overhead interrupted him.
"What? Can't see?" Eoleo laugh, deep and guttural. "Seeing is only a small bit of fighting, Matthew. Enjoy this! You'll never feel quite so alive again!"
And he ran off, the next lightning strike showed Eoleo cleave through an enemy soldier with his massive axe. The pirate king laughed all the way, bringing death to his enemies.
"So you're a coward even now!" Matthew turned as the door opened behind him. Sveta strode past him, nearly invisible in her Umbra gear. If not for her light colored hair, he wouldn't have been able to see her at all. "You can't move from this spot, so fearful of a battle like this you are."
"I can't even see!" Matthew shouted back, his voice nearly entirely carried away by the howling wind. "What good can I be here?"
"None at all." Sveta smirked, darting away towards some unseen foe. Matthew gritted his teeth, angry at his own cowardice. He couldn't see for the blackness, the roar of the thunder, rain and wind drowning out most sound. It was like a thousand voices all ringing in his ears at once, unintelligible except for the screams. He couldn't even tell if they were friends or foes, or if the voices belonged to Sveta or Eoleo, or some nameless pirate or soldier.
This was madness.
ooo
Whispering...
Louder than the infernal noises around him, louder than the screams that pierced the air, louder still than the pounding of his heart within his chest, the call to battle screamed within his mind, ripping all sensible thought from Han's mind. His sole purpose and focus had become to bring death to those that opposed him, to tear out their hearts and feast on their souls.
It called.
Han gritted his teeth, dodging the soldier's spear. He sidestepped, driving his sword into the back of the soldier as the man overbalanced. The man grunted, eyes widening, and Han could almost feel the anguish of the man as he started to realize he was hit fatally.
But he didn't care.
The pirate twisted the blade, drawing a scream from the impaled man. He was too weak to struggle now, his spear dropping from his hands, and he could hardly even squirm as Han laughed at his torment. Finally, the man slumped, dead. Satisfied with the kill, Han drew his blade, scouting for the next target amidst the darkness and rain.
Whispers...
Han ignored them, running towards the gangplank. In the dark he ran into a soldier, grappling at the dark form in the darker night. He squirmed, his arms skillfully trapping the other man in a headlock. Knowing he didn't have enough time for fun with this soldier, Han pushed him to the side, over the edge of the gangplank and into the water below.
A face in the dark.
Rushing across the gangplank, Han leaped into the air, his sword driving into the neck of a soldier he happened to land on. He felt the blade rend flesh and tore at it, viciously digging his saber in. Screams of a dying man, of intense, unimaginable pain, mixed with the stench of fear, tore from the man's mouth as Han laughed. Jovial and wild, Han laughed as the man below him thrashed, dying.
Not enough.
He stood, blood running down the length of the blade, propelled by the rain. Around him men fought, men fell. Eoleo himself swung his massive axe, cleaving the head from an unlucky enemy. Han smiled, impressed at the scene, glad that he could witness such a thing. The battle was so fierce, so many lives ended not by skill, but by sheer chance alone. Standing in the wrong place at the wrong time would warrant immediate death at the hands of a lesser. The terror!
It was intoxicating.
"Collapse the mast! Take them with us into the depths!" A female voice shouted from somewhere. Han could feel the jitters within him as he spied the men load the chained cannonball. A lone cannon remained manned on the main deck, now surrounded by three enemy soldiers as the pirates began to swarm their ship. They were going to destroy Eoleo's ship's mast because they were losing the battle to the pirates. And why not? If they could sink the pirates along with themselves, their mission would still have been accomplished.
Han laughed, watching the soldiers prepare to fire. A single pirate noticed besides Han, his entire body swinging as he rushed to stop them. Han ran forward as well, sword ready. His sword tore through the flesh of man, a muffled gasp escaping from surprised lips as eyes looked down upon a blade protruding from the body.
"Why...?" The pirate breathed out as Han smiled, ushering him gently to the ground. The enemies around the cannon remained oblivious to Han's attack on the pirate who tried to stop them. The mast had to be destroyed, Han thought. Why? He didn't not know. But deep inside, he could feel the burning desire to see the ships sunk. The aching within him to watch from below water as the people sank to the crushing depths.
He had no regrets.
He wanted this.
ooo
The cannonball ripped through the air faster than Matthew could see, tearing through wood and sending shrapnel flying past his face. But the crackling didn't cease after that first moment, but continued, stress building and the creaking continued as Matthew felt something massive start to move, tearing the air out of the way as it began its descent.
Lightning lit up the air, revealing the mast of Eoleo's ship suspended in mid-air for a split second, no more, before all went black and Matthew heard it fall to the deck. Screams of pain and anguish showed it hadn't fell harmlessly.
A fear gripping him, Matthew shouted, running out onto the deck as the pirates began to push back, forcing the soldiers onto their own vessel. He thought he saw Justitia in one of the flashes of lightning, but he ignored it.
"Captain!" He heard Yoseph yell from the helm. "Captain!"
"Not now, Yoseph!" Matthew thought he heard respond, somewhere to his right. He pressed onwards, clambering over the fallen mast as fast as possible in the darkness.
"This is important!"
"I said not now!"
Another flash of lightning, this time striking the water to the immediate left of the boat. Matthew felt the crackle of electricity as it struck, the bright flash burning itself into the corner of his vision, but ahead of him was a sight more profound and fearful.
"Sveta!" Matthew shouted, running towards the fallen form. The girl's eyes were closed, her legs pinned under the corpse of some soldier. She was gripping her left arm and blood was easily visible seeping from a large gash in her Umbra armor.
Matthew ran to her side, cradling her head and checking her pulse. She was still breathing, but Matthew couldn't tell how bad she was wounded. He panicked, uncertain of what to do, his mind whirling as he was confronted with the possibility that Sveta might be seriously injured.
"Sveta! Open your eyes!" Matthew shouted, hoping she might awaken. Swearing, Matthew reached into his mind, calling upon the weak healing psynergy that Earth adepts were able to form. Memories awakened within him as he called upon his latent powers, weakened as they were by being out in the middle of the ocean.
He felt the energy leave him, draining him, as the shining light circled around him before entering Sveta, focusing on the wound. He watched it close, the blood flow halting. Sveta was pale, but the healing spell had worked. She'd be okay.
Matthew breathed a heavy sigh of relief, despite the battle raging around him. The pirates had crossed the gangplanks, Eoleo leading the charge, and would hopefully win the battle.
"Captain!" Matthew turned sharply, towards the helm. A lightning strike revealed Yoseph, his hands firmly gripped on the wheel, his face pale as death. He looked out onto the ocean, terrified. Matthew stood slowly, promising Sveta silently that he would return, and ran towards across the boat towards the helm.
Though he tripped more than once, he eventually reached it, his boots squeaking on wet floorboards as he raced up the stairs.
"What're you shouting about, Yoseph?" Matthew demanded, staring at the pirate, whom he could tell in the dark was trembling with terror. His hands could barely hold on to the wheel, his entire body shaking, not just from the wet of the sea spray and rain.
"Th-Th-Th-" Yoseph started, lifting a finger out into the distance. Matthew saw nothing, but continued staring, waiting for the lightning strike that would illuminate whatever was terrifying the helmsman. "That."
A single flash of lightning arced overheard, thunder screaming as if protest of its short life. Matthew saw it then, and understood his fear. The mass of swirling, black, violent waters. The groaning of the ship as it was being sucked towards it by its massive undercurrent.
Walls of black water rose up from a single, massive focal point. Frothing waters signaled the doom of all who would dare enter there.
Massive and foreboding as it was, Matthew found himself trembling at the sight of it. They were dead. They were all dead. Nothing could survive, not Sveta, not Matthew, not Eoleo. No one. Metthew shook his head, disbelief, anger, hate towards himself for coming here, all whirling through his mind at the same time.
"Maelstrom."
ooo
Yoseph would have to wait, Eoleo reckoned, blocking a clumsy thrust by an enemy soldier. Whatever warning he had to give would be dealt with after the storm. It was bad enough already that the mast had been taken down. He'd have to commandeer the soldier's ship and tow his own back to Champa. What a pain...
"Die, sea scum!" The soldier spat, but Eoleo neatly dodged the second attack.
"Do you really want those to be your last words?" Eoleo smirked, dodging a third strike before spinning, delivering a solid kick to the man's chest. With a loud thump, the man staggered backwards before overbalancing on the railing, falling into the churning seas. He screamed profanities on the way down, bringing a grim smile to Eoleo's face.
"A much better choice." Eoleo remarked. The pirate turned as lightning struck the other ship's mast, the wood exploding with a fiery crackle as the sails went up in flames. So intense was the sudden eruption of heat that the rain couldn't extinguish the fire fast enough. The entire sail billowed into flames before eating away the fuel, the leftover scraps blowing away in the wind. Eoleo swore. There went his only change of making it to shore.
Even if they survived the storm, they were stranded.
Not much left to do than punish those who brought this fate upon him, then, Eoleo thought, swinging his axe around towards the back of a soldier that was unlucky enough to pass him. The man screamed as the blade bit his back, tearing his skin open wide.
Eoleo stood over the body, marveling how at one moment someone could seem so fresh, so alive, only to have it torn from him by a stroke of unluckiness. The man didn't even see the face of his killer.
Such was the nature of battle.
The Prince of Pirates shouted, running towards the nearest enemy. Their numbers were swiftly diminishing under the power of the pirates, their morale breaking at the sight of tattooed faces, vicious blades and blood-stained clothes.
And then he saw her.
Justitia stood at the center of a line of soldiers. They were holding their ground, staving off what pirate was foolish enough to get too close. She was the one responsible, the one who had brokered the deal with Susa to turn Eoleo over to the Sanan government.
His vengeance was at hand!
Eoleo shouted, charging with axe held high. He drew the attention of a soldier, but it didn't matter. His axe's blade caved in the soldier's face soon enough, splattering all nearby with blood and brain. The other soldiers looked on in amazement at the strength of the swing before being set upon by the other pirates.
Justitia stared at Eoleo, impassive as her soldiers were overrun by the pirates. The last of her men were being cut down before her very eyes and she cared little. Eoleo couldn't help but feel disgusted. If his own men were being slaughtered in front of him, he'd do anything possible to aid them.
"You're not getting away, little missy." Eoleo leveled his axe towards her. "To chase me and my men into a storm and then break my mast? That's not gonna just fly by me without any sort of reaction. You'd better understand what you got into."
"It doesn't even matter, pirate." Justitia smiled, self-righteous and proud. "I have done my duty to king and country, and you shall die here, today."
"I'm not so sure about that." Eoleo smirked. "Who knows what tomorrow might bring? Or the next day? But I know for a fact that today I live."
"You're too confident!" Justitia laughed, lunging forward, her short sword leading.
Eoleo parried, surprised at her speed. He jumped to the side, hoping to catch her off guard in the dark, but his axe met a sword midair. She was fast and good in the dark? Or could she just predict his moves?
Eoleo smiled. A worthy fight out of all the weak and pathetic soldiers. That was a nice change. He roared, swinging his axe around, only to see in the lightning that she had rolled away. He ran after her, swinging his axe over his head and driving it downwards. It dug deep into the wood on the exact spot she had been moments before.
He heard her yell and kicked outwards, feeling her stomach as he swung his leg back. She slid and fell to one knee, giving Eoleo just enough time to pull out his axe and parry her next strike.
By now the pirates had finished off the rest of the soldiers and were gathering around Eoleo and Justitia as the two dueled. All the pirates knew their place was to observe, and never interrupt their leader's fights, even if that meant he takes a fatal blow.
This fight would be decided by skill alone, just as Eoleo preferred it.
"You don't get it, pirate." Justitia shouted, her blade striking again, only to be blocked. "You're stuck out here, in the middle of the ocean. You can't survive now. Even if I die, I still win."
"Well, aren't you cocky?" Eoleo spat out, ducking as Justitia lunged forward. He pushed his axe up, catching the end of the blade with it and spinning sharply, tearing the blade from her hand. Justitia didn't so much as flinch, diving after the blade as soon as lightning showed her where it had fallen.
"Oh no you don't!" Eoleo lunged for it as well, grabbing the blade as soon as she had wrapped her hands around the handle. They wrestled with it, Eoleo throwing Justitia over him, her hands still stubbornly holding on. "You honestly think you can win a test of strength against a man?"
"Don't underestimate me!" Justitia pulled with surprising strength, and with little leverage to go on, Eoleo found the blade cutting into his skin. He let go in pain, sending Justitia skirting away while he fell backwards, landing on his rear with a dull thud.
"You little..." Eoleo snarled at Justitia's self-satisfied expression, so smug and accomplished.
"How little grace you have, pirate." Justitia smirked. "You'd never make a very good dancer, would you. Any woman you've courted has likely been a little less than impressed."
She charged, attempting to drive the sword up into his stomach while Eoleo was unarmed, but the Pirate Prince had other ideas.
He grabbed her wrist with his right hand, yanking it upwards as he stepped to the side, pressing her back into the right side of his chest. Surprised, Justitia lost her footing on the wet wood, her movements completely unresistant to Eoleo's as she was lifted to the tips of her toes. His grip on her hand tightening, he heard the sword clamor to the ground, useless. Justitia certainly hadn't expected that.
"A dance move...?" Justitia stared up at him in amazement. "You beat me... with a dance move?"
Eoleo grinned widely before punching her in the face, knocking her out cold.
ooo
Matthew ran towards Sveta, pushing the body off her legs and lifting her. Looking around, he noticed the battle had finally ended. The pirates were slowly returning to their own ship, though a few had run below the deck of the enemy ship to look for enemies or loot.
He carried the girl back towards the helm, setting her down a few feet from the wheel, against the rail. Matthew sat, cradling her head in his arms, uncertain of how to wake her, or if he even should.
"CAPTAIN!" Matthew grimaced. Even above the roar of the wind and rain, Yoseph's shout pierced his ear drums. "MAELSTROM!"
Matthew could hear Eoleo run, his heavy legs pounding up the stairs onto the helm. As lightning flashed, Matthew could see Eoleo's expression fall.
"So not only do we have a sinking ship, a broken mast and a second ship without any sails, we're heading straight for a giant whirlpool." Matthew sighed. "This just isn't my day."
"The rudder chain's also been cut." Eoleo replied back jovially. "So I can't steer this baby to even attempt a safe exit from the maelstrom. We're heading straight in."
"This is her fault!" Easton shouted, pointing towards Justitia. The woman had been tied up while unconscious, Matthew noticed, and was only now stirring. "We should kill her!"
"Yeah, dogs. You can try." Justitia glared at the pirates around her, but didn't move. Hate filled her gaze as she looked on the motley crew who had just slaughtered hers.
"She'll die anyway once we fall into that thing, Easton." Eoleo remarked. "I honestly can't see a way we're going to live, boys. I just gotta say... it's been a damned good time working with all of you. Especially that time we sacked Port Rago."
"Lots of wenches there!"
"Yar! We didn't even have to hurt anyone and we were rich!"
Eoleo smiled at the roars of agreement. Matthew could see the pride on the captain's face. He seemed almost happy there, awaiting his fate of dying at sea.
"Matthew..." Eoleo turned to look at the Earth adept, Sveta in his arms. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry Sveta got involved."
"It's not your fault, Captain." Matthew cupped Sveta's face in his hand, his eyes tearing. Maybe this was what the prophecy meant. If he hadn't come aboard the ship, they would be here, now, about to be sucked into a mile wide Maelstrom to be torn to shreds and killed.
"And how poetic that this is, Eoleo." Eoleo turned, glaring at Justitia. A mocking smile adorned her lips. Blood dribbled from her mouth and a large bruise was forming where she seemed to have been punched. "The mighty pirate captain goes down with his ship, only now he's taking his crew with him. A song that would last the ages could be written of this day for you, but none of you will survive to tell of the tale."
"Silence, woman. I'm-" Eoleo started, but halted when he heard Easton yell, a vengeful, gutteral cry. He rushed forwards, sword in hand, past Eoleo. The pirate captain turned to stop him, but not in time. Justitia staggered backwards as Easton rammed the sword through her stomach. The ropes snapped at the impact, but Justitia's freedom was now useless.
Eoleo lashed out, smacking Easton to the side. He kicked the boy for good measure, rage on his face. Justitia stared in shock at the wound pouring blood from her stomach. She coughed, splattering the blood on the deck.
"What in the blazes are you thinking, boy!" Eoleo shouted, his fists clenched in anger as he readied himself to punch Easton yet again. "We don't go around murdering our prisoners! What kind of a self-respecting pirate are ye!"
"She doomed us, sir!"
"I'll be the one to judge that, kid!" Eoleo shouted. He paused, looking around for a second before refocusing his rage on Easton. "Yeah! We're doomed! But that still doesn't mean you can be killin' our prisoners!"
Matthew stared out at the water as the boat started to shudder, gaining speed. They had entered the maelstrom now, silencing the pirates. Justitia laid back, laughing a sick, slippery laugh despite her wound.
The roar was even louder now as the boat groaned with the pressure of the current. Everything around him was shaking, tearing, breaking. Justitia's boat, damaged as it was by the pirate's cannon fire, tore away from the pirate ship, spinning slowly as it lost speed. Soon it would be dragged to the center, where waters raged and churned, faster than water could have been possibly conceived to move. A few pirates still on board Justitia's yelled from the deck of the ship, confused by what was going on. Eoleo's ship would reach the center first to be torn apart by the razor sharp rapids forming in the center of the Maelstrom. In a way, the ones stranded on Justitia's ship were the lucky ones.
Voices silenced, hearts pounding, the feeble humans could do nothing but stare at the mighty beast nature had churned up from the depths of hell. The Maelstrom pulled them towards the center, faster and faster, as if hungry for the souls of seamen.
Matthew felt tears rimming on his eyes, not for himself. Not for the pirates, or even for the soldiers that had died that day. He looked down at Sveta, still unconscious, unaware. She had the right to blame him for this. First her brother's death, now her own.
And as they raced ever closer to their oblivion, Matthew brushed wet hair out of Sveta's eyes, marveling at her beauty. If anything could be the last thing he sees, he would want it to be her.
"Here it comes..." Matthew heard someone say. It didn't matter who.
The water was roaring ever closer, deafening in its scope and breadth. The ships rocked terribly now, back and forth, threatening to cast all aboard into the churning waters of the abyss.
"I'm so sorry..." Matthew let a single tear fall on her face before he kissed her. She stirred beneath him, wrapping her arms around him in one final embrace.
Then there was a terrible crunching sound.
The feeling of weightlessness.
Whipped out of his hands.
And all was dark.