Super sorry for the late update! This was supposed to be up last week, but I didn't have the time! XD
Suddenly a large tentacle shot out of the water, and Alfred rushed down to the lower deck, cocking his musket.
"Stand aside!" Arthur bellowed at his men, also getting their weapons ready. "This fight is Alfred's alone!"
At his words, the crew moved away from the Kraken as Alfred pulled the trigger, musket pointed down somewhere to the left of the tentacle.
The Kraken let out a cry as more tentacles came up—it had been hit—one of the tentacles had a gunshot wound and was freely bleeding.
Alfred rushed to reload his musket as Steve ran up to him and thrust a spear's handle into his hand. "Go for it, mate," he said to Alfred, taking the musket from the man. "I'll reload this while you attack."
"G-got it." He nodded, letting Steve take care of his musket as he aimed—and he threw the spear into the water, cutting through it like a hot knife through butter. "Steve!" he yelled at the brunette, holding out his hand. The brunette nodded, returning the musket to Alfred, and he aimed and fired.
The Kraken's cry was deafening, as its head came out of the water to look at Alfred. One of the tentacles started to come down onto the ship, and Alfred's eyes widened—when it let out a cry once again. The young monarch turned to see Arthur had driven his Commodore into the Kraken's tentacle, preventing it from harming the ship.
Angered, the Kraken began to sway its tentacles, creating large gusts of wind that rocked the Britannia from side to side.
"Keep her steady, men!" Arthur ordered, and the crew scrambled to tie the sails up securely.
Alfred fired his musket again (after hastily reloading it as fast as he could) at the Kraken's eye, and it hit the mark perfectly. Dark red blood sprayed out of the creature's eye and its cry, horribly ear-piercing, filled the air, catching the attention of the nearby Spades patrol ships.
"Luke!" Steve called out at his brother in the crow's nest. "Hang on and send that other ship a warning sign!"
"Aye!" Luke called down at his brother, grabbing the flag beside his feet, unfurling it, and fastening it to the top of the mast.
Below him, Alfred shot at the Kraken again, and the dark red blood spread in the water below it.
"You're getting there!" Arthur encouraged from the upper deck as he nicked and stabbed tentacles coming nearer to the ship, making them pull away.
Steve turned to look at his cousin, a small smile on his face—but it disappeared when he saw a tentacle sneaking up behind the blonde captain.
"Art! Watch out!" he screamed, his eyes wide, and Arthur froze, alarmed—and suddenly the tentacle sneaking up behind him wrapped around him firmly, making Arthur let go of his Commodore, the blonde letting out a strangled gasp as the air was suddenly squeezed out of him.
Alfred heard Steve cry out, and he turned his head to see Arthur suddenly being lifted into the air. "Arthur!" he gasped, pointing his musket at the tentacle, ready to shoot—when suddenly another tentacle slammed into the water, sending a wave of water into the air and onto the ship, wetting Alfred and the rest of the crew. Undaunted, Alfred pulled the trigger—
Click.
The monarch blinked and stared at his weapon, pulling the trigger again.
Click. Click.
Alfred's eyes widened as he came to a realization: the gunpowder got wet, and now the musket was rendered useless. Shocked, Alfred watched as the Kraken dragged Arthur down into the sea, mixed with its deep red blood.
Steve grabbed Alfred's shoulder. "Snap out of that trace right now, Al, mate! Art's been pulled down! You've got to get him out of there!"
Alfred snapped out of his trance and he nodded. "R-right!"
Quickly, he pulled his shirt off, tossing it aside, before gripping his musket securely with his right hand. He took a deep breath, before jumping down into the sea after Arthur.
Steve ran to the edge of the ship, searching for the monarch, but he couldn't see anything in the dark water.
Alfred tried opening his eyes underwater, but immediately he closed them, feeling the sting as the saltwater touched his eyes. Recoiling, he bit his lip, trying not to let air escape, and he swam downwards blindly—and suddenly his gut was hit by one of the Kraken's tentacles.
The wind knocked out of him, Alfred thrashed around, before ramming his musket's blade into whatever had slammed into him—the Kraken let out a cry and thrashed around as Alfred pushed the musket deeper into the tentacle, holding on tightly as he was thrashed around underwater. With great effort, Alfred turned the musket—a trick he learned from the Queen of Hearts—while embedded into the tentacle, and pulled. The tentacle came off, and Alfred could feel the warm blood diffusing across to him. Blindly, he pulled off the tentacle—when suddenly he was hit by another, and then another.
He began to weaken, as he ran out of air, and beaten by unseen tentacles.
Shit…! At this rate…Arthur will…!
Suddenly a pair of cool hands cupped his cheeks and Alfred couldn't help but open his eyes. Much to his astonishment, Alfred realized that the salt water didn't irritate his eyes anymore.
Alfred realised that there was someone in front of him.
Arthur? He asked mentally as he kept his mouth shut, staring at the face in front of him.
'Arthur' raised a (thick) eyebrow at him, before chuckling. Suddenly Alfred realized that 'Arthur' looked slightly different… Sandy blonde hair was now a pale yellow, and those familiar green eyes—eyes? Alfred blinked. Since when did Arthur have two eyes?
"You're not Arthur," the young blonde 'yelled', shivering slightly at how similar he sounded to the Sea King with the way his voice was garbled underwater. Air bubbled out of his mouth and the young king panicked, flailing slightly, when 'Arthur' grabbed his hands, forcing Alfred to calm down. The blonde man blinked at him, before looking down—to realize that the man's lower half trailed down into a brilliant bottle-green tail, green like his eyes.
"You'd better stop moving, else you'd run out of air, love," a different voice came from 'Arthur', letting go of Alfred's hands to cup his face again, lifting Alfred's face to look at him. "And my, my. He certainly has a good taste in men." The blonde chuckled, before leaning in closer to Alfred, before pressing their lips together.
Alfred's eyes widened and he tried to pull away—when he realized 'Arthur' was giving him air. He let the merman pass air into his mouth and he felt his strength returning.
"I've helped you out a bit," the merman said, "Now, go kill that bloody octopus and bring my brother back to the surface. He's a forest fairy, for goodness' sake," he looked at Alfred, who looked rather desperate. "Oh, alright, the Kraken's weakness is its underbelly. Come, we don't have enough time!"
He held out his hand and Alfred took it, gripping it securely whilst his other hand clutched onto the strap of his musket. The merman swam powerfully against the current the Kraken was generating with its flailing. Alfred found it difficult to hold onto the merman's hand, but suddenly he stopped, and Alfred found himself staring at the soft underbelly of the Kraken.
"Get a move on, King of Spades!" the merman barked, "We'd all like this over and done with, thank you very much!"
Alfred scrambled to hold his musket properly, before jamming it upwards, straight into the creature. He heard the dulled cry of the Kraken above him, as he felt the merman swim up underneath him, before pushing him upwards, driving the musket further into the Kraken.
Alfred's vision was clouded with blood, and he closed his eyes, before blindly, he began to twist the musket, the Kraken above him squirming to get away from him.
"A little more!" the merman urged, and Alfred summoned up all his strength for one final thrust—he jabbed the musket further upwards, and the blade pierced straight through the Kraken's heart.
Steve's eyes widened as the Kraken cried out in pain, and he covered his ears as the screeching grew louder and louder. The rest of the crew followed his example, and far above them, Luke hid underneath a flag to try blocking out the noise.
"I think he's done it," Steve smiled to himself, watching the Kraken thrash around—and suddenly his smile disappeared when he saw one of the tentacles in the air had an unconscious Arthur in it. "S-shit!" he gasped, before rushing towards a cannon one of the crewmen had loaded.
"S-Steve!" Luke yelled at his brother from above. "What are you doing?"
Steve didn't answer, grunting when he adjusted the barrel of the cannon, before striking a dry match he had found against the cannon. The small stick burst into a flame and he tossed it at the fuse. The hissing of the fuse reached his ears amidst the pained cries of the Kraken—
Suddenly the cannon shot out its load, hitting its target—the base of the tentacle holding onto Arthur. The appendage fell into the water, creating a large wave that swayed the Britannia violently.
Steve bit his lip. Now it was all Alfred's turn.
"Alfred!" the merman yelled into the king's ear, "Let's get out of here!"
Alfred shook his head as he pulled his bloodied musket out of the dying Kraken. "Mmh hmm!" he protested, and the merman stared at him, eyebrow raised.
"Wot?"
Alfred threw his hands up, exasperated—and suddenly he saw it, Arthur's unconscious body hitting the water, sinking, not too far from them.
Panicked, Alfred swam towards Arthur, but he felt the strength of his body sag as he realized he was running out of air. The merman realized what he was trying to say, and grabbed the king's arm, swimming to where Arthur was. Alfred wrapped his arms around Arthur's chest and he began to swim upwards—but he faltered, as he suddenly felt weaker: he had run out of air.
"Oh, for goodness' sake!" the merman scolded, and Alfred felt the merman hold onto his own torso, before pushing him upwards—
And he broke the surface, coughing, gulping in air as he held Arthur tightly against himself, careful to keep the pirate's head out of the water. After calming down slightly, Alfred looked up at the Britannia and saw Steve waving down at them.
"Steve!" Alfred called, and the brunette laughed.
"You did it, mate!" he cheered, and Alfred turned to see the Kraken, having fallen silent, sink behind him into the deep sea, dead. A large smile spread across his face and he turned to grin up at Steve.
"Yeah!" he grinned brightly, lifting his musket out of the water, cheering, when suddenly Arthur coughed and spluttered on his shoulder. Alfred immediately turned his attention onto the pirate, patting his back, helping Arthur get back air.
"A-Alfred…?" Arthur blinked, coming to full consciousness as he looked up at the blonde king holding him against his chest. "I-is it…?" His green eye was filled with worry, and because his eye patch had come off while he was being thrashed around underwater, Alfred could see Arthur's scarred eyelid, closed over the empty cavity of his left eye. Even with the scar on his face, Alfred still couldn't help but think how beautiful his wife-to-be was.
"It's dead, babe," Alfred smiled down at Arthur, kissing the pirate's forehead. "You're all mine."
Arthur smiled gently up at him, before resting his head on Alfred's shoulder. "What a relief." He sighed, wrapping his arms around Alfred in a warm hug.
"Forgetting about me, dear brother?" the merman's voice suddenly piped up, and Alfred's eyes widened, and suddenly the cool hands that had cupped his face ran smoothly over his shoulders and caressed them seductively. Arthur quickly lifted his head from Alfred's shoulders, appalled, as the pale blonde-haired merman hugged him from behind. Alfred could feel the merman's tail wind around his left leg.
"Wh-wh-what?" Alfred flushed bright red as Arthur flushed as well—in annoyance.
"Dean!" He scolded, batting at the merman's arms around Alfred's neck. "Get your hands off my husband!"
Alfred couldn't help but feel giddy; hearing that from Arthur, but his giddiness was soon replaced with (pleasant?) surprise when Dean ran his tongue up his neck.
"Oh, but he's very handsome," Dean chuckled, "And you're not married to him yet."
"He's my lover!" Arthur yelled at him.
"Oh, pish-posh. Can't you ever share, Artie?" Dean cooed, cupping Alfred's face in one hand. "I think I'm having a thing for your King as well…"
"Dean!" Steve's voice called from up on the Britannia's deck. "You stop teasing Arthur or I'll have you up here in a fishing net!"
"Sod off, Steve!" Dean yelled up at him, letting go of Alfred. The blonde exhaled, before hugging Arthur close to himself again, as the smaller blonde glared out from above Alfred's shoulder at his brother.
Steve laughed, letting down a rope ladder. "Come on, you lot, it's much warmer up here than there!"
Arthur was the first one to climb up, and then Alfred followed suit. As Alfred stepped onto the deck, he looked behind him to find Dean hadn't followed.
"Where's your brother?" he asked Arthur, who only scowled and crossed his arms as he shook himself, getting rid of excess water in his clothes. He set aside his musket, still bloody and wet, frowning slightly as he pondered on how to clean it up later.
Suddenly something jumped out of the water and landed, funnily enough, in Alfred's arms—it was Dean, smiling seductively up at him, arms latched around the back of Alfred's neck, tail curled perfectly, glinting a beautiful shade of green in the sunlight.
"Right here, darling," he winked at Alfred, and alarmed, the monarch juggled the merman in his arms, before finally getting into a comfortable carrying position. "My, my," Dean smiled, running his palm down Alfred's torso, "Up close, you really are very desirable, oh, this body—"
"Dean," Arthur hissed dangerously, before glaring at Alfred. "Drop him."
"Wh-what, I can't just—" Arthur silenced him with a glare, and gingerly, he lowered his arms—and suddenly in a flash of light, Dean was standing on his own, with his own two legs. He was shirtless, and was wearing simple black pants.
"That was rude," Dean pouted at his younger brother. "Jealous riot?"
"Am not," Arthur scoffed, and Alfred looked at the two brothers, at a loss on what to do. "What are you doing here, anyway?"
"I helped out your pretty little King here," Dean gestured at Alfred vaguely, "He would have almost died, had I not given him the Kiss of Life," he winked at Alfred, and the blonde king blushed. Arthur looked enraged. "Whilst you were out there being his sweet little damsel in distress."
"You kissed him?" Arthur yelled at Alfred, and the king faltered slightly under Arthur's anger.
"W-well, he kissed me, but—"
"So you did kiss him!" Arthur yelled, and Steve began to laugh.
"Mates, I think we have a more pressing matter to take care of other than whom Al has been snogging," he snickered, and the three blondes looked at him. "The Kraken's dead, mates, don't you think someone will be a little angry?"
Arthur's eyes widened, and suddenly the waves beneath the Britannia began to grow violent.
"Mainly," Steve grinned, slightly uneasily, "The Sea King, perhaps?"
Okay, let's be honest, I've actually been procrastinating because I have superhero feels I can't seem to get rid of.
Specifically, Marvel heroes feels. It's both deliciously wonderful and painful. But I love them so much. ;m;
The new layout here's wacked out. I'm real awkward with it, hahaha. XD
Oh, and also, if anyone's interested, I'm starting to write this spinoff series from my Spadesverse showcasing the culture of the Kingdom of Spades. It's still a legit fic, but it's going to be full of cultural references and stuff. The entirety of the Spades series is all about noble/royal culture. The spin-off is for the commoner culture and the relationship between the rich and the poor. So, if anyone's interested in seeing what's it's like to be a commoner in Spades, let me know. It'll be up on my postcomm and only my postcomm, until I figure out where on Earth am I supposed to put it.
Next up! Till Death Do Us Part!
... Bukkun wants to scream forever...