Ch. 10 Battle for the Village
"Brave, get into that tower and start taking shots to weaken their armor," shouted Ryan, "Will, you get the remaining villagers to safety then comeback and help." The two pirates ran to do their tasks, while Ryan, Autumn, and Ratbeard drew their weapons. "We don't leave until each clockwork is defeated and these pieces of filth are sent packing." The three pirates charged directly into the crowd of clockworks, slashing and stabbing each one until they powered down or were smashed to bits. Autumn threw her sword, slicing five clockworks in half at the torso, they watched happily as her weapon gracefully returned to her hand.
"It feels good to be on the winning side for once!" The pirate's hair billowed in the wind as she kicked a clockwork off the edge of a nearby cliff. Will came running back with his daggers drawn.
"Everyone's safe; there was an undamaged building that was big enough to hold everyone. Pretty lucky, huh?" Ryan raised his eyebrow. "Okay, no building, but they're all going to be fine."
"Speak for yourself!" Sigma's voice boomed from the bottom of Brave's tower. Ryan turned and saw Ford with his weapon, a large Kurghan spark launcher with an even bigger Kurghan knife attached on the opposite side named the Piercing Death, chopping down one of the tower's support beams. "Say good bye to your friend." The tower creaked as the beam snapped, forcing the platform to lean toward the edge of the cliff.
"Brave," Ryan threw a climbing knife to his friend as her ran to the collapsing structure, "Get ready to climb." The trained assassin ran to the oncoming cliff, but was quickly cut off by Finn.
"Where do you think you're going, pirate?" Ryan twirled his daggers in his hands.
"Past you." Ryan stabbed one dagger into the shark's left leg and the other into his right shoulder. A bright red trail started to flow from the shark's shoulder. Sigma floated near Finn.
"Return to the camp; we'll meet you there. Minotaur, do your thing." The Minotaur looked at the fallen tower and saw Brave climbing up onto its side. The creature grabbed the base of the structure and started pushing. Will smashed the last clockwork's head into the ground then saw what was happening. He ran towards the Minotaur, but the brute simply pushed him off.
"Brave, run!" The sniper stood up and started running to the edge of his makeshift bridge. The Minotaur, however, was pushing faster than he was running. As he neared the edge of the cliff, he jumped, but failed to reach the ledge. Autumn, still at the cliff, ran to the edge and jumped off. Ryan saw his and shouted.
"No!" Ratbeard, who was locked in combat with Ford, pushed away the general's deadly weapon and kick him to the ground with his peg leg.
"This is yer last chance; run away." The general got up and growled. Sigma translated.
"This isn't over pirates. Minotaur, come." All three enemies exited into the jungle. Ratbeard and Will walked over to Ryan.
"Ryan, are you okay?" Will put his hand on his best friend's shoulder. Ryan just stared blankly at the edge of the cliff.
"They're just gone; my friend and my wife. She jumped without even saying goodbye. How could she do that?" Then, the three pirates heard a voice.
"Um, as touching as that is, we could use some help." Ryan looked over the edge and saw something that defied all logic.
"Honey, how are you doing that?" Brave was holding onto Autumn's left hand, but Autumn wasn't holding onto anything. She was standing naturally on the side of the cliff.
"I think it's a new power, but that's not important. Help us up. I don't know how long I can do this." Ryan took a rope off of his belt and lowered it down to his wife.
"Okay, grab on." Autumn grabbed the rope and swung Brave until he grabbed the rope too. Ryan, Will, and Ratbeard pulled the pirates up as quickly as possible. As soon as Autumn was up, Ryan let go of the rope and pulled her in for a kiss. As Brave climbed up, he saw the couple in their moment of passion.
"Wow. Get a room." Brave chuckled. Ryan, still holding onto Autumn, broke off the kiss.
"Sorry," Ryan shrugged, "I guess I got carried away." The five pirates turned to the village and saw the villagers come out of hiding. "Will, you and Ratbeard stay and keep the villagers calm, help them rebuild a bit. Brave, Autumn, and I are going to catch up to Adam's group." Ryan heard a rustling in the trees and saw Adam's group come out. The look on Adam's face was a look of pure sorrow. Brave put his rifle on his back and walked over to Adam.
"What happened?" Brave looked behind the group. "Where's Kane?" Bonnie Anne held her Sparquebus over her shoulders.
"I think you mean, where's Blaze?"