Ch. 12 Valencia's Last Pirate
"So Catbeard died protecting Avery's child?" Flint took a quick sip of his glass of yum. "I'm impressed. He finally learned about sacrifice." Tauros had an angered expression on Blaze's face.
"He was the enemy. We shouldn't be dwelling on his past."
"You can't fight an enemy without respecting their tactics. Otherwise, their next action could surprise you." Taking another sip, Flint continued his talk with Tauros and his followers. "Besides, at least they didn't let their enemies live right under their noses."
"What happened!?" Ratbeard held Adam by his shirt collar. "How did this happen?"
"Let go of me." Ratbeard threw Adam to the ground. "It was Deacon. Catbeard saw a weapon being drawn from behind who I thought was the Toymaker and pushed me out of the way." Adam stared down at his body. "He saved me." Ratbeard drew his blade and held it to Adam's neck. The rest of the crew drew their weapons against him except Adam.
"He was my friend and now he's dead because you led us on a wild goose chase for your own personal gain! He's dead because of you!" Ratbeard moved his blade a smidge and made a tiny cut on the left side of Adam's neck.
"Don't do it Ratbeard," Autumn begged.
"A good man is dead because of him!"
"I know." Adam said. Ratbeard turned his head to look at his captain. "I made the mistake. He tried to talk me out of it, but I was so focused on finding my family that I ignored what he was telling me. So if you're going to kill me, go ahead and do it. But Queen, Kane, and an army of clockworks are attacking Skull Island right now." Ratbeard's arm shook as he struggled to kill his captain. He gasped and dropped the sword. The old rat fell to the ground, tears in his eyes. Adam kneeled down next to him and hugged him. "He was my friend, too. I got him killed and I have to live with that."
"Autumn get to the wheel and put us on course for Skull Island," Wing Chun commanded.
"I can't," she responded, "We've got company." Two Armada skiffs were closing in on the Golden Archer. Adam looked up and saw the ships. "They're coming in fast. I don't think we'll be able to outrun them."
"Everyone, get to your battle stations!" Adam and Ratbeard got up, wiping away their tears. They drew their weapons as boarding planks connected all three ships. Ryan, take Autumn, Will, and Wing and take out the clockworks on the left side. Ratbeard, Bonnie and I will take out the ones on the right." The two halves of the crew separated as clockworks started to board. Adam shot his pistols into a clockwork dragoon. He grabbed its cannon and shot into the crowd of clockworks. After the first wave, dozens more poured out from the lower decks.
"There's too many," Bonnie exclaimed. There's no way we can take them all out." Adam looked down at the cannon.
"Get everyone back to the ship."
"What are you going to do," Ratbeard asked."
"Something crazy." Adam pulled out his grapple gun and attached it to the mast of the clockwork ship. While he swung, Adam aimed his cannon down and fired into the deck of the ship. The blasts were so powerful that it pierced through the hull of the Armada skiff. He detached himself from the ship and landed back on the Golden Archer. Ratbeard, Bonnie, and Adam watched as the skiff sank. They turned and saw the rest of their crew struggling to fight off the clockworks from the other ship. "Get to the other side of the ship!" The three of them ran over and found their struggle steadily decreasing. As the smoke cleared, they saw Captain Steed and a crew of ten pirates fighting alongside their own crew. Among them was the young Unicorn pirate, Iago. In a matter of minutes, the rest of the clockworks were defeated without intervention from Adam or his group.
"Hello Captain Silver," Captain Steed greeted.
"It's you." Adam realized, "You're the pirate lord of Valencia."
"I'm sorry that I kept my true identity from you, but if the Armada knew who I was, Valencia's resistance would not exist, nor would it have survived." Steed sheathed his dueling blade. "And you were right. If I am going to give my people their home back, I must be willing to risk lives, even my own life." Everyone returned to the Golden Archer.
"Then help me now. Skull Island is under attack and we need people now more than ever."
"Captain Steed hid right under your nose while your clockworks were focusing on the map." Tauros got up from his seat and walked over to Flint.
"Sir, I was trying to give Blaze the capability to destroy the pirates." Flint slapped Tauros across his face with his right hand.
"You were never ordered to destroy the pirates. I told you to kill the Silvers. You may have made it possible for me to now return to Skull Island, but remember that you answer to me." Tauros slinked back to his seat on the couch and gulped down a glass of yum. "Now tell me about the siege of Skull Island."