The Eye of Maelstorm
Miles away from the nearest shores,
The dark figure of Adrian was terrifying enough even for the seasoned sailors. It was known as 'scourge of the oceans', similar with Flying Dutchman. Yet, it was helmed by the Immortal Pirate, Cervantes de Leon. With his newfound powers, he had summoned the damned souls to be his sailors. He intended to achieve his long-lost glory by becoming the pirate again.
The undead and monstrous sailors now filled the decks; some of them played games. The others were carrying the menial tasks such as sweeping the decks. The surroundings looked like a raucous party. They seems didn't mind their status.
Meanwhile, the captain himself was entertaining his guest…Cassandra Alexandra was tied on the chair. She struggled to let the ropes off, but no avail. The undead pirate sat at the other end of the table, enjoying the wine. Then he said,
"Could you try to calm? You will ruin my mood…" The Greek girl shouted,
"Let me go…or else, my sister will stab your black heart through!" Cervantes' beard twitched, after hearing that. Drinking the goblet empty, he stood up and said in a cross tone of voice,
"I thought you'll make a pleasant guest here, but I was wrong…perhaps we should talk,"
Cassandra threw his face in disgust, "There's nothing to talk!" The pirate showed a mocked surprise,
"Oh? We can talk about your sister's preference. What do you think of that?"
"I have nothing to say!" Cervantes chuckled, and went closer to the young girl. When he was close, Cassandra could smell the obnoxious odor that came out from his body. She almost vomited. The pirate said,
"Well, just ignore that!" he mused awhile, "Hmm, your sister is quite…peculiar. Favoring the women over men…tell me, what does it like?" Furious, the younger Alexandra countered,
"I won't answer that! It isn't your concern…" The Immortal Pirate laughed in return,
"You're quite feisty, aren't you? Are you not afraid with me?" Suddenly he held her chin and lifted it,
"You're like your sister, only younger. Nevertheless the spirit are the same…since she broke my Soul Edge, I won't forget her angelic face. In this accursed life, I had encountered many women like her but they weren't strong like her! I swore that I shall find her and the kunoichi…and humiliated both of them, before I will consume their souls." He released Cassandra. The Greek girl flinched, when he spoke again,
"As I promised, you won't be harmed! Hmm, your sister quite late…" Cervantes took an hourglass and put it in front of Cassandra.
"If the hourglass is finished and your sister isn't come, I will turn you to my crews! Believe me, they were more than pleased to have a living woman in their midst…" Hearing that, she began to shudder. At the same time, Cervantes went outside and greeted by his ghastly crews. Cassandra could only whisper inside,
Sophie, please come to help me! Wherever you are…
Back to Monte Carlo,
The harbour was bustled with busybodies as usual, while ships came back and fro. The sleek clipper anchored nearby; the ship belonged to the Valentine family. When the family broke, Ivy managed to rescue the clipper through her dealings with the underworlds. In return, she allowed the shady dealings and businesses carried out. Besides, the ship was important for her quest. The captain was fiercely loyal to her, yet he isn't a fool. He read the letter, which Sophitia handed over to him. Olcadan had assumed the old man appearance, while Lizardman wore a heavy cloak. The captain scrutinized them again, before saying,
"Yes, this letter was written by Countess alone…and I wonder how do you know her?"
Sophitia gulped nervously, "Actually, it was Sir Siegfried who had persuaded Countess to let us borrow the ship…if you don't believe that…" The captain countered,
"It's not that I don't trust you, lady. It just that I don't trust you…" The Greek woman nodded and handed over little gold to him. Then the captain's countenance softened slightly, as he said,
"Of course, if Countess orders us, who am I to against her wish?" Tiptoeing his wooden leg, the captain barked to his crews,
"We'll depart in two hours! Pull the anchor and unfurl the mast!!" Sophitia felt relieved. Olcadan grumbled,
"I don't like this; the ship is full of bandits and brigands!" Aeon agreed,
"He'ss right, Misss! Thesse people can't be trusted, especially you're the only woman here…"
"I have no choice," she answered them; "The only thing that relieves me was they are humans. We are about to face someone who couldn't die…" Olcadan replied reverently,
"Everyone can die, including gods…" Sophitia sighed,
"Let's hope this one can too," The preparation for departure almost on the way. Suddenly, someone shouted,
"Wait, let us aboard!!" The captain came toward the shouting, followed by his crew. On the dock, they saw two women waved their hands. The gruff captain shouted back,
"Go away, this isn't a merchant ship! We don't receive passengers again!" The raven-haired women shot back,
"Do you know Sophitia Alexandra and his companions?" Her younger friends explained,
"The blond-haired woman? Do you see her?" The captain turned his attention to the Greek woman. He asked her,
"Lady, are they your friends?" Sophitia came closer and recognized them as Taki and Seong Mi-na. Her face looks pale when she saw them. The kunoichi spotted her and called,
"Sophie, let both of us come with you!" The Korean girl joined her,
"That's right! How could you leave us behind?" While she looks uncertain, the captain said,
"We still have an hour to depart. I suggest you talk with your friends first, then decide whether they will join us or not! If you can't decide, perhaps I should leave you with them!" After the captain goes, Aeon advised,
"Look, Miss Sophitia. This is the time to confront everything…you must honest to yourself whatever the consequences. Talk to them…"
Finally, the Greek woman came down to the dock, facing her friends. She said,
"Taki, I…" Taki stopped her and said,
"I know everything; Mi-na has told the entire story to me. So, forget what had passed. But this …why don't you tell me and Mi-na?"
Sophitia answered, "I had trouble all of us; therefore I don't want to bother both of you! Rescuing Cassandra is my concern!" To this, Mi-na responded,
"Bother us? Sophie, do you realize what happened awhile ago? Taki-san and I almost killing each other, just because the simple misunderstanding! Now you said that this won't bother us!" Before Sophitia replied, Taki added,
"Sophie-chan, are you desperately wants to end your life? You know well, fighting Cervantes is a suicide!"
Sophitia shouted, "That's not your concern, Taki!" Then the kunoichi slapped her cheek very hard; Mi-na shocked to see that happened. On board, the captain looks unconcerned. The Greek woman held her pained cheek, while staring to Taki. The ninja said,
"Do you think what happened to Cassandra isn't our concern too? As usual, you're too selfish to ask help! Like three years ago, when Cassandra challenged you! It was your hard-headed attitude that made your defeat. Now you had involved Mi-na, just because you misunderstood her and I almost ended to kill her just because of petty jealousy. Let me tell you something, Sophie-chan. Cassandra already knew our little secret…" Sophitia looks aghast, as Taki continued,
"Yes, she knows now…I don't know how she knows, but it doesn't matter. Sophie, don't make this difficult! Mi-na is your closest friend, as I do! You can rely on us…we're more than friends here. We do it just because we love you so much," Sophitia didn't say anything until she said,
"The last thing I wanted is to lose the people I've loved so much. Rothion, Pyrrha, Patroklos, Cassie, and both of you were so dear to me. I never thought that my actions would drive us apart. Mi-na! Taki! I really sorry for what I've done," As she broke to tears, the kunoichi hugged her, comforting her,
"We'll rescue Cassandra from Cervantes! Whatever the cost, we must try or die trying! That's my promise to you as a Fu-ma ninja!" Then she glanced to the Korean girl,
"Would you come, Mi-na?" Mi-na incredulously asked,
"Me?" Sophitia turned and said,
"Yes, come with us!" Excited, Mi-na came and hugged both women,
"Yes, give me a group hug! I love both of you!" Taki smiled,
"I love you too, Mi-na!" Upon seeing the women, Olcadan harrumphed,
"Women! Can't guess what they want!" After hugging each other, they went aboard the ship. Through some deliberations, the captain finally allowed Taki and Seong Mi-na to join. The crews ogled the Korean's whistle-bait figure, and she waved to them. The captain grumbled inside,
Three women aboard, I hope we don't have bad luck thrice!
Then the ship departed from the harbor, and went to the ocean. During the sailing, Taki begun to discusses the plan to rescue Cassandra. She said,
"In order to put Cervantes for good, we have to blow Adrian into bits! At the same time, destroy his Soul Edge as well!" Lizardman grinned,
"I believe you'd already a plan…" The kunoichi nodded,
"Yes, someone must dive underwater and find the ammunition storage. Those undead might need some for their cannons…by then, the person must lit the fuse." Olcadan asked skeptically,
"How long the time before the fuse goes?"
"Roughly, it was half an hour! After that, everything goes to the kingdom comes! In such short time, we must rescue Cassandra and kill Cervantes." Mi-na asked,
"Who will volunteer to do such risky job?"
Taki answered, "I am!" Sophitia shocked to hear that,
"No, it can't be, Taki!" The ninja explained,
"There's two reasons; First, I'm already trained to dive underwater as a ninja, and second, I've done this when infiltrating the Dutch ship; so I know how the ship inside and outside. Other than that, nobody can do it…" When the others were silent, the reptile spoke,
"Allow me to join you; I think I can be your help…" Olcadan stared Aeon quizzically,
He asked, "No offense, Aeon. Can you swim and breathe underwater?" Lizardman grinned again,
"Not as a human, but in this form I can," Taki merely nodded,
"In that case, I shall count on you, Aeon-san!" Sophitia and Mi-na didn't say anything, until they dispersed. Then the Greek woman called the kunoichi and asked,
"Taki," she hesitated, "What does Cassandra feels when she knows our…you know what I mean."
"She does like what a normal person reacts; upset, hurt and disappointed. It seems Inferno knew this and told her. Nevertheless, I can understand that," Sophitia replied,
"It's my fault; I didn't tell her sooner, since she was too young to understand that. I just want her…"
"…to have a normal life? It can be, but it isn't your decision, but hers. She must understand the truth…unless you think our relationship is…" The blond-haired woman quickly explained,
"No, I appreciate our relationships, Taki. Though the norms says what we did unnatural, I do believe that love bestowed to others no matter who they are. Like Mi-na, you sought solace and find it within me. For Cassandra, she must choose another…" Taki pondered awhile,
"What are you going to do, when she rejects you and told your husband about the truth?" Sophitia said,
"Then I have to accept the consequences…so be it when you love someone so much," They wanted to hug, but refrained to do so, since the crews watched them. Stretching her arms, the Fu-ma confessed,
"Speaking about the younger, I was tempted to do the same with Talim when we were at Japan,"
Hearing that, Sophitia muttered, "What?" Taki smiled,
"Don't worry, it never happened. Beside, she had Yun-Seong with her…"
The Greek frowned, "Taki, had you are a man, I would kick you very hard…how dare you to think such thing!"
"Are you jealous?" Sophitia blushed, but she instead threw her face,
"No, I am not! It just inappropriate for you to do such thing…" The kunoichi chuckled,
"I'm just kidding, Princess! Beside, we'd already have another…" They turned to Seong Mi-na who had made friends among the crews. Not for long, she went to them and said,
"Hi, guess what? Those sailors taught me how to make knots and some other things!" Taki inquired,
"What are you going to do with that?" The Korean girl quipped,
"I guess I can use it for the Navy…so I can be with Hwang…" Sophitia reminded,
"I thought you're kicked out from the Navy; do you miss him?" Realized that, Mi-na immediately pouted,
"Of course not, I still angry with her for ignoring me! I won't go back to Choson…" When she left, Taki whispered to her companion,
"No matter how angry she is, she simply can't forget Hwang…perhaps we should change her preference," To this, the Greek replied,
"We'll talk about that later…"
Three hours later,
"Ahoy, sail ho! There's a ship in front of us!" the watcher at the mast pole shouted. The captain quickly took his periscope and saw a blurry figure of ship amidst the thick fog. Taki, Sophitia and the others went to him. He said,
"Strange, I never saw the ship before. The route that we passed now is a trading route, but the ship isn't looks like a merchant ship," The first mate added.
"You're right, captain. Perhaps, it might be a pirate ship…" The captain grunted
"More like a ghost ship to me!" He turned to the navigator, "Turn our direction away from that ship!" Before the navigator turned the wheel, suddenly the wind died. The mate reported,
"Captain, there's no wind…" At the same time, the ship came out from the mist and the first thing that everyone saw was a dreaded Jolly Roger on its main mast. The captain bellowed,
"Pirates! Take your position and prepare our cannons! We shall send these seadogs to the kingdom come!" The first mate quickly stopped him,
"Wait, captain! This is not an ordinary pirate ship…this is Adrian!" The crews immediately felt their hearts failing in fear. The captain cursed,
"Shiver me timbers! If it is Adrian, then there's no hope for us! Prepare to abandon our ship…" Immediately, Taki said,
"Captain, bring us closer!" Shocked, the captain shouted,
"Blimey! Do you want to die, lass? That's Adrian!! Those who went aboard the ship would have their souls borne into the hell…or worst, Davy Jones' Locker!" Sophita added,
"That's why we are here, captain!" The captain was surprised to see that, however he won't sacrifice his crews only to do their request. He answered,
"Arrrr! I won't get closer to that accursed ship, but I will give you a boat! So you could get closer!!" He gestured his crews to bring down the boat to the water. He asked again,
"What will I tell to the Countess, when all of you aren't return?" Taki said,
"Tell her, that we come to make her father rest in peace!"
Few minutes later,
Taki, Sophitia, Mi-na, Olcadan and Aeon were inside a boat. They were quite a distance from Adrian. Using her own lens, the kunoichi tried to survey the ship. She could saw the undead and monstrous crews, but Cervantes and Cassandra was nowhere to be seen. She turned to Sophitia and said,
"I didn't see Cassandra or Cervantes. They must be inside the ship…" The Greek asked,
"What shall we do?" The ninja answered,
"We shall carry our plan!" Without wasting time, Taki took off her armguards and shoulderguards, even her circlets. At the same time, Lizardman disrobed himself. She told them,
"Just act normally and we'll meet at the dock once finished. Mi-na, I count on you!" The Korean girl gave her a thumbs-up,
"You can count on me!" Sophitia said,
"Taki, take care!" Taki nodded,
"I will!" Afterward she and Lizardman submerged into the water, clinging to the boat underwater. They took breaths on the surface sometimes, while trying to be not seen. Olcadan continued to row toward Adrian. At the same time, the dark, black cloud gathered around their location.
Meanwhile, inside Adrian,
One of the undead crews came to Cervantes and moaned. The Immortal Pirate shook his head understandingly and turned to a still-tied Cassandra,
"It seems your sister is keeping her words!" he cackled, "You stay here; I will greet her…" After saying that, he left the Greek girl alone. Cassandra pondered,
Sis, you finally come! If I'd survive from this, I promise not to tell anything about you and Miss Taki…
Back to outside,
Sophitia's boat waited nearby, while Adrian's crew jeered and cackled. Mi-na looks nervous, since she isn't used to face the undead. Even it was hard to forget her experience when trapped inside maho-tsukai's catacombs. In other hand, the goddess looks unfazed. She watched those rotting and disfigured faces bravely. Olcadan kept his stoic appearance all the time. Sometimes, he glanced to the sky, wondering whether the night comes. During that time, he would revert into his owl-headed look. Then they saw Cervantes de Leon comes. The pirate shouted,
"Ahoy, matey! What take you so long?" Instead, Sophitia Alexandra shouted back,
"Where is my sister?"
"She's safe and sound…" Cervantes noticed the girl beside Sophitia wasn't Taki. He launched a tirade,
"Who is she? I thought the ninja was with you…is she your new lover?" "Hearing that, the crews laughed raucously until Cervantes calmed them again and continued, "Well, I'm waiting…"
Sophitia replied, "She's…my friend. Taki had…dumped me!" Once again, Adrian shook with laughter, but the Immortal Pirate didn't laugh.
"Arrr, that's enough, matey! Now say the magic word before you come aboard!" Everyone was startled to hear that. Sophitia fumed,
"That's ridiculous, you don't say that!" Looks disappointed, Cervantes turned off, while declaring,
"Well, are the crews on your ship not telling you? No magic word, the deal is off!" As everyone scrambled to find the right word, suddenly Mi-na blurted,
"Parley…" The word stopped Cervantes in his track. He asked again,
"Come again, what do you say?" The Korean girl glanced to Sophitia, who gestured her to continue. Gathering her courage, she said aloud,
"I say parley! Yes, I ask a parley…no, I mean Sophita ask a parley with you, Cervantes de Leon!" The crews on Adrian were silent, until Cervantes laughed inhumanly
"What is your name, lass?" he asked her,
Mi-na answered, "Seong…Seong Mi-na…" The Immortal Pirate continued,
"Well, Mina! You and your friend can come aboard! I will wait you there…" Then the rope ladder thrown offboard, and Olcadan rowed the boat there. At that time, Sophitia asked,
"Where do you learn the word, Mi-na? I didn't know that…" Ashamed, the girl said,
"Well, those sailors on Ivy's ship told me that. I never think that will come in handy!" Then Sophitia hugged her tightly,
"I'm indebted in you, Mi-na!"
"Uh, Sophitia. Would you let me go? Taki-san might be upset, if she sees both of us…"
Below the boat, Taki and Lizardman clung beneath it. Being a reptile, somehow Aeon could breathe underwater with ease. He swam by using his tail as a rudder. When the boat was quite a distance with Adrian, the creature poked the kunoichi and pointed something. Taki saw that beneath the pirate ship, there were a handful of undead pirates. It seems they were sent to watch any intruders who come underwater. Had they comes closer, the undead would detect their presence and alarm their fellows aboard. Not only that, the seafloor was completely clear and open. No rocks or something that they could use for cover. Aeon noticed a wreck of the ship nearby and poked Taki. The kunoichi noted it as well, and quickly gestured to get cover immediately. When the undead turned to the opposite side, they used the opportunity to hide themselves behind the wreck. Taki wondered how long she could hold her breath any longer…
Then something happened. The undead sentries were climbing back to the ship, leaving the place unguarded.
Taki realized that was their chance and dived toward the place with Aeon. Once beneath the ship, she went to the other side to check whether sentries were there. Lizardman poked his snout on surface, followed by his head. With his slit-like eyes, he observed that the crews were on the opposite side. Taki joined her later and manage to locate the open cannon door. They swam silently and stealthily climbed the opened door.
Above, Sophitia, Mi-na and Olcadan were onboard the ship. The undead and monstrous crews crowded on the deck only to see the living amidst them. Cervantes stood arrogantly in front of them, while caressed his beard. The Greek's blue eyes stared him sharply like a blade. She wasn't the same girl who confronted the pirate for the first time. The quest had made her more experienced and grown-up. Then she said bravely,
"I've come here as promised. Now where is my sister?" The Immortal Pirate gestured two of his crews to get Cassandra, and he came closer. Mi-na almost swung his zhanmadao to respond, but Sophitia stopped her. When both of them were face-to-face, Cervantes lifted his left hand and caressed her blond hair. The Greek kept still and stared unflinchingly. He whispered,
"Are you not afraid of me? I might stab you right now…like what I did to someone like you before,"
"That time had been over, Cervantes," she replied, "If I die now, let it be…I'm not running again from you…" The pirate laughed aloud, and the lightning cracked thrice above. He turned around, and said,
"Very good! I just hoping the ninja had the same bravery like you, perhaps it was too much!" he saw Cassandra being dragged by his crews, and added, "Here's the proposal! Your sister and friends traded with your soul. We shall settle our grudge here once and for all…" When he flicked his blade, a loud crash echoed. Olcadan ran quickly to the side of the ship and saw their boat was sunken. Angrily, he told Mi-na,
"These bastards had sunk our boat!" Sophitia and Mi-na turned their sight to the Immortal Pirate furiously, while he said calmly,
"Just to guarantee your trust…" Then he threw Cassandra to her sister. Sophitia quickly cut the binds on her hand, and the young Alexandra quickly hugged her,
"Sophie! Thank God! You're here!!" she was unable to hold her tears, "I'm so sorry!"
Sophitia calmed her, "That's all right, Cassie! We'll talk about that later…" She sent her to Mi-na, who quickly took care of her. At the same time, Cervantes' crew kept Digamma Shield and Omega Sword. A strong wind blew between them. The undead crew slowly made the space for their captain. Cassandra, Mi-na and Olcadan withdrew. The younger Alexandra hugged the Korean girl tightly, and felt her warmth. Her face slowly blushed. Slowly but sure, the undead pirate pulled out Soul Edge and Phlegethon. At the same time, Sophitia took her attacking stance, lifting her Elk Shield and Omega Sword.
Cervantes taunted, "I shall enjoy... feasting on your soul, lass! Too bad, your lover isn't here to see your demise!" Leveling her sword, the Greek answered,
"It looks like I have no choice. But I won't back down!"
"Writhe in pain! DIE!" When the lightning cracked on the sky, the pirate charged toward her…
Below the ship, Taki and Lizardman sneaked and found the ammunition room. The storage was guarded by two monstrous crews. Swiftly, the kunoichi threw her ninjato to the monster's forehead, impaling its head. Before its fellow managed to respond, Lizardman had dispatched it quickly. Using the keys, they entered the storage and found out a huge amount of gunpowder inside. All of them were unused. Aeon said,
"I saw a lantern there; it still lit…" Taki responded,
"Take the lantern, I have a plan!" Then she chose a small barrel and poured its content out toward several spots. When the reptile brought the lantern, she took the candle and put it upon the gunpowder trail. Instantly, it produced a soft hissing sound. The kunoichi said,
"Aeon, guard the door! I will wear my armor again…" Lizardman nodded, while Taki started to wear her armbands again. She could hear the sound of clanging steel above.
Rain showered them furiously, but Sophitia and Cervantes ignored it all. The Greek goddess opened with Gaea Strike, sending the powerful shockwave through. Cervantes dashed forward and hits the enemy with both swords at the same time in a scissors-like movement. His opponent quickly blocked with Catharsis Shower, and then followed by Tornado Middle Kick. The pirate evaded the attack, leaps forward and slams into the enemy. Thrown off-balance, Sophitia struggled to stand. Cervantes was ready to send another attack. She swung her sword and performed Sword Flood. The strike nullified the pirate's Bile Lunge, and he was greeted by her Angel Force. Rolled backward, Cervantes spikes the longer sword into the ground. He spins and slams his heel into the enemy. As retaliation, Sophitia unleashed Catharsis Shower, which sent her opponent very far. The crews jeered and shouted for their captain. While Olcadan watched the duel intensely, Cassandra and Mi-na were worried. Though Sophitia was managed to hold her own, Cervantes was still powerful in his own. Yet, the fight continued until…
A powerful explosion shook Adrian, and sends everyone aboard scattered. The ship slightly rocked back and fro. Stalling momentarily, the Immortal Pirate ordered,
"Check the deck below! Lift the anchor, ahoy!!" Though panicked, Cervantes' crews carried the orders. He glanced to Sophitia with murderous look,
"Is it your doing?" Someone shouted,
"No, Cervantes! It is me!" They turned around and saw Taki standing with her armor. Amused, Cervantes asked,
"I thought you're leaving…so you put this girl as a diversion! What a cunning, arrr!!" Unsheathing Rekki-maru, the kunoichi replied,
"I've lit the gunpowder in your storage and soon this ship will be blown apart! It's time to go back to where you belong, Cervantes! This time, Sophitia and I will fight you!!"
"Taki…" the Greek woman whispered,
"Not if I can kill you first!" The pirate turned to his crews, "Matey, finish her off!!" Growling, the undead and monstrous crews charged after Taki. She cut through them swiftly, as her ninjato made the work short. The crews stood unmoving until she patted her sword. They instantly dropped like flies. The monstrous crew who held Cassie's weapons, tried to hack her, but Taki knees hard into his crotch causing him to keel over. She then jumps onto his opponent's back, jumping into the air, and coming down hard upon his neck and shoulders. The kunoichi jumps into the air again, and crashes down even harder on his head, performing a backwards cartwheel for effect afterward. She took Digamma Shield and Omega Sword, and gave them to Cassandra. The Greek girl was stunned, but she quickly went into fight as the remaining crews attacked them. This time, Seong Mi-na swung her Scarlet Thunder mightily, cutting swath into those undead crews. Olcadan and Lizardman joined the fight as well. The reptile creature fought like a rabid dog, and tore apart his foes with Grudge Axe. The deck was chaotic now.
Separated from the rest, Cervantes now faced both Taki and Sophitia. Without wasting time, he attacked with Killer X Crawler. In order to counter the attack, Taki uses Shadow Ripper, while Sophitia went into Under Slide Blade. When impacted, the force threw all combatants. Instead charging again, the pirate realized that they simply outnumbered him one to two. On the deck, it was almost impossible to fight unhindered by his crews. He stared to the masts above. Suddenly, Cervantes snatched the nearest line and cut it with Phlegethon. Then he was lifted upward toward the main mast. He taunted them,
"Come and follow me, if both of you dare!" Taki took Sophitia and held into another line, saying,
"Sophie-chan, hold me tightly!" The Greek woman nodded and held on her torso. The kunoichi cut the line, which immediately pulled them upward. Sophitia felt her blood rushed inside. Once on the top of the mast, Cervantes was nowhere to be seen. Taki stepped on the mast carefully, while holding Sophitia gently. The woman looks nervous, but the ninja calmed her,
"Don't look down, Sophie-chan…I knows it is hard but you have to try! I won't let you fall…"
"Thank you, Taki," Without any warning, they heard someone shouting,
"Geo Da Ray!" Simultaneously, they saw Cervantes launches himself at them. Having a good footing, Taki countered the attack. However, Sophitia still struggled with her balance. Then the Immortal Pirate rolled and landed on the same mast. The Fu-ma said,
"You're quite tricky, Cervantes! Luring us to the masts, so you can fight both of us freely!" The pirate cackled,
"That's right! Fighting on the mast had become the pirate's routine…probably you won't have any difficulty as a ninja!" he pointed to the Greek woman, "In other hand, your landlubber girlfriend might not accustom with this. She can be your weakness…and I will enjoy killing you one-by-one," A crack of lightning and thunder was close to their range. Taki answered amidst the storm,
"You can try, Cervantes. But you won't succeed!" Sophitia added,
"That's right! If I had to die with Taki, so be it! I won't have any regret…I really love her!"
"Very well, may you bring your strange love into the hell!"
"Let's see who goes first to the hell!"
On the deck, Seong Mi-na fought a brute crew. When her opponent dashed, she places her hands on his shoulders; leaps up before slamming him back-first with the force of her muscles. Another attacked from behind, yet the Korean girl does a turnaround Kidney Slash and finishes the combo with a slash to the foe's shin.. She turned to the right and saw the younger Alexandra in trouble.
Cassandra managed to send a horizontal slash followed by a quick spin kick to her opponent. However, Three undead attacked her simultaneously. At the same time, Mi-na leaped to her place, and performed a severe overhead swing as she landed from the jump. The decapitated undead dropped to the wooden floor.
"Thanks, Miss Mi-na!" Mi-na smiled,
"It's nothing…I like to help you! Come, we still have a job to do!" As the Korean left, Cassandra pondered awhile,
Sophie really loves Miss Taki…she does it with her heart. Could I really love Miss Mi-na as Sophie does to Miss Taki? Is it true that woman-to-woman love better than man-to-woman?
Her musing was broken by another explosion! This time, one of the masts had broken and fell to the sea. Olcadan uses the Ancient to brush off his opponent, while Lizardman tore apart the enemy ranks. Many fell, but the undead quickly fill the void and kept pressing them!
On the masts, Taki and Sophitia still had swashbuckling with Cervantes. The pirate uses ropes to swing back and fro, vexing their vulnerable position. For an undead, he could shift rope-to-rope with amazing speed and precision. In one chance, he dashes forward, then teleports up and slashes downward. The strike wounded Taki's right forearm. She saw the pirate stepping forward and blasting toward Sophitia with hellfire. She shouted,
"Sophie-chan, look out!" The kunoichi deliberately threw herself to the Greek woman, allowing the attack hit her point-blank. The pirate cursed,
"WHAT?! This is ridiculous! How can I miss that?" Sophita shook Taki,
"Taki! Taki! Are you allright?" The pony-tailed woman rose, but her lips were bleeding. She said weakly,
"I'm fine…" The blond-haired woman told her,
"This can't go on! We had to do something…someone must put the bastard fixed!"
"I'll do it…" After that, Taki coughed blood profusely. Sophitia grew concerned,
"No, you already had done enough! It's my turn! I have a plan…" An explosion, stronger than the previous one shook Adrian violently. Realizing that, the Immortal Pirate shouted to his remaining crews,
"RAISE SAIL! ANCHORS AWEIGH, MATEY! We shall go to the open sea!!" Cervantes' ghastly navigator spun the wheel and the burned ship steered right to the ocean. He turned to the couple and said with eerie voice,
"Destroying my beloved Adrian is an idiocy worthy of death…I swear that I will bring you to Davy Jones' Locker!" Sophitia countered,
"You're too much talking, Cervantes! Prove your point first!" Once again, Cervantes' beard twitched restlessly and his reddish eyes glared menacingly.
"Gladly, now you die!!" Taking a rope, he swung toward them. Instinctively, Sophitia grabbed Taki's left forearm and threw the kunoichi toward the incoming opponent. She sliced in midair, then dives down for a ground hit. Though surprised, the undead pirate managed to force his luck by landing on the mast. He tried to drive Soul Edge to the kunoichi's side, however Taki swiftly blocked the attack by pulling Mekki-maru and…plunged it to Cervantes's chest. The pirate was agape with shock, and lifted the Soul Edge to cut his opponent. Instantly, Sophitia came to the rescue,
"Guardian Strike!" With a mighty slash, she shattered the evil blade in pieces and a voice of wailing echoed through the storm. Simultaneously, Taki pulled Mekki-maru through the rotted flesh, cleaving the Fu-ma emblem. Greenish ichors burst from the newly-created wound, and Cervantes howled with anguish. Lights came out from the wound
At the same time, the undead on the ship fell dead. The monstrous creatures ran hither and thither mindless; and some slew themselves or cast themselves in the deep ocean. Mi-na, Cassandra, Olcadan and Lizardman were amazed with the sudden change. The younger Alexandra glanced on the sky…
Bleed profusely with ichors, the Immortal Pirate stared his hated adversaries. With forced grin, he said,
"Ye can't defeat the power of love…death, where is thy sting?" After saying so, his body fell from the mast into the dark depth of sea. Shards of Soul Edge sank along with him. Taki sighed,
Sensei, this is my last respect for you...may you rest in peace. Then the raven-haired woman commented,
"Finally, this is over…let him burn in hell…" Sophitia nodded,
"Yes, but the war is far from over! Siegfried still tries to save Ivy…"
"For a mean time, let me savor the victory," With that, Taki kissed Sophitia deeply and received the same treatment from her. Mi-na hugged Cassandra tightly, while Olcadan turned away.
Suddenly a huge explosion shook the ship. Quite surprised, Mi-na asked,
"What happened? Is that from the ammunition?" Lizardman pointed to another direction,
"Look!" From the opposite direction, they saw a three-mast battleship that shot their cannons to them. Taki and Sophitia landed to the deck and asked,
"A battleship? Where are they coming from?" The Ancient answered absentmindedly,
"They must think we're pirate…" Then the cannons boomed and shot their contents into Adrian, ripping its decks into pieces. The kunoichi warned,
"We must go quickly; the next shot might hit the storage!"
Mi-na replied, "But we don't have a boat…" Lizardman cut her,
"Then we have to swim!" Everyone immediately ran and went overboard, as another volley of cannonballs hit and the ship immediately exploded into the kingdom come!
Author's Note: I've finished this chapter that was inspired from 'Pirate of the Caribbean Sea' movies. I might not be good to make a swashbuckling fight. I also put some pirate terms and jargons. Please correct me if I make mistake there. Beside, here is too much highlights to Taki and Sophita's relationships. Anyway, tell me what your opinion, critics and flames are. Now we shall see what happened with Siegfried and others in 'Gates of Chaos'. See you next time!
P.S: Lysander, I put your idea of battleship here, though Ivy wasn't around here. Thank you and I appreciate your help.
Glossary:
Pirate terms:
Ahoy!- Hello! Greetings!
Arrr!-Exclamation!
Blimey!- Surprise shouting
Lass- calling for young women
Landlubber-calling someone who aren't used to be at the sea
Matey!- calling for friends
Sail ho!- shouting when another ship seen
Shiver me timbers!- similar with Blimey!