Song Title: Are You Dead Yet? by Children of Bodom


"This is close enough."

Emil didn't question the rifleman's judgment and stopped rowing the small boat sent out ahead of the Draugen as to not alert the members of the Red Fraction of their encroaching presence.

When the North Sea King first made his speech and declaration of their pursuit of the infamous ship, some of the men were dubious. Their defeat by the other ship's hand the last time they fought left a bitter taste in their mouths. But a maddening voice and one look at the Reaper's face and they were motivated, their morale high. They were convinced that the time has come to take their revenge and bring down the Red Fraction once and for all, all of them wanting to see the Reaper in action. At that moment the rifleman had more influence over the men than the captain himself.

As soon as this was settled and the Red Fraction in sight, the black vessel going separate ways from the Sleeping Dragon, under the cover of night the two set out with a couple of rifles on board their small boat to remain undetected. The water below them, black as tar and streaked with moonlight still dyed a crimson color, was unusually calm and lapped quietly against the boat's hull.

The Reaper's haunting violet eyes still glowed in the limited lighting as he picked up a rifle and took aim. The man didn't even bother to hide his face behind his skull mask at this point.

"The one in the crow's nest is getting up now," the Deacon confirmed to his companion, bronze telescope in hand to help the other find his targets. "Two watchkeepers on each side of the deck and one behind the steering wheel."

The Reaper smiled widely at the intelligence, standing up on the boat and angling his rifle appropriately before setting off the first shot. "They all seem so tired; I'll put them to sleep for all eternity."

Bang!

The shot didn't sound off too loudly, spanning across the vast expanse of ocean all around them.

The fellow in the crow's nest went down first, falling back without even knowing what bore through his skull. Then the rest of the pirates on the deck were taken out quickly. The one-man barrage was done by the Reaper alternating between the rifles, handing off the freshly fired one to Emil to reload and soon the sea was silent again.

When this was done and the enemy watch taken down, the second mate rowed them closer so that his companion could board via grappling hook. "Once I return to the Draugen, she will be charging in at full sails. A squall is comin' around so we'll catch up with you in no time - try to hold out until then."

"Excellent. Thank you, Emil," the rifleman said before preparing to pull himself up onto the Red Fraction.

"Give 'im a solid hit on the nose for me, yeah?"

At this request the Reaper's grin widened unnaturally, teeth gleaming in the moonlight. "Oh I can guarantee you so much more." Armed with a slew of instruments of destruction including his trusty flintlock pistols, two loaded rifles strapped across his back and cutlass at his waist, it was time for death to greet the members of the Red Fraction personally.


"Oi, I need another lager!" An irate and clearly drunk member of the Red Fraction hollered at anyone who would listen to him squabble. Handling their latest captive was wearing down on his nerves and he desperately needed something to lift his spirits.

But the corridor the pirate was in was silent as a grave, devoid of any signs of life and his fellow crewmates. There was no one to respond to his whining.

"Hey! Did any of ya-!" As he rounded a corner in the dimly lit hallway, a shadow reached out and pulled him into a deadly hold, muffling his shouts with a cold hand.

"You're not him." It simply stated.

The Red Fraction member's eyes widened and he panicked when he saw why nobody paid him any heed – they were all piled up and slumped along the walls behind the marauder, decaying. "Mmmmph!"

"Where is your captain?" The stranger asked nicely, tone too sweet and innocent as his arm snaked around his victim's neck. Slowly he released the hand over the other's mouth.

"He's here! The Reaper's-!"

Crack!

With a quick and harsh twist, the Finn snapped the drunkard's neck before dropping the corpse and adding it to the growing collection he had behind him. "You won't tell me either…what a shame…"

"There he is!"

The Red Fraction crew was expecting him, and the moment they heard their crewmate's dying words, they were upon the Reaper from both ends of the hall.

"Get him!"

"Oh, what's this?" Chains were thrown at him from either side and caught his wrists. They pulled and pulled on him, threatening to rip him in half right down the middle. But during the whole struggle the Reaper only giggled. "Oh my, there are so many of you! I don't know who to kill first," The chains rattled when the madman pulled both ends in one simple jerk towards himself, causing some of the men to trip over the bodies of their comrades, slipping on the blood that stained the black wood. He then drifted towards his next victim, mercilessly slaughtering them one by one in the narrow hallway with his cutlass. Using the chains around his wrists as an extension of his hands, he lashed out with them, grazing skin and stripping flesh off of bone when the chance presented itself.

After witnessing their fellow crew members drop like flies, some of the pirates in the back made for the captain's cabin to inform him of his "guest."

"Gaah!"

"Oh no, leaving so soon?" The Reaper reeled in one unfortunate pirate who was a bit too slow on his feet with the chains on his wrists. "Aren't you going to tell me where you're all going? I would very much like to know where my friend is," But when this fellow didn't tell him anything new, just some death threats and comments about his looks, he sent him off to the afterlife via the metal links that coiled around his throat. As soon as the last breath of life escaped his victim, the platinum blond carried on down the desolate hallway, his black long coat with the tattered ends licking the blood off his victims' corpses as he passed them by.

"Ivan…where are you?" He sung aloud, hearing his own light voice echo hauntingly throughout the large area he was in now. "Show yourself so you can die!"

It became apparent he came across a storage room, filled with goods varying from liquor to…

Hmm?

The smell of gunpowder was a dead giveaway – in the far back corner of the room were crates full of unique-looking explosives.

Most likely a gift from the Sleeping Dragon

"!"

A brilliant and fun idea came to the Reaper's mind, and his face couldn't help but split itself into a devious grin.


"The Red Fraction's dead ahead!" Emil announced from his crow's nest, his pet puffin resting on his shoulder.

"Squawk! Dead ahead!"

"We'll be upon them in a few minutes," Lukas confirmed, turning to his older brother.

"Heh? Ain't it weird that they ain't firin' at us yet? Are they asleep or somethin'?" Mathias made a motion with his hand in an attempt to see better in the night sky.

"I believe some of them are indeed sleeping…forever…" the first mate commented grimly. "They must have their hands full with the Reaper,"

"Makes our job easier; I don't see why yer complaining," the second mate shouted down to him.

This made the captain smile. "That a boy, ReeRee!"

Boom!

A different type of fire broke out than what the members of the Draugen were expecting. A fierce explosion coming from the lower parts of the Red Fraction blew a hole out of the black ship's hull. Dark splinters and pieces of the ship shot out as a result and splashed into the briny deep, sending out ripples caught by the red moon's light.

"Well aren't they just havin' all sorts of fun over there!" Mathias whistled. "C'mon men, we don't wanna be late to the party, right?!"

"YEAH!" The display ignited something within the members of the Draugen and they were more than ready to fight the moment their ship caught up to their target, the bow of the Draugen with its leviathan figurehead ramming into the other vessel already thrown in chaos.

"Give 'em hell, boys! Attack! Attack!"


What's going on out there?!

After a loud explosion nearly blew out his eardrums, the ship he was on rocked violently to one side and the floor beneath Berwald's feet shook and rumbled like a mini earthquake. He could hear clamor and heavy footsteps thudding on the dark wood above him, but couldn't see anything in the dim cell he was still imprisoned in. The sun was completely gone from his window now, replaced by a crimson moon and its red light.

"We're under attack!"

"It's the Draugen!"

"They'd chase after us?!"

Tino?

Berwald ran up to the bars of his cell gate, trying desperately to get a better view of the hallway for any passersby.

Boom!

A second, smaller explosion came after the initial one but was much closer to the Swede, blasting a hole in the left wall of the prison cell he was kept in. The splintered wood caught on fire and turned to ash, revealing the empty prison cell neighboring his and a burning inferno on the other side that was also his way out of here.

Seizing this opportunity to escape, the blond didn't hesitate to jump through the maw of the newly-made escape route, a small plank of wood falling onto his shoulder and singeing the flesh there in the process. The ends of his beige coat also got burnt by the fire raging around him as he rummaged his way out into the smoky hallway, doing his best not to inhale the suffocating fumes.

"I figured the explosions would reach here," A voice and figure blocked Berwald's path to freedom.

The person before him was not who he wanted to see; he didn't recognize this woman.

Her blond hair was short, only running down to frame her innocent round face and blue eyes, the golden locks held back by a jeweled headband. She wore a long and dark military coat that barely did anything to cover her bountiful bosom beneath a white blouse. A black tie and matching hat completed the look. She was smiling sheepishly at him, but something impish lurked beneath those blue orbs as they stared the captive down.

The tall woman raised the pitchfork in her white gloved hands in the bespectacled man's direction, ready to skewer him. "Brother warned me you would try to leave. I'm sorry, but I can't allow that."


"The initial explosion came from the lower levels of the ship; she's taking significant damage and the strings of explosions have not stopped..." the Queen of Blades reported to her captain and brother. She was grinding her teeth as she snarled "Our men aren't doing a damn thing about it! Shall I go punish them?"

"No, they don't deserve it this time." Ivan answered darkly as they walked down the deserted hallway. A lot of the crew members were occupied on the deck holding off the oncoming pirates boarding their slowly sinking vessel. "This is all because a little mouse happened to sneak on board," The fact excited and angered him at the same time and it was an exhilarating feeling. He needed more of it.

"They weren't supposed to be upon us so soon…damn him!" Natalya cursed the Reaper's name for the umpteenth time.

"Excellent." Ivan merely grinned from ear to ear, his violet eyes flashing in the lowly lit hallway. "But I must wonder…where is he? Surely he would be looking for me the first thing he boards, yes?"

"Death is closer than you think." A third voice joined them.

"Heehee-" Ivan chocked on his giggles.

Just as the siblings passed by a closed room, one of many lining the corridor, a hand bursted through the wooden door and clawed around the Red Fraction's captain's neck.

"Knock, knock!" The rest of the Reaper appeared through the torn down door and into the hallway, still holding the taller pirate by the throat.

"ReeRee!" Ivan greeted ecstatically through clenched teeth and a wheezy breath. His smile grew ever wider as he struggled under the other's hold.

"So good to see you again, old friend." The Finn returned the man's depraved smile with his own, his grip around him tightening until he saw him turning blue.

"Back off!" Natalya was by Ivan's side in a heartbeat and threw a barrage of knives. She only succeeded in releasing her brother, however.

Ivan slumped to the floor for a moment to catch his breath, losing it to the bouts of giggles he was having.

The Reaper didn't bother to move from his spot when the remaining blades flew towards his direction, raising a corpse in front of him that he has been dragging around for a while now. The corpse took all the hits for him like a shield before he tossed it aside, the body landing on the floorboards with a hollow thud. The chains still around his wrists clinked from the movement. "Funny thing, I came across your supply of vodka on my way here and set it all on fire just to make this happen,"

Boom!

Another explosion rumbled below them.

"I know how you always like the warmth, so I thought I'd grant you your wish and bring the summer heat right here to you on your ship!" The Reaper winked and blew the taller male a kiss. "Think of it as my gift to you,"

Ivan's smile fell as he stared into equally manic violet eyes, face warping into a deep scowl. "You shouldn't have done that." It was one thing to have his ship blown out of the water, but no one tampered with his alcohol! And using one to destroy the other was simply unforgiveable.

The Draugen's rifleman was getting a kick out of the other's reaction, knowing what ticked him off. "Aww don't be mad, Ivan," he cooed. "We're still friends, aren't we?"

"Until the very bloody end," Ivan confirmed, his hysterical smile returning as he turned to his sister. "Do not interfere, Natalya. That is an order."

"But brother-!"

"I want him for myself."

The Reaper's soft chuckle turned into a mad cackle as he stared at his target with murderous intent. "Yes, it's just you and me! I can't wait to have your skull hanging on my wall to laugh at for years to come!"

"By the time I'm through with you, there won't be anything left for the ravens to peck at," Ivan replied back, ready to smite the other with his cane.

Twin flintlock pistols were drawn and ready to fire - he has been saving these for the other. "I'll be sure to rip your heart clean out this time."

"And I'll return the favor - we both don't need them anyway, correct?"

Bang!

The first shot resonated down the hallway as it easily landed on the giant of a man swiftly closing the distance between them. The narrow corridor soon lost its advantage and became dangerous when there was no space to move away and the captain of the Red Fraction was upon the Reaper.

The bullet that bit his left shoulder did nothing to slow his charge towards his friend trying to create distance between them. "Let's play, ReeRee!" Ivan exclaimed excitedly as he grabbed the other in a crushing bear hug before tossing him high into the air - so high that the Finn crashed the ceiling and broke through it and onto the deck.

"Guh!" The Reaper spat out some blood onto the black wood, the force knocking the wind out of him as he struggled to get up with his forearms. The smile never left his face. "Such a nice way to welcome me,"

Too anxious to continue their little game, Ivan followed suit and jumped through the hole he just made on his own ship.

"Brother!" Natalya was just about to head out onto the deck to join him when a voice stopped her.

"Oh there you are, princess!" The North Sea King casually made his way down the hall, long pole axe over his shoulder. "Fancy meetin' you here,"

"You..." The Queen of Blades readied herself, wanting to kill the bastard in front of her as quickly as possible to return to her beloved brother's side.


Now out in the open on the deck, the fire from below was slowly making its way up and engulfed the bow of the Red Fraction in flames. A storm brewed over them, throwing sheets of rain onto them that wasn't enough to put out the raging fire and anger on the ship. Thick black clouds blotted out the blood red moon and stars, snuffing out the crimson light and enshrouding the ships in near total darkness. Not even the heavens could bear witness to this battle on the high seas.

The Reaper and Ivan the Terrible circled around each other like wolves on the deck, waiting for an opening. The ends of their respective long coats fluttered violently behind them from the harsh winds.

"Let's dance, shall we?"

"After you,"

A swing from strong arms was useless if the target was agile and quick.

Like a snake, the Reaper slithered away from that silver cane, dodging the attack by a hair's breadth - just the way the rifleman liked it. Once on a particular swing he saw the opportunity to hop over the other, hand on that cold shoulder and using it as leverage to launch himself into the air and behind his opponent.

Bang!

He dispensed the remainder of his rounds into Ivan, who didn't make any effort to dodge them and took all the hits with open arms. None of them hit any vital organs on purpose, but instead only served to cause severe pain and incapacitate its target.

The bullets tore through his tendons and twisted his flesh, drawing blood that soaked through the tan long coat. Ivan loved it...it thrilled him and he wanted so much more. He could tell the sight was exciting his friend as well, whose violet gaze never left him as he landed back on his feet onto the black floorboards of the deck.

Chaos and bright fire swirled all around them, but they couldn't care less.

"This is so much fun!" Ivan barreled towards his friend as soon as he emptied his guns and his cane made contact with flesh and sent the Reaper skidding across the wet floorboards. He followed it up with another swing straight down and into the other's skull, raising the silver weapon high over his head.

Clang!

"Indeed, indeed! And it's gonna be even more fun to watch you grovel!" The Reaper grinned up at him, holding the weapon at bay by crossing his white and royal blue pistols above his head. The sickle handle barely touched his platinum blond hair. A forceful push back against his opponent in combination with a flurry of lashes from the chains around his wrists and he was on his feet again. Not giving the other time to breathe, he slipped around back and grabbed the hefty blond around his torso and lifted him off the ground, suplexing him.

A nasty crunch of bone and splintering of wood was heard on the deck - music to the Reaper's ears.

The silver cane with the hidden blade fell from Ivan's hand upon impact, clattering and sliding away when the ship rocked violently from the churning waves below them. He slowly got up to meet the expecting rifleman in front of him, bleeding from his head.

"Oh good, you can still stand," the Reaper sounded simply ecstatic.

"Just for you, ReeRee," he replied readily. Ivan wasn't unarmed for long.

"Oh, what's this? What's this?" The Finn watched with extreme fascination as his foe opened his mouth and reached down his own gullet to pull out another sword hidden inside his throat. "What a neat little trick! You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"

"Yes, it comes in handy too, don't you think?"

With no bullets left to spare, the Reaper put away his pistols back into their holsters and instead pulled out the cutlass resting at his waist, twirling the handle comfortably in his hand before keeping it poised.

Both deadmen wore a feral grin as they fought, two pairs of violet eyes glowing in the nearby fire on the ship. Peals of thunder were heard throughout the Red Fraction as well as the sound of their blades clashing against each other's, flashing in the lightning.

Waltzing along the deck, the two moved back and forth in a dance of destruction with their weapons swaying this way and that, seeking to cut through flesh and bone.

"Let me take care of that ugly face of yours, friend," In one of their bouts, the Reaper had Ivan right where he wanted him when the other's boot slipped on the wet surface and he flitted forward to slash, ready to slice his head in half horizontally.

But the taller deadman saw the attack in time and caught the blade with his teeth, clenching down on the cutlass to prevent it from going any further. "That's very generous of you, but I'll have to decline," he replied gently, lips moving around the sharp edge and the corner of his mouth bleeding from the effort.

"Aww, what a shame!" The Reaper smiled widely as they struggled, flashing his own teeth at the other. With both hands on the handle he was still trying to press the cutlass further in, pass those set of teeth to splice open his prey's jaw.

The rain continued to pour on them from above, soaking their long coats and seeping into their bones. Not that either of them felt it – they were already cold and dead on the inside. Like wicked, drenched rats they continued to scurry along the deck, trying to kill each other.

Lightning split the dark sky once more, revealing depraved faces with an insatiable hunger for blood and to see the person before them rot.


"Hmm, your reasoning is quite sound," Katyusha, the woman assigned to keep Berwald in his cell, ended up talking it out with the captive and ultimately agreeing to his idea for a truce between the two pirate crews.

The Swede was very persuasive even with his curt words.

She lowered her pitchfork and readjusted the military hat on her head, peering at the man warmly but warily. "I will have to discuss this with my brother, however. Follow me,"

"Mmh."

The two left the burning hallways of the lower part of the ship and out onto the main deck where the damage was less visible. But all the same the chaos ravaged around them – the center piece of it all standing right in front of them.

Tino!

"Brother!" Berwald heard Katyusha exclaim over the rumbling thunder, rain, and fire.

Ivan and Tino had just leapt and exchanged punches to the jaw, sending them both flying back and motionless on the floorboards for a second.

But it was within that short moment that the Red Fraction groaned from within, sustaining too much damage and leaning heavily to its left, water rushing into its hull and pulling it down into the deep.

"Tino!"

Both the captain of the Red Fraction and the rifleman fell overboard, their bodies sliding off the tilting deck to the side.

Oh gods, where is he?!

Berwald frantically scrambled to the edge of the leaning ship, nearly falling over the rails himself as he peered across the violent ocean below for any signs of life.

"Brother!" Natalya abandoned her fight with the North Sea King altogether when she heard her sister begin to panic.

"Hey! Where do ya think yer goin'?!" Mathias yelled after her, but stopped when he joined some of the other crew members from both the Draugen and Red Fraction herding to one side of the sinking ship. The Dane quickly understood why everyone stopped their own fights – there was a much more exciting one taking place on the water.

Although a fragile peace has been bestowed upon the Red Fraction, it didn't reach the two men out on the ocean, already on their feet and perched on floating planks of debris from the blown ship. They didn't bother trying to make it back on board, the tides and ocean's surface their new arena.

"My, my, seems we've attracted quite a crowd, yes?" Ivan only spared the spectators behind him a passing glance before focusing his attention on the man one driftwood piece away from him.

"Indeed, and we mustn't disappoint them, so let's give them a show they'll never forget!"

This pleased the ashen blond greatly. "Yes, the show must go on!"

A flash of lightning later and the two were leaping from one floating black plank to the next and converged on a board big enough to fit both of them, skirmishing. Their blades sparked and gleamed in the lightning that struck deathly near them in the water.

"Yeah, kill each other!"

The spectating pirates hollered and whistled wildly on the deck, rooting for their respective deadman to win the match.

"Tear 'im apart, Reaper!"

"Show 'em not to mess with us, captain!"

The Queen of Blades, her lips bleeding from watching her brother fight from afar, could no longer stand it and was about to jump off the rails to join him before a tall blond got in her way.

"Uh uh uh, yer goin' nowhere, missy!" Mathias raised his battle axe at the blonde, smirking. "I ain't gonna let yer meddling get in the way of the greatest fight the sea's ever seen,"

"Out of my way-!"

"Or what? You think yer precious brother doesn't stand a chance against my Reaper? Is that it?"

"He doesn't need to deal with scum like you!" Natalya snarled back, ready to poison the Dane standing between her and Ivan. A female voice discouraged her.

"That's enough, sister." Katyusha came up to her younger sibling, a hand on her shoulder.

Natalya scowled at her. "Are you mad?! Brother saved us from that bastard father of ours and this is how you repay him?! Are you just going to watch the damn Reaper kill him?!" The hand on her shoulder squeezed tightly before letting go.

"No, but I'm sure he would be most displeased with you should you try to help him," Her blue eyes bore into Natalya's. "You might get killed if you try anything…and then I will lose both of my siblings," She then pulled the dark coat around herself tighter, her grip on the pitchfork slacking. "Then what will I do?"

The Queen of Blades made no motion to fight anymore, but still looked disapprovingly at everything around her, glaring out at the storm and water with all her black heart.

"Try to have more faith in our brother, he's strong after all."

Tch, not as strong as Reaper! The North Sea King thought.

Sensing the threat in front of him dissipate, the captain of the Draugen turned back to the action and watched on as the rifleman danced circles around his bulkier opponent, blades flying this way and that. He loved seeing his Reaper go all out – it was something he wouldn't trade a whole chest of gold for.

"C'mon ReeRee, is that the best you got?" Ivan teased, blocking a slash aimed to gut his intestines.

"I was actually going to say the same to you – it's like I'm hacking at a piece of dead meat," the Reaper countered just as playfully.

"That's because I might as well be!"

They had multiple chances to finish the other, but staved it off. Instead, they toyed with each other, offering the smallest opportunity for the other to escape which each took greedily. They were prolonging the battle on purpose, reveling in it and riling their spectators.

A long piece of floorboard they were balanced on split in half from Ivan's blow and separated the two.

Covered in lacerations, his coat and scarf shredded in some areas, Ivan the Terrible said to the other drifting away from him on the wave "Join me, Reaper, and together we'll be unstoppable!" He knew the smaller man could hear him perfectly well over the storm. "The seven seas will be all ours to rule and do with it as we please. With me, you'll get to feel alive again every day as we try to kill each other, always sleeping with one eye open to not fall prey to each other! Doesn't that sound like fun?"

"Hmm," the Reaper hummed, contemplating the idea in his head. His manic smile never wavered.

The owner of the sinking Red Fraction further tried to convince the Finn by saying "I would allow you to kill as many as you please, unlike that captain of yours. No, I won't stop you…far from it," he hissed, getting excited all over again from the possibilities. "I know how to appease your bloodlust, ReeRee. I'm the only one who truly understands you! There's no need to hide it around me…no need to be ashamed of what you really are…embrace it."

"…"

"You are a killer…a deadman…and nothing will ever change that!" Ivan cackled as more lightning struck and splintered the sky. "I know what it's like to be a real deadman; we're much alike you and I!" He didn't give the Reaper anymore time to consider his offer before coming over to his piece of floorboard.

"Look sharp out there, Reaper!"

"Slaughter him!"

The crowd continued to cheer and jeer behind them, watching these two actors on the stage of death and waiting for the curtain to fall on one of them.

The Reaper and Ivan fought with vigor on the choppy waves, neither of them tiring or showing signs of stopping, kicking up broken pieces of the ship towards each other and slicing them in half when it came their way.

"Think about it, ReeRee," Ivan's sword pressed closely up against the rifleman's cutlass, their blades crossed and strained as they each put their weight into it. "You'll be free!"

"Is that how you see it?" The platinum blond sneered before a boot met his stomach and he was kicked off the plank and into the water. He disappeared under the dark waves.

"Reaper!"

"Yeah, that's more like it!"

"Ha, ya think the water will be his grave?"

"It'll be fitting, that's fer sure!"

"Tino!" Berwald's voice was barely audible among all the discordant yelling on the deck, cyan eyes wide with worry as they scanned the tumultuous waves for a sign of his beloved. But all that greeted him was sea mist wetting his face and smearing his glasses.

Please be okay, please be okay!

All alone and marooned in the middle of the unforgiving sea now, the remaining deadman wasn't convinced his opponent sunk to his death just yet. "This is unusual, why isn't he-"

"Watch out, brother!"

The warning came too late and a hand clawed out of the water and reached up from behind, grabbing Ivan's ankle and dragging him down into the murky deep.

"Brother!"

"Yeah!"

"Hey, where'd they go?!"

The spectators couldn't make out what was going on below the black sea where the underwater battle was taking place.

While their champions went missing, the news of a truce reached the North Sea King and he was in a good and compromising mood. The Red Fraction was on the verge of collapsing and they all needed to head to the surviving vessel if they wanted to continue watching the bloodshed on the high tides. And so it was in the spirit of sportsmanship that he allowed everyone from the opposing crew to board the Draugen. If anything, he kept the other crew alive for the sole purpose of rubbing it in their faces once his Reaper executed their captain right before their very eyes.

The light from the fire on the ship above the two deadmen grew dim under the water's surface, the crowd's faces blurry and unrecognizable. But even in the dark water violet eyes glowed. Their movements were much slower in the ocean, feet kicking in order to propel themselves forward and back, blades clashing underwater. This suited them just fine until the need for air became too much and they had to separate, surface, and climb onto something.

"Eh there they are!" The intermission was over and the audience's enthusiasm was back in full swing.

As for Berwald, Natalya, and Katyusha, they were just glad to see their respective loved one alive.

This whole fiasco was giving the Swede more stress than he needed in a lifetime, his heart palpitating with each swing from those blades and dodges that were too close for comfort.

Drenched in rain and ocean water, the two deadmen didn't have a care in the world, exchanging banter and slashes from their weapons they held so tightly onto.

"So what do you say, friend?" Ivan tried one more time. "Care to take up on my generous offer and join me?"

The Reaper smirked, violet eyes glowing. "The only thing I'll be joining you in is death!"

The taller man's patience snapped and grin fell. "Then I'll make that happen sooner than you think!"

He didn't move when Ivan charged at him again and brought the sword over his head. Instead the Finn held his forearm up to block it, as though his flesh could stop the blade.

But it did.

Clang!

"Huh?"

Something clinked from underneath the torn black sleeve – a throwing knife. It belonged to a certain someone and was strapped against the Reaper's forearm like a guard. "I learn from the best…I really should be thanking you and your sister dearest for such a marvelous gift," he winked at a surprised Ivan.

A pained grunt escaped Ivan's lips as a direct swing from the cutlass bit into his chest, twisting into his flesh before he could react. "Heehee, I'm flattered-" The same throwing knife that blocked his blow was now lodged in his stomach, stopping him mid-sentence.

The battle was drawing to its climactic conclusion when the Reaper had Ivan the Terrible on his back against the splintered board from the Red Fraction, the other's head planted firmly under his tan boot, holding him there like an animal ready to be gutted.

It gave the rifleman great satisfaction to hear a shriek coming from the ship – the Queen of Blades'.

"Get off him!" She spat and cursed wildly, her aloof demeanor all but gone. "Ivan!"

"Hmm, should I go for the throat or heart?" He mused aloud for all to hear, skillfully twirling the cutlass in his hand.

"Throat!"

"No, the heart!"

"Both are good options…perhaps I'll rip out one and then the other." The smaller male looked down at his victim. "It's what you want, right?"

Ivan confirmed his assumption by smiling up at him and saying "Do it, friend. Kill me…it's what all us deadmen seek." He didn't try to get up this time; it was pointless and the battle has run its course. It was the best fight he ever had.

"And who am I to deny my friend his death wish?" The Reaper raised his cutlass and looked to the spectators one last time for dramatic effect. "…!" Something made him freeze and his blood run cold…something the rain and storm failed to do.

Among the angry and bloodthirsty faces of the pirates on the deck was a tall figure – the man he has been yearning for these past few days. The man he went mad for when he found out he went missing.

"B-Berwald? I…" Something felt terribly wrong…Tino thought something wasn't right about all this. His wicked smile waned and the cutlass in his hand suddenly weighed a ton. The rowdy crowd melted away and he only saw his beloved leaning over the rail, his cyan eyes wide and reflecting a slew of negative emotions – worry, sorrow, panic, but most prominently of all…fear…

Tino cringed under the gaze.

No…don't be upset, Ber

The pirates continued to scream for murder, the man to be murdered himself included.

"End my miserable life and you will become the most feared pirate the world has ever known!" He egged his executioner on. "Give me the perfect end – the sweet release of death by the hands of the Reaper! Free me from my torment!"

There were not a lot of things the Reaper was afraid of, but those eyes looking at him like that was definitely one of them.

Don't hate me, Ber…please don't be afraid

Tino suddenly felt very small in the vast, dark ocean around him. He knew this was wrong, that he didn't want to do this anymore. Lost, he looked to the bespectacled blond for guidance but at the same time feared being judged by those wavering and frightened eyes.

They didn't want him to kill anymore.

He lowered the cutlass.

"I take no merit in what I have done all these years…or what I've become…" The haze that was madness lifted from Tino's mind – he saw clearly now.

"...What?"

The crews behind them had a more hostile reaction.

"What are ya doin'?!"

"Kill him already!"

"Quit screwin' around!"

They were all white noise as Tino focused his attention on the man lying on the piece of debris.

The waves rolled below them, casting them farther away from the ships.

"In fact, I think I might have deserved all the torture you've put me through…it's like a form of retribution for everything I've done."

"You're not making much sense, ReeRee,"

Tino looked at Ivan evenly, calmly. "I forgive you."

The man on the floorboard could only snort in utter disbelief. "How unlike you, Reaper. You never show mercy at this point…you shouldn't."

"I have something to live for now," He shared this miraculous fact before removing his foot from the other.

Ivan's violet eyes went wide, an inkling of hope ebbing into them from those words he never thought he would hear from his fellow deadman. "Tell me, can you really walk among the living again?" His voice was soft with a fragile eagerness of a child.

Tino paused as he stared into the other's face imploring him that what he was saying wasn't some cruel joke. "I'll try…by the gods I'll try…" He turned his head to the object of his affection, his reason for living.

Berwald was standing at the edge of the Draugen, hair damp, glasses spotted with rain, coat clinging to his form and mouth set in a thin line.

Indeed, Tino would try for Berwald's sake. It was for him that the rifleman stayed his hand and stopped himself from being consumed by his own bloodlust.

"But…how? How can the deadman's curse be lifted?" Ivan wanted to know, but he soon figured it out by looking at his friend - that soft and fond smile gracing his face, eyes filled with an affection long lost…

It was love.

He loved the man with all his non-beating heart and shattered mind. It showed in Tino's eyes when he looked towards the taller blond on the ship.

Ivan was jealous.

But just as a calm lulled between the two deadmen, a giant wave loomed over them, threatening to swallow them whole in its watery maw.

"Get movin'!"

"Brother, get out of there!"

"Looks like the gods have a different plan for you," Ivan the Terrible commented playfully, wryly.

They both laughed their mad laugh together over a clap of thunder, sharing one last morbid joke before the wave crashed on their little platform on the sea and swept them away.

"Oi, are ya crazy, lad?!"

"You'll never make it back!"

At this point Berwald could no longer restrain himself and jumped over the rails, plunging into the freezing waters below to come to his beloved's aid. He didn't even know where to start, but swam in the direction where he last saw the two.

"Sister!"

Natalya was doing the same to find her brother.

By some stroke of luck both were successful in their rescue, finding the deadmen drowning not too far off from each other. Through the thunder, rain, and roaring waves they furiously made their way back to the Draugen. Rope ladders were thrown over to assist in the rescue once the pirates on deck realized that not all hope was lost.

Berwald held onto Tino tightly in his arms, the Finn as cold and still as an angel statue.

He's not breathing!

It became apparent both deadmen weren't.

"Brother!"

Without even hesitating, both the Queen of Blades and the Lion of the North performed mouth-to-mouth on their respective fallen champion in an attempt to resuscitate him.

Berwald thanked the gods Ludwig had taught him this technique a while back in case crew members were thrown overboard. He just never thought he had to implement it so soon and on the man who held his heart. His mouth was over the other's still one, the action almost like an affectionate lip-lock. The kiss was salty, and all eyes were on him as he tried to bring the Reaper back to life with his breath. It was because he was in public that his lips couldn't linger for too long.

Please come back to me, Tino! Tino!

And soon enough, the Reaper and Ivan the Terrible came back from the dead like they always did.

"That's enough, brother!"

"I'm all right, Natalya." The captain of the sinking Red Fraction insisted, rising to his feet after hacking out sea water. He clearly wasn't well – his body was riddled with bullets, bruises, and gashes both shallow and deep from head to toe. Blood dotted his long sagging scarf and down his torso where it seeped into the material of his tan coat. The medallions stolen from officers he have encountered and defeated pinned there were stripped from him and some of the man's fingers appeared mangled. "There's still unfinished business I must take care of," He dragged his feet to the other side of the ship where his friend was. His subordinates parted ways to make room for him. "I need to see him…one last time…"

Berwald was relieved beyond measure when the man under him stirred and his chest heaved to cough out the excess water.

"Ber…"

Oh how the Swede had to refrain himself from holding his beloved.

The Reaper slowly rose to a sitting position and saw his cyan-eyed angel hovering over him, hair further damp and dripping after his plunge into the sea. But their reunion was short-lived as he felt more than saw Ivan approach them.

"Tino, you don't have to do this," he whispered, but was hushed by a placid smile.

The bloodlust has left the rifleman.

Gentle violet eyes peered at him, a bloody hand cautiously coming up to caress his cheek.

"It'll be all right, Ber. I promise." With one last smile he got up to meet the other deadman.

Their clothes soaked and heavy on their backs, the Reaper and Ivan trudged across the deck to the center, weapon dangling at their side in their hand. Throughout it all, they never relinquished their blades like true deadmen.

"I believe…this will be our final farewell, ReeRee." Ivan commented lightly as though talking about the weather. His smile directed towards the other was gentle with no malice hidden beneath it.

Ivan the Terrible has lost everything. His ship, the Red Fraction, was in shambles. Once so menacing on the sea, the ship was swaying in its death throes from the violent waves slamming against its hollow hull. Like a burning corpse, smoke and steam rose from its ebony body, disappearing into the equally dark, briny deep below. The proud crimson sails were now torn and ripped from their mast, dangling sadly by their hinges and catching fire at some corners. But soon even the flames died, snuffed out by the entrenching waters. Their belongings, the prison cell with the nice window, all belonged to the ocean's abyss now as the stern of the ship bobbed once, twice, before diving below the surface. Yet somehow the ashen blond felt light, a man set free from his burdens. He could only hope to find that same warmth his friend has found and continue living.

"Yes…perhaps we'll meet again someday in hell, Ivan." the Reaper replied just as cordially between deep breaths. Bruised legs were barely holding him up as he walked, his undershirt sliced open in several places and exposing his wounds to the salty air. He couldn't tell if he was internally bleeding, but it felt like his ribs have been caved in and organs ruptured. But all the same he smiled back at his fellow deadman.

The surrounding pirates watched with bated breath for the grand finale of this fight.

The two took it slow as they heaved themselves over to each other, breathing labored, steps staggered, bodies swaying and weapons barely raised.

"I can only hope…that I'll beat you there. But don't keep me waiting, friend…It wouldn't be fun down there without you!"

"I'm sure it wouldn't be."

Thud.

Thunk.

They were only a foot apart from each other before the steel blades fell and clattered heavily onto the oak floorboards, their owners quickly following suit.

"Ivan!"

"Tino!"

Succumbing to their injuries at long last, Ivan the Terrible and the Reaper lost consciousness and dropped onto both their knees before falling forward, their heads turned to the side so that they were facing each other. Even in the bleak darkness of their minds and with eyes closed, a small smile graced each of their torn and bloody lips.

A wave of clamor rose and fell around the two deadmen as the fight came to its conclusion with the break of dawn.

The rain had stopped, the storm has ceased and the night was lifted by the early morning sun, signaling the start of a new and brighter day.