"Well, are we just going to sit here, or are we going to fight?" Krystal spoke up.
"Wait," Carter held up a hand. "We're still missing something. How did he get that letter? Is the Armada here?" Everyone remained silent, a little afraid of what the answer may be. Carter shook his head. "I knew they would come eventually. Avery can't hide his precious island from their empire forever. If they're here, we'll just have to train harder. We have to be ready." He said, unease in the tone of his voice. "Let's go do what we came to do."
Carter stood and lead them into battle. As soon as the cutthroats saw them, they ran to defend their campsite. The cutthroat that stood before Emma was much bigger than her and appeared much stronger than her. She gulped, trying to ignore her pounding heart. She swung her sword at him before he could start and cut into his arm. He grunted then took his sword and swung it at her, but she dodged before he could hit her and she took the opportunity, while he recovered, to attack, stabbing him in the side. He howled in pain, grabbing his open wound. Emma gasped, taking the sword from the side. Her hands shook and she watched him writhe in pain, but still manage to lift up the sword to swing at her again, much slower. Dismayed by the blood, Emma stepped back.
"Emma! End it already!" Came Carter's shout. Emma took the sword and squeezed her eyes shut tight, quickly ending the battle by jabbing the blade into his heart. She gagged as she pulled the sword out and he fell to the ground. She opened her eyes slowly and dropped her sword when she saw the blood. Her stomach twisted into sick knots. She held her hand to her mouth in shock. She looked around at everyone still caught up in their own fights and spotted Carter fighting Fin. How is he able to do this? She wondered. How are they all able to do this without a second thought?
Emma picked up her sword again shakily and headed over to join Carter. His sword was locked with Fin's blades, but Emma took a hit at Fin's legs and he stumbled with a deep grunt. Emma forced herself to fight as she swung her sword at him and Carter knocked the blades out of Fin's overwhelmed hands. He stopped and backed away, hands in the air. The others joined them, having felled their opponents and surrounded Fin. "Alright, alright," he said. "I surrender, ok?"
"What are you doing here?" Carter asked fiercely. "Why do you have a scroll marked with the symbol of the Armada?"
"Why should I tell you?" Fin said, unphased.
"I'll rip you open without hesitance if you don't answer and my friends will ensure you can't run away or fight back," Carter threatened him.
"Fair enough," The shark said. "But you won't like what I tell you."
"Spit it out already! We don't care!" Luke shouted. The cutthroat captain seemed to glare at him.
"Deacon asked me to retrieve an item from this puny island," he said. "Met me in Scrimshaw and instead of arresting me or killing me like he did with all the other pirates, offered me a deal; if I do this job for him, he'll turn a blind eye and allow me to escape before tracking me down again. Sounded like a good deal to me, after all who wants to rot in a filthy prison in Cadiz?"
"What was the job? What item did he send you for?" Carter asked, intensity not leaving his voice.
"He called it a Fragment Of Azteca. It was just a tiny, broken piece of gold. I don't know much about it, I actually thought of stealing it and running away with it until I got this letter. It's almost as if they have spies everywhere. They knew everything I was doing and every choice I made. If I took the gold for myself, they would have me murdered on the spot." Fin told them. Maddie and Emma exchanged a worried glance. It was exactly as Madeline had suspected. "That's all I know about it, ok? That's all they told me."
"Wait," Carter took a slight step back, his voice softening. Emma looked cocked a brow, turning to him. "You said they were in Scrimshaw, what were they doing in Scrimshaw?"
"You didn't hear?" Fin looked up at Carter and when the Swashbuckler shook his head, he laughed. "Scrimshaw has been overtaken. The Armada now control Scrimshaw. They came in and arrested and killed a bunch of wharf rats and other pirates. I just happened to be lucky. Tradewinds Skyway is no better. It's a little less than a warzone. The dogs of Port Regal are trying their best not to be overthrown, but with the stormgate to Valencia in their skyway, they've pretty much already lost that battle. The Scurvy Dogs and Monquistans and the Rojo Fleet are all trying their best to retake Scrimshaw, but all has pretty much been lost."
"Wh-what?" Carter took another step back. Emma looked at him, his eyes bugging out of his head. "B-but that's a pirate hub! How could we have lost it so quickly? A-and the Monquistans and Marleybonians, wouldn't they have fought back if they saw the Armada's navy coming in?"
"What would have happened if they did, young pirate?" Fin asked."That's not a battle anyone wants to step into."
"N-no," he ran his fingers through his hair, bewilderment evident on his face. "What about Flotsam?"
"Flotsam is fine as far as I can tell, but they're probably next." Fin answered. Carter shook his head, obviously shaken.
"Where is this fragment?" Madeline asked, stepping up for Carter. Fin looked at her.
"Wouldn't you like to know, honey?" He said, teasing her. Luke stepped forward as Maddie blushed.
"Watch your tongue unless you want to lose it," Luke hissed.
"Fine, I don't know," He said. "I haven't found it yet."
"We need to find it," Carter said, finally. "We need to get it before the Armada does."
"What about him?" Anna asked, concerning Fin.
"Got something against Cutthroats, cutie?" Fin asked, making Anna really uncomfortable.
"Can we please throw him over the cliff?" Luke demanded, anger growing.
"No," Carter shook his head. "We need to take him back to Avery. He may still be useful. Where is the fragment said to be?"
"In the cave," Fin nodded to the Skull Cave. "It should be in there."