Is this worth it?
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Chapter 45: Setting Sail For… Port Cecil
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The Dawn Machine's fleet was breaking up. Ships moved away from the main force, some sailing west, some north, while the majority continued sailing east.
Maka's attention was focused on that particular ship that had a heavy blue glow mixed with the usual golden radiance of the ships. Once it detached from the main fleet and headed North, Maka decided to follow after it. The intense blue glow made Maka think the ship must have had the biggest reserve of Mountain shards and that it was the most likely one to guide them to Kid. In addition, Maka felt like she had seen that ship before, though the golden light obfuscated most of the ship's characteristics.
The enemy ship stopped by a cluster of islands covered in smooth and bulbous coral-like material with a sourceless silver shine. It slowed down on the biggest island of the cluster, where a small crystal-made town lay on one side, and disembarked on the opposite side of the island. Its crew left the ship and scoured the shore, picking up big lumps of crystals from the shore.
Maka's ship quickly docked on the island as well, out of the enemy ship's sight.
Maka tackled the Captain to the floor. Around her, the rest of the Dawn Machine's crew was attacked as well, and they soon had everyone tied up and subdued.
Maka gave the Captain a closer look and paused. She had seen the man before, as the Young Captain they had met at the Cumaean Canal, when their journey had just begun. His face and frame had stayed the same, but there was a scar on his cheek and…
His eyes were flecked with gold.
"You're too late," the Brainwashed Captain said. If he remembered Maka and the others from before, he didn't say it. "The forces are already in motion… Soon the Machine will be the only force left on the Neath." He gave Maka a bloody smile. "And in time, the High Wilderness will bow before the Machine's strength as well."
"Not if we stop it."
"You can't. Just give up already. I did." He looked at the crystal riddled shore. "The creature that made these islands has done so as well."
Maka frowned at the Brainwashed Captain. "You know we can't."
"Ah yes, home… The Machine has told us," the Brainwashed Captain said in a low tone, before locking eyes with Maka. "If you're desperate for home, the Machine can return you to your world."
Their silence lasted way longer than it should have.
"Maybe," Harvar spoke up. "Maybe we should…"
"No!" Maka spoke up. "We're not leaving anyone behind!"
"Why not?" the Brainwashed Captain interjected.
"He's our friend!"
"Must be a new type of friendship. One riddled with lies…" The Brainwashed Captain let out a small laugh. "Oh, so many things you don't know, so many secrets kept close to one's chest…"
"The fuck are you on about pal?" Liz growled.
Maka's frown deepened at the Brainwashed Captain's words. Lies…
At this point in time Maka was certain that, even if Kid hadn't directly lied to her face, he had omitted important information from them. But…
"Even if Kid lied…" Maka began. "I'm sure he had a reason." And even if he hadn't, Maka couldn't abandon him, could she now?
"Is any reason acceptable?"
Maka didn't respond.
"Shut the fuck up," Liz pushed Maka to the side and aimed Patty between the Brainwashed Captain's eyes. "The fuck are you clowns planning?"
"Stop them from hurting the Machine."
"The hell's that supposed to mean?"
The Brainwashed Captain shrugged. Liz growled, and her finger slightly squeezed the trigger.
"Where is Kid?" Maka asked, placing herself in front of the Brainwashed Captain. She didn't trust Liz not to make her shots non-lethal.
"Nothing you can do…" the Brainwashed Captain coughed. "It will all end at Despair's fastness… The end of the world."
His voice was airy but carried the weight of a thousand stars.
"Kingeater's Castle."
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Feedback for individual chapters is cherished.
