The ocean, north of Menagerie, nine months ago
Across the water, there was a raucous chorus of cheering, yelling, and roaring. The captain of the small merchant boat shot upright. He threw his coat on and bolted out of his cabin. On the deck, he saw a large, old-fashioned frigate off the port bow. The darkness made it hard to see, but the captain was sure he saw a black flag flying above the ship. It took him a moment to realize that the frigate was on a course directly towards them.
"Pirates! Port side!" The captain yelled, and immediately, he felt the boat below him rumble as it accelerated. "Ready the cannons!"
"Aye, sir!" came the response. The captain looked back at the pirate frigate, staring intently at the bowsprit. There was the shape of a man, silhouetted by an orange glow from the ship's deck. Though the captain couldn't make out the details, he noticed four key things: the figure stood relaxed atop the bow, one hand in their pocket. Their tattered coat flapped in the wind, and their shoulders, knuckles, knees, and feet were adorned with jagged metal points.
"We need to go faster! It's him!" The captain shouted frantically.
"Are you sure, captain?" A deckhand asked.
"Would you risk finding out?" He replied.
As fast as the merchant vessel could go, it wasn't enough. The pirate frigate was rapidly gaining on them, close enough to make out the shapes of the crew. They all looked vicious, hungry, ready. Ready to kill, steal, and maim. As the frigate approached closer, they opened fire on the smaller ship, which returned fire with small arms and a single rotary cannon. It wasn't enough. The merchant ship was hit with a tethered javelin, and all hell broke loose. The first pirate to board the ship, though, was the captain. He leapt from the bowsprit, gracefully flipping in the air and landing in a crouch, right hand still in his pocket. He stood up and swept a lock of dark hair out of his face. His jacket was rough and tattered, faded to a dark gray, with shoulderplates of sharp, jagged metal, worn over a doublet stitched with red. His dirty boots, with jagged metal toes, clicked as he strode across the deck. He spoke.
"'Allo, lads." He gave a smug smile. His voice was strangely soft, almost noble-sounding. The crew of the merchant ship was petrified.
Suddenly, one of them yelled, charging towards the pirate. He ducked under the sailor's fist, retaliating by slamming a fist into his assailant's gut. He withdrew the fist as the sailor tumbled to the ground, four shallow holes oozing blood. He brought his fist to his face, sniffing the metal knuckles. Then, without warning, licked the blood from his fist. He chuckled as his eyes flickered red briefly.
"You bastard!" Another sailor yelled.
"Wait!" The merchant captain shouted. "That's the Shark! If you try to fight him, you'll only wind up making him stronger!" But it was too late. The sailor had already charged toward the pirate, only to find himself impaled on a jagged cutlass. The Shark yanked the sword from its target, licking the blood from the blade. His eyes glowed red once more.
He passed his sword from his left hand to his right, pocketing his left hand.
"Take it all, boys! I want every last speck of dust, supplies, 'n' lien from this boat!" The Shark yelled. His crew roared with approval, leaping from their frigate.
Five minutes later, the merchant ship was empty, save for two dead bodies. The remainder of the crew was tied to the masts aboard the pirates' frigate.
"...why..?" The captain whimpered.
"Why? Heh, no reason, really." The pirate replied.
"No reason!? But-but, with what you took, you could live like kings!"
"Hmm, yer right." He paused. "Tell ya wot, ya can 'ave it all back."
"What?"
"Yeah. We don't really need it. Take it." He cut the ropes holding the captain to the mast. "Ya gotta get it, though. Or, ya can free yer crew and leave it all to us." He tossed a cheap-looking sword to the captain. The captain stared for a minute, then got to work cutting the ropes holding the rest of the crew.
Once they were all free, they hesitated before the plank leading back to their ship. Suddenly, they turned back to the pirates, drawing pistols.
"Just give us our supplies back, and we'll go quietly." The captain said, his voice shaking.
The shark smirked. He drew his cutlass, holding it with the curved edge facing towards him. He flicked it forward, and it bent, segments separating to form a sickle. One of the sailors fired at him, but he merely flicked his wrist, the bullet glancing off his sickle. He moved again, cutting several inches off the pistol's barrel.
"Mistake." The pirate said.
-XNTW-
The deck of the pirate frigate was covered with blood. The captain was kneeling in a pool of it, tears trickling down his face.
"I told ya to go." The pirate said. He sauntered up to the merchant captain. "Now go."
The Shark kicked the merchant captain off the deck of the frigate.
As the captain fell, the pirate noticed… a string around his ankle, leading off the ship.
"Clever," he said. "But not enough," as he was yanked off the ship as well.
The two hit the surface of the ocean, sinking low into the dark waters. The merchant captain looked up and smiled. His plan had worked. He cut the rope and swam up to the surface, trying to escape the pirate. However, as he surfaced and took a breath, a hand grabbed his leg and yanked him back down. He found himself staring into the gleaming eyes of the pirate captain. There was a malicious grin on his face, revealing a row of sharp teeth. Spots on his neck flared as the pirate's chest rose and fell. The merchant captain mentally cursed himself for being so stupid. So the name Shark is literal!
The Shark swam up, pushing off the bottom of his frigate and into the captain. His jagged shoulderplates left gashes along the captain's body, his blood clouding the water around them. The shark opened his mouth, and consciousness left the captain, never to return again.
The Shark burst out of the water, gills closing. He landed on the deck of the merchant boat, jumping from there back onto his own frigate.
"Alright, boys, spin 'em up," he growled, "and toss all that mess over."
"Ye whit?" One of the pirates asked in disbelief. "Ye said ye wanted everything oan that ship 'n' noo ye'r telling us tae toss it? That's th' lest straw! we've pat up wi' yer bullshet fur far tae lang." He pulled a pistol out from his coat, several other pirates following suit. "Tobias Fynn, this ship na langer belongs tae ye. Toss him in th' brig!"
"Wait, wait! We can talk this one out, right?" The Shark asked, raising his hands.
"Nah," the new captain said, clobbering him with the butt of his pistol. Tobias fell to the ground like a ragdoll.
-XNTW-
Tobias awoke to the sound of fighting. He stood up, hearing the rattling of chains.
"Shit," he cursed, noticing the manacles around his wrists. Before he could think of any way out, the hatch to the main deck burst open and a boy, around his age, flew through, slamming into the ground and backflipping into a crouch. "Hey! You! Help me outta here!"
"Why should I?" The other boy's voice was calm, almost eerie. Tobias couldn't see his face, as it was hidden behind a smooth silver mask, but he could see short grey hair.
"Boy upstairs givin' ye trouble? They put me down 'ere. I want out."
"They were your crew?"
"Used ta be. Mutiny." Tobias responded.
"Fine. I could use a little backup anyway. You can call me Ferris."
"Ferris, eh? Tobias. Tobias Fynn." he said as the manacles warped enough for him to slip his hands out. "Thanks."
"Let's see if you're good at fighting, sharkboy." Ferris said, adjusting the chain at his hip.
Tobias and Ferris laughed at the bloodbath they made above deck.
A/N: Thank you for reading this chapter!
I've been watching more Hololive EN recently. They're all really good! It's an inspiration to weebs like me to see other weebs making a career out of their interests, and I'm hoping I can do something similar in the future. Who knows, maybe I could even be one of the first male streamers at Hololive EN! I guess I should get good at streaming and stuff if I ever want to do that.
Thanks for reading, and see you next chapter!