【51 - Avast ye mateys and Be Ready to Duel Scallywags! The Captain Hook Lieutenant!】
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The savage Anemeon tribesmen handed Meilani over to the half-dozen pirates who'd come in a rowboat. The whole time they'd trekked through the jungle she'd seen the man with the monochrome crimson eyes dropping strands of her chopped hair as they went. How sickening to think it was meant to lure her love to his doom. Kanoa was always responsible and level-headed, but she feared her kidnapping might make him hysterical and rush after them without thinking. It unnerved her how much the dark-skinned lieutenant reminded her of a silent and proficient hunter. When a tribesman shoved Meilani toward the pirates one pulled her in and closely sniffed the length of her hair.
"Now don't ya be any trouble now, sweetheart. Into the boat."
She was lowered between the men, rubbing shoulders with the stinky and dirty scallywags. She couldn't tell which company she preferred, the savage cannibals or these perverts. Then an oar was shoved in her face and they forced her to row. Away from her beloved island they went, across the bobbing salty ocean. Away from her tribe and home. When she glanced backward a wrinkly man smiled with wooden teeth, and behind him she saw the pirate ship. A big wooden vessel with black sails, a skull with crossed cutlasses printed on it. They reached the ship much too soon, ropes were lowered and fastened by the men, then they were heaved up the side and onto the deck. The pirates began to climb over and someone grabbed Meilani's waist, she cried out as she was lifted over. She fell onto her hands and knees, hearing those around her chuckle.
A green parrot flew over her shoulder, sailed around and she looked up to see the door to the captain's cabin open. Out strolled a man in a long blue coat, he had a peg leg and a very wide hat that sported a long pink feather. Something glimmered under the sunlight and she realised he had a hook hand. Even without the navy-blue monochrome eyes it was obvious this man was a lieutenant. For whatever reason - most likely acute insanity - they had a habit of dressing and acting eccentrically. And this one looked like such a stereotypical pirate that he was more suited to a bedtime story picture-book. The green parrot landed on his shoulder to complete the ensemble. Upon seeing Meilani he gave a mischievous smirk, twiddling a thin moustache with one hand and digging into his pockets with the other, fetching a piece of dried cracker and feeding it to his pet. Then he walked towards her, his wooden leg thumping as he went.
"Well hello lassy." He took off his feathered cap and gave her a bow. "Kaizoku Hook's the name, and welcome to this here ship o' mine. Aint she beaut-i-ful?" All he received was a glare that made him chuckle. "Aw don't be like that. I see that's a deck tied to yar ankle there. If yar a good player we might have a position for ya in me crew."
"I would never join the likes of criminals like you." It was a bad idea for her to be so headstrong, but she wasn't thinking properly. His peg leg thumped as he closed the distance to her, that sharp hook resting under her chin.
"Well if that's how it be...?" he whispered.
"Aye." Meilani managed to say back, even with her mind frozen in fear. "That's how it be."
His grin revealed a malicious nature. He turned and thumped to the other side of the deck "take our yarr cards. We settle this here n' now."
Excited murmuring passed through the crew and they backed up to make room. Meilani ducked down to her ankle and undid the zip-lock bag tied there, freeing her deck. She straightened, her hand shining white while his shone purple. Wisps trailed up their arms. Tables appeared as the pirate ship swayed on the ocean.
"Ikuzo!" "Koi!" Ten shields deployed and the captain's grin widened "don't think I'm not aware that ya islanders have fully future decks. I been plundering these seas long enough to put together this here beauty o' mine." With one hand he drew his cards and then slipped them into a slot cut into his hook. He took the first turn, the giant pink feather in his oversized cap fluttering with each mana charge. He added light-dark and then colourless before Meilani started her second turn.
"I cast Faerie Life and boost Arcadia Spark! I'm done."
"Bone Dance Charger! I mill two and gain extra mana. Back to you, lassy."
They had another round of only charging before Meilani went again.
"I cast Hogan's Blaster!" The water spell shone in her hand and the surrounding crew nervously shifted. "My deck is shuffled then I reveal the top card and it gets played for free! So let's see… Dragon's Sign!" A light spell glowed next. "Now I can summon Kirazeus Savark from my hand!" The gold metallica dragon emerged in full glory, its sharp tail ripping a hole in the corner of their black sail. Meilani grinned "I'm done."
"Hm." The pirate smirked as well, drawing his card and slipping it with the others in his hook. With a flourish he charged mana then summoned "School Man! I sacrifice him and destroy your Kirazeus!" A black oozy hedrian that was part-building fell forward and splattered against Meilani's dragon, melting it like acid.
"But School Man requires you to sacrifice two creatures to destroy one of mine!" Meilani protested and her opponent raised a finger.
"Two creatures if I have them. And without anything to burn from shields Kirazeus is lost. Yar mistake."
Meilani growled and drew "I summon Kernel, Blue Stagnation Dragon Elemental!" The water-light creature curled atop its bell, four wings flapping. "Done!"
"I summon… Heaven's Rosia, True Dragon Edge!" Lightning revealed a visored soldier in gold, blue and green.
"A draguner!"
"Ahrr, and with him I bring out Endless Heaven, True Holy Church!" Electric chains whipped open a vortex then a glorious architecture of pearl and gold fell, splashing the surface of the ocean and hovering behind the captain, small waves making the boat jirate. "Now I gain extra shields whenever me creatures die! Yarr up, lassy."
Meilani felt her stomach drop, but she couldn't afford to die here. She'd fight to her last breath to make it home. "Endless Heaven is a strong dragheart… but it can only dragsolution when you have more shields than me. Since you don't have five light mana Heaven's Rosia can't use its mana arms 5 power to give you shield saver, right?" She grinned as his eyes narrowed. "Kernel, break a shield!" The little dragon soared out and spun, its tail whipping through glass. Then Meilani ended her turn.
"I summon Omega Oracle Jewel!" A platinum shield hovered. Meilani recognized it as that god link used by Luano. The captain continued "Heaven's Rosia attacks Kernel." The gold soldier leapt and brought its foot down, shattering the gold bell and slaying her dragon. "Turn end."
"I summon Holyend, Destiny Dragon Armored!" Without another Kirazeus to play she used the creature side of her Now or Never twinpact, a blue blocker with a sword. She drew an extra card. "I'm done."
"First Rosia, shield break!" It punched through glass. "Omega, double break!" The shield trembled before unleashing a wave of invisible power that sent pieces cutting into Meilani's arms. Blood dribbled onto the deck and the surrounding crew chortled.
"Shield trigger! Dragon's Sign! I summon Heaven's Rosia and also bring out Endless Heaven!" Another gold soldier summoned electric chains that whipped into the air and an identical church fell behind Meilani this time, facing the first.
"A-har-har! I end and me Endless Heaven dragsolutions into Neverend, True Destiny King!" The angel command dragon was on 14,500 and towered over the pirate ship like it was a bathtub toy. Could it be what kills her?
Meilani's hand shook as she drew "I cast Faerie Life and boost Lionel! Holyend attacks Omega!" A long blue sword busted the platinum shield, thankfully before her opponent could god link with it. "My Heaven's Rosia suicides with yours and I regain a shield!" Lightning clashed between the two, striking the mast before they exploded.
"My move! And I summon Lionel, Lion Zenith Dragon!" A 12,000 giant arose with six arms and blades of blue glass. Meilani felt her body weaken. Such overwhelming cruelty. To think her own signature creature might be the one that ends her life. The captain pointed his hook "Neverend makes ya Holyend walk the plank!" A terrifying holy rapture smote her last creature.
"I gain another shield!" Meilani shouted once the blinding light had dimmed.
"Yarr turn."
She drew "No charge! And now this time I summon Lionel, Lion Zenith Dragon!" Now her favourite creature came to her aid, rising tall and staring down its twin. But they still weren't the strongest creature out.
+ Fluch der Karibik Soundtrack - 16. South Of Heaven's Chanting Mermaids (Remixed by Paper Diamond)
"God Izumo, Lawless Godkind!" The pre-pubescent boy appeared in platinum armor, with six wings and his permanently bored expression. 12,000 power. "Neverend triple breaks! I tap Lionel and he won't untap next turn."
Meilani cried out but held steady, she snagged the card floating by her face "Aegis Boost, Matchless Dragon Saint!" The serpentine blocker slithered before her.
"Still hanging on I see? But when Lionel attacks I can also tap Aegis Boost thanks to Neverend!"
"I'm not done! Lionel makes all my light cards shield triggers, so I also summon Saizoumist Dolge!" The blue giant landed behind her, its feet making waves that rocked the ship. The crew stumbled and a few fell. Giant hands clasped over Neverend's sword and it hissed. Meilani's graveyard slid into her deck and it shuffled itself. Then she slipped the top card into her shield zone, a panel expanding between them.
"Yargh, I see. Turn end. Now ya must send one of yarr shields to mana."
Meilani deliberated before pointing. The glass dissolved and after seeing it was Aegis Boost she winced. Nothing I can do about it now, she thought and drew.
"I summon... Kirazeus Savark! Neverend is put on top of your shields, meaning he returns to the hyperspatial zone!" At the reappearance of her gold metallica dragon she could say goodbye to his strongest creature. It was squeezed then spaghettified through a lightning vortex. "Next Saizoumist Dolge double breaks!" A giant fist flew down, buffeting air and glass. The pirate yelled and his feathered cap ruffled. The parrot on his shoulder was scared off, flying into the captain's quarters.
"Shield trigger! Oracle Jewel of Control taps Aegis Boost and destroys Kirazeus Savark!" A blue spellbook whipped open before firing a beam that annihilated her new creature. Once more there was nothing to shield burn to save him.
"I regain another shield!" Meilani yelled, her total rebuilding to two. "I'm done..."
"God Izumo attacks Saizoumist Dolge! Lionel attacks Aegis Boost!" More ensuing destruction shook the vessel; the pirates were hugging onto barrels or each other.
"Ugh!" Meilani swayed but still managed to not fall. "I gain two more shields thanks to Endless Heaven!"
"Turn end."
"I summon Jasmine Mist Faerie and Kernel Blue Stagnation Dragon Elemental! I freeze God Izumo! My Lionel breaks your last shields!" Another quake on the water, wood buckling. "As I end, my Endless Heaven dragsolutions into Neverend, True Destiny King!" It was a literal turning of the tables and most of the crew were seething with anger.
"I cast Hyperspatial Guard Hole to turn God Izumo into a shield!" The angelic boy shimmered before transforming into glass. "Now I can bring out Diabolos Double Zeta, Temporal Demon Dragon!" A psychic darkness creature emerged from another electrical vortex: this beast a mutated hydra with purple fire in its mouths. A 9000 blocker. "Then I summon Hell Mission, Dark Armor and end." The dark-armored knight was weak, but a shield saver with an annoying removal ability of its own.
"I cast Faerie Shower!" The nature-water spell shone. Meilani searched her top two cards, adding a Faerie Shower to mana and then summoning "Kernel, again! I freeze Diabolos!"
"Nice try lassy, Diabolos can't be chosen!"
"Tch. Then I choose Hell Mission. Lionel breaks your last shield!"
"Shield saver! Hell Mission dies instead and now I can destroy an untapped creature, I choose yarr Kernel without summoning sickness!" The shadowy knight evaporated and so did one of Meilani's attackers.
"Jasmine, shield break!"
"Diabolos blocks!" The hydra spewed its purple fire and the defenseless little fairy became a smeared ash stain.
"Neverend attacks Diabolos! I use his effect to tap your Lionel and prevent him from untapping next turn!" The holy onslaught blasted the hydra quickly back into hyperspace. "I'm done."
"I cast Bone Dance Charger. I summon Hellborof, Supreme Dragon Edge and bring out Welcome Hell, Supreme Devil King Palace!" A purple plushie wolf with bat-wings called out a dragheart fortress from hyperspace. "With it I revive Hell Mission, Dark Armor and end." Smoke solidified into that pesky black knight. The captain grit his gold tooth, his moves had now become stalling for time and they both knew it.
"I summon Saizoumist Dolge!" Her short graveyard stack shuffled back into her deck once more. "Kernel attacks your final shield and I use Neverend to keep your Lionel tapped!" Another predictable round of shield saver repeated, with Hell Mission dying and taking out Meilani's Lionel, seeing as her Neverend could save itself using True Escape via putting two shields into her hand. "Neverend takes out your final shield and taps Hellborof too! Neither of your creatures untap next turn." The glass broke, the God Izumo popping off the table and into the pirate's hand. "I'm done."
The captain chanced one more draw but when he realised nothing could save him he reached into his coat, whipped out a pistol and thumbed back the safety. Meilani felt her insides turn cold.
"Very well, lassy. This game is no longer amusing."
"Are you going to kill me?"
"Not today. Ya earnt yarself some extra time alive. Now be a good girl and pack up yarr deck."
She didn't have a choice, she was outnumbered and he'd pulled a gun on her. With a scowl she swept her cards together, the giant creatures vanishing "How dishonourable."
"Pirate." He reminded her, then thumbed the safety into place and slipped his pistol back into his coat. "Quartermaster, throw her in the brigg. It's time we set sail for the caves. We'll keep her alive to bait the nature chosen. He's the one General Urobach wants dead after all."
"No!" Meilani screamed as the man grabbed her with strong arms. "Noooo!" Another came to help drag the struggling girl, her feet leaving the ground as she fought, but they pulled her down the steps of the cabin below deck. The door to a cell with criss-crossing wooden slats was opened and she was thrown in.
"Enjoy ya time here, while it lasts!" A pirate with an eyepatch said to her nastily. The two strolled back upstairs and Meilani hooked her fingers through the slats.
She thought of her beloved and how much danger he was in. When she next spoke her voice was soft and betrayed her helplessness "no..."
。
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It was almost sundown when Kanoa broke through ferns into the clearing of his village.
"Kanoa?" A tribesman stopped. "Where's Luano?"
"They took her! Another tribe is here! And pirates too!" Various tribesmen rushed over and tried to calm him down. From across several hutts Heidi saw him and jogged over to join the growing crowd.
"Stop! Calm down! The chief has been sending us out looking for his son ever since he didn't show up for dinner."
The islanders cleared a path as Chief Tenakoto approached Kanoa looking very grave.
"My son?"
"He... we..." Kanoa tried to get his breathing under control. Heidi slid between people until she was close enough to see him. "Pirates came in a big boat and fired a cannonball into Luano's canoe."
"That's the ship we saw on the south!" Someone started and Tenakoto raised a hand to quiet him.
"What was my son doing on a ship by himself?"
"He came to duel me."
"You duelled my son?"
"He won, alright! Then he sailed off and that's when the ship shot him down."
"What were you doing out there alone instead of having lunch here?"
"I needed to think."
"About?" His dark eyes were piercing inside his grave face.
"About whether it was time to give Jupiter to someone else." At Kanoa's words a few tribespeople looked at each other.
"What did you see?"
"Luano was far out by himself, I saw him turning away from the pirate ship. It fired. He dived off before the ship sank."
"Did you see him swim back up?"
"No, we were running from the pirates, and the Anemoens. Please, they took her!" And then Kanoa was given a slap. The chief turned to everyone while Kanoa held his cheek.
"We search the island for my son. Everyone take a torch."
"What about Meilani?!" Kanoa yelled in panic and that feathered headpiece whipped back to face him.
"He is your future chief, Kanoa." And with that he strolled off and everyone immediately busied themselves.
Kanoa was left frozen in shock, still with a hand to his face. Heidi stepped over with alarmed eyes.
"Heidi, please... they took Meilani. We have to find her!"
"I'm way ahead of you. No way am I choosing that dick over her. Let's go!"
The two ran through the harried tribe, jumping over stumps and the circle-pattern rocks around campfire pits. Sticks were being oiled and lit then handed out. Men were yelling orders, splitting up to check different coastlines. Dominic saw them running over and turned.
"We're making a search party for Meilani. You in?" Heidi asked him.
"Alright."
Then Malo appeared at their sides and handed Kanoa a flaming torch "take great care you three. I heard that pirate ship was last seen heading toward the isle caves."
"Thank you, Malo." Heidi said.
"Kīanga teremau atu." He clasped his hands and bowed, giving them some form of blessing before hurrying off to join the rest of the tribe.
"Let's go." Kanoa turned and led the three toward the jungle.
"Do you know where she is?" Heidi asked as they ran.
"No... but Anemeons and pirates on the island at the same time? It can't be a coincidence."
"Okay stop." Dominic said once they were a few feet into nature. They did and Kanoa's torch crackled in the dim. "Where are we going?"
"The Anemeons would never work with outsiders." Kanoa squeezed his chin in thought. "Unless they really have been enslaved by that evil deity I saw. And that pirate who duelled me back then... of course!"
"It's the lieutenants." Heidi realised it the same time he did. "General Urobach has been keeping an eye on you ever since you came back home. They're here to give you the choice: join him or die."
"So if I'm the one they want, she might still be alive. She must be on the island with the Anemeons."
"Or on that pirate ship at the caves." Dominic added. "So what do we do?"
"...another tribe and pirates here. I think there's more than one lieutenant, that's what it feels like." Heidi murmured with a hand rubbing her chin as well. "And if at least one lieutenant was always keeping an eye on you, since Urobach always knew where you were, that means there could be three of them here now. Just like at the coal province city."
"...but if this is just about Kanoa, why so many?" Dominic asked.
"Maybe they're preparing to fight the whole tribe to get to me?" Kanoa proposed and they thought about it, but something still wasn't adding up. "Or maybe they were just in the area. It doesn't matter! With pirates out at sea we cannot leave the island, and with Anemeons in the jungle we cannot hide! I do know a place inland where they may be keeping her but it will be dangerous."
"Lead the way." Dominic said and they began running through the jungle once more.
It got darker as the trio went, stars dotting the sky through the overhead canopy. Suddenly Kanoa stopped and lowered the torch. He crouched down to pick up a small lock of hair.
"She's here..." His voice was empty as he rolled it between his fingers. He stood "Be careful as the jungle gets denser, there's more poisonous plants and animals in these parts. When I put the torch out we have to sneak as quietly as we can. Just like hunting, got it?" After Heidi and Dominic nodded they pressed on.
They were heading into the deepest part of the island. After some time it became swampy, with fireflies buzzing around. Kanoa extinguished the torch in the muck, they wouldn't need it for him to find their way back to the beaches after all. All three were creeping quietly and when Heidi saw bronze skin with red body-paint she clasped her mouth, stopped and grabbed Kanoa's arm. They paused and crouched down, seeing a wandering Anemeon who hadn't noticed them yet. Through the leaves eyes suddenly opened on a rockwall. It was another Anemeon covered head-to-toe in clay for camouflage, but he too hadn't seemed to have noticed them, scanning the jungle instead. A snake slithered along a branch above his head.
Carefully the three of them continued. Tip-toed and turning their feet as they went, like they'd learned. In a few more meters they saw an ancient Aztec-looking temple. It was yellowed and crumbling from age, moss and vines infesting the cracks. Much of the staircase was eroded, and so were the faces of the tiger statues either side.
"...that was built by the tribe who lived on this island before mine came here by boat, many thousands of years ago. They were true savages just like Anemeons." Kanoa whispered.
"So they're in there." Dominic nodded. "Let's go back and tell the rest of the tribe." He watched Kanoa and Heidi face him instead. "You don't seriously want to go in there alone, do you? What could the three of us do against all of them?"
"I'm not leaving Meilani. You two can go back." Kanoa decided.
"I'm not leaving Kanoa." Heidi said. "It took too much effort to find you just for us to be separated again."
Dominic went to speak but froze. They heard a strange bird-call that sounded suspiciously like a guy making noises between his hands.
"They've found us." Kanoa leapt up and ran for the temple. Heidi followed suit. Dominic cursed and went after them.
Behind they could hear others leaping out of bushes. The three ran up the worn steps, careful of the loose chunks and tripping roots. Then they turned into a hall lit by torches in brackets and they sprinted. Heidi was vaguely reminded of running through the underground Dawn of the Phoenix temple, only this one was the colour of sponge with entire sections of ceiling missing and vines encroaching on all surfaces. Something whizzed over Dominic's shoulder. Then another bounced off the wall by Heidi's head. Blowdarts.
They rounded a corner and there stood a slim man with an empty face and a bone piercing through his nose. Heidi growled and swung her head into his chin. He went back and she swept her leg, tripping him. Then she lashed a kick at his face that knocked him out.
The two boys stared at her as she shook off her leg.
"I'm outta practice. Come on." Heidi led and they took off once more.
Ahead another tribesman in red body-paint stepped out from a hole in the wall, that same hollow expression. Dominic charged this time, ducking under the spear and hitting the guy with several boxing punches until he slid down the wall and sagged. They stepped through the hole just as more blowdarts started to fly. This isn't so bad, at least there's no-
"Trap!" Kanoa grabbed them both and they dangled over a spiked pit before he hauled them back.
"This way!" Dominic yelled and led them down an adjacent corridor.
They sprinted up its length and it seemed they weren't being followed. A loud thud quaked the ground as a huge boulder fell and started rolling toward them. If they turned back they'd never outrun it, but Heidi glimpsed another corridor coming up ahead.
"Nobody stop!" She yelled and powered forward with all her might, feet slapping against the floor.
Despite their instincts the three ran directly toward the spinning boulder, and just in time they managed to side-step into the other corridor and watch it roll past. They were panting as Kanoa tapped them and pointed ahead. This corridor lead to an open chamber without a roof. There they could see a wooden, human-sized bird cage with a prisoner sitting down and facing away from them. Kanoa bolted and they followed suit. Running along giant tiles with ancient crocodile etchings, cracked and riddled with vines.
Then the starlight brightened as they breached the opening. Another wooden cage fell over them with a crash and the three grabbed it and shook.
The other prisoner turned from his cage, but it was Luano instead of Meilani. Slow clapping brought their attention to steps, where a big dark-skinned man with monochrome eyes walked over. At the sight of that featureless crimson Heidi felt herself tense right up.
"What the hell is this?" Luano said. "A rescue attempt with just three people?"
"Well you weren't the prisoner we were hoping to find..." Heidi mumbled.
"Where is she?!" Kanoa demanded of their captor.
"Not here." He stopped "I am the greatest hunter of all the lieutenants and you chosen, were my hunt." He stood with arms behind his back and wore a satisfied smirk. He had the red bodypaint patterned differently, triangles on his face and chest. He wore the same tribal leaf-clothing as them. There were no freakish piercings and he was obviously not one of the Anemeons even if he was leading them. Kanoa seethed. The lieutenant noticed Heidi and then his smile dropped. He came right up to the cage "you're the fire chosen! How are you alive!?"
"Urobach failed. He didn't kill me or Amira with that atom bomb. The chosens are all still alive! You hear!"
"Well you won't be for long. Stick around, I got some reports to make." He turned away.
Kanoa shook the cage again.
Heidi slinked down until she was sitting on the ground "so now we're captured? Meilani must be with the pirates after all."
"Dammit!" Kanoa yelled and shook the cage some more before flinging himself away.
"The tribe must be about to find us soon, surely." Luano said, on his knees and peering at them.
"I doubt that." Kanoa said.
"But I'm sure my father's got them all looking for me?"
"Yes. And they're searching all the beaches you might've washed ashore at after I told them your canoe was struck down by a cannonball."
"Wonderful." His brattish attitude returned as he faced away and leaned back. "Well since they're only after you the rest of us might still get released."
"The Anemeons are going to eat your heart in order to feel closer to their savage gods and you know it." At Kanoa's harsh words Luanoo started bashing his head back into his cage with frustration.
Heidi sighed and it sounded like defeat "somehow everything always ends up like this. Getting held prisoner by people and organizations stronger than we are."
"Guys, shhh." Dominic finished his looking around and crouched down. He opened his deck pouch and revealed a pocketknife.
"You had that on you?" Heidi felt hope crash back into her like a tidal wave.
"What?" Luano said from the other cage. "What's he got?"
"It was my father's." Dominic said to Heidi with cool dark eyes. She said nothing and nodded.
Kanoa stood around Dominic, trying to hide him from any who might be looking from the above space as the crouching boy started to saw at the branches bound together to make their prison. Hope was not lost yet.
『AN: Splitting arcs into quartiles seems to be something I've been doing in my head, but it is a good way to go for reaching milestones and such. If the first quartile of nature arc would be the "Heidi finds Kanoa" quartile and the second was "finding emotional healing" quartile, then this third one is probably "the lieutenants attack!1!1" quartile. With the final going to be "absolute CHAOS" quartile. Anyways I give myself pats on the back for getting this done, but this semester's exams are fast approaching and I probably won't write again until they're over. Thanks!』
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