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Chapter Four
He's a Pirate?!
Commodore Zangulus now received the sword Zelgadis had brought over earlier to the Seyruun mansion. Her father beamed proudly as the new commodore flipped the sword around smartly, displaying his unmatchable skill. How much longer would she have to endure this?
Xellos stood near the harbor, surveying the various ships that he might later claim as prey. "That one over there would be nice," he said, looking at the Dauntless appraisingly. His rainbow-shaped eyes shifted over nearby to a sleek little ship called the Interceptor. His eyebrows arched in interest. "My, my, choices, choices! That one's quite nice too!" he murmured.
Since the Interceptor was closer, and not out in the harbor, Xellos decided to check that one out first. As he made his way over to the ship with a happy smile on his face, his progress was suddenly interrupted.
"This dock is off-limits purple-haired fruitcakey people!" a soldier with blond hair exclaimed importantly. Xellos opened one eye and stared at the man, who was flanked with a young woman.
"I'm terribly sorry, I didn't know," he said apologetically. "If I see one, I'll let ya know." With that, he attempted to board the Interceptor once again, but the girl got in his way this time. He noticed right away that her hair was purple.
"Hey! She has purple hair, and you're not kicking her off the dock!" he complained, giving the blond soldier a pointed glance. The blond soldier scratched his head, a confused look dawning his face.
"Uh, I never thought of that!" he admitted, turning to the girl. "Sylphiel, you're gonna have to leave!"
She stared at him indignantly. "But Gourry dear, I am not a fruitcakey person! Therefore, I don't have to leave! He does, though," she said, pointing over at Xellos. Well, she would have been pointing at Xellos, had he still been standing there. While they had been arguing, he seized the opportunity to board the Interceptor.
"Hey, you! Get away!" Gourry shouted, noticing the Mozoku priest standing at the helm. Xellos looked up innocently as Sylphiel and Gourry charged over to him.
"Me?" he questioned with a stupid smile on his face. "Certainly you can't mean me!"
"Well, I don't see anyone else here, do you, Gourry dear?" Sylphiel said, looking to Gourry for support. He scratched his head and looked around.
"Nope!" he finally said, pointing his rifle in Xellos's direction, who was preoccupied with spinning the wheel in circles.
"Who are you?" Sylphiel demanded roughly, jabbing the bayonet on the end of her gun in Xellos's chest.
"Now, now, let's not get rough!" he said, backing away with an insanely cheery expression on his face, given the circumstances he was in.
"Answer her question!" Gourry ordered, stepping beside Sylphiel.
Both soldiers continued to glare and point their weapons at him, so Xellos sighed and gave up. "It's...uh, what was the name the harbormaster wrote down?...ah, yes! Name's Fruitcake! Or Fruity, if you like."
"What's your purpose in Port Royal, Mr. Fruitcake?" Sylphiel asked snidely, taking a step towards Xellos.
Xellos responded by putting his finger to his lips and saying, "Sore wa himitsu desu!" (Incase some readers aren't familiar w/ Japanese, it means 'that's a secret.')
"We didn't ask you anything about secrets, mister!" Gourry growled, poking Xellos with the bayonet. "Now, why are you here?"
"No lying either!" Sylphiel chimed in.
Xellos sighed. "My, my, aren't we pushy? I confess. It is my intention to commandeer this fine ship upon which we now stand, pick up some pirate buddies in Tortuga and pilfer my measly black guts out!"
Sylphiel gawked at him in shock. "I said no lying!" she exclaimed righteously.
"Uh, I think he's telling the truth," Gourry said as Xellos raised his eyebrows at their stupidity.
"Gourry dear, if he was telling the truth, he wouldn't have told us!" Sylphiel said kindly to her companion.
"Unless he knew you wouldn't believe the truth, even if he told it to you," Xellos quipped in the middle of their discussion. Sylphiel nodded her head in agreement, until, that is, she figured out exactly what he said.
Back at the fort, the ceremony was completed, and now the only thing left to endure was the reception party. Amelia very much wanted a glass of punch; it was so hot outside! Not to mention she was dying from that demon corset and dehydration. The ceremony had lasted just a little over fifteen minutes, after all, and that was over her capacity of endurance.
She had just about reached her destination when a hand grabbed her arm from behind and lead her away from the drinks. She made a noise of sadness as she was dragged away from her prize and forced to stand at the edge of the fort, overlooking the ocean.
"May I have a moment?" Commodore Zangulus asked politely.
Amelia glared at him. "Well, since I'm here already, I guess so," she thought grudgingly, but instead said, "Of course!" However, this overexertion of precious oxygen left her gasping for breath.
"You look lovely, Amelia," he said to her. All Amelia could do was gasp and try her best to smile at the compliment.
"This promotion throws into sharp relief that which I haven't yet achieved," he went on, not noticing Amelia's frantic ripping at her dress to allow air into her lungs. "A marriage to a fine woman!" He turned to look at her, again overlooking her desperate actions to breathe normally. "You are a fine woman!"
"Ick, that's disgusting! I can't marry someone old enough to be my grandpa!" Amelia thought, but could not manage to say anything out loud. Zangulus turned away, a blush lining his face.
"I...can't breathe!" she managed to sputter out before fainting and falling over the side of the fort towards the crashing blue waves below.
"Yes, I'm rather nervous myself," Zangulus said stupidly, not aware that he was now alone. "Amelia?" he asked when she failed to respond. SPLASH! Zangulus peered down into the ocean below, noticing the large ripples breaking the surface. "AMELIA!" he exclaimed, ripping off his jacket and preparing to jump to her rescue.
Lt. Milgasia came charging from behind and grabbed the commodore before he could leap off the cliff. "Sir, the rocks! It's a miracle she missed them!" he exclaimed, holding Zangulus back. For a split second the commodore stood gazing into the water below, then grabbed Milgasia and charged for the harbor.
"...and that's the recipe for my special soup, strong enough to kill a golden dragon in one bite!" Xellos said proudly before his entranced audience of two. Their mouths were hanging open in delight; Sylphiel wondered how quickly she could whip up a batch, and Gourry wondered how quickly he could eat that entire batch.
Suddenly the cooking lesson was interrupted by a splash nearby and a shout from the fort above. "My, my, who's going to save her?" Xellos questioned, earning dazed expressions from the two soldiers.
"Huh?" asked Gourry, still in soup dream land.
"I don't want to ruin my beautiful hair!" Sylphiel protested, latching onto it protectively.
Xellos sighed and threw off his black coat, gave his hat to Sylphiel and stuffed his other things into Gourry's arms. "Pearl to the navy you guys are!" he snapped irritably as he executed a perfect swan dive from the ship into the water.
Xellos knew he could easily teleport to where Amelia had sunk, grab her, and teleport back to the Interceptor, but that would arouse questions he'd rather not answer, so he did it the old-fashioned way. A few yards off he saw the girl lying motionless on the ocean floor, and he increased his speed to reach her.
The Mozoku priest managed to get a hold on the girl and swim to the surface, but the dress she wore was too heavy and dragged him back under. As he swore colorfully and ripped off the dress, the golden medallion she wore was revealed. It pulsated and sent a curious ripple across the ocean's surface.
Above on the Interceptor, Gourry and Sylphiel noticed this strange phenomenon and cast each other confused glances. "Does water normally do that?" Gourry asked, chin resting in his hand. Before the other could respond, a sudden, chill wind swept across the harbor and nearly blew their hats off their heads.
"Look!" Sylphiel exclaimed, pointing to the dock nearby, where Xellos was attempting to drag himself out of the water without dropping Amelia back in it.
Just as he accomplished this task they met him and dragged her onto the dock. "Uh, isn't she supposed to be breathing?" Gourry inquired, noticing that indeed, Amelia was not breathing.
"Of course!" Xellos snapped, taking out his knife and cutting the strings on the demon corset and shoving it into Gourry's hands. Immediately Amelia came to life, choking and sputtering on sea water as she sucked in that delicious oxygen.
"Never would have thought of that," Gourry stated, gazing at the cut-up corset he held.
"You wouldn't have thought of a lot of things," Xellos commented wryly before noticing Amelia's medallion. He opened his violet eyes in interest and plucked it off her chest. "My, my, where did we get this?" he asked, giving the gasping girl a strange look.
Before Amelia could respond, the sounds of footsteps and swords being drawn came from behind and a sword appeared in front of Xellos's neck. He slowly looked up into the glaring face of Commodore Zangulus. "On your feet!" he growled arrogantly, and Xellos meekly obeyed—for the time being.
Governor Phil immediately rushed to Amelia and helped her off the dock, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders. "Shoot him!" he ordered tightly, glaring at Xellos, who arched an eyebrow in surprise. Gourry, who had been holding the torn corset and was receiving plenty of odd looks, threw it down and pointed an accusing finger at Xellos.
"Daddy, no!" Amelia shouted, surprised at the ease of which the words now came. He gave her a look clearly stating he thought she was deranged from the fall. "Don't kill him, he rescued me!" She added shrilly, quite enjoying being able to breathe while talking.
Reluctantly the soldiers withdrew their swords and Xellos smiled at them, convinced he was safe for now. "I believe thanks are in order," Zangulus said, reaching for Xellos's hand.
"NO TOUCHIE!" Xellos shrieked, recoiling from the contaminated hand of the commodore. Everyone stared at him as though he were insane. "Uh, I mean, sure!" he corrected himself, offering his hand to Zangulus.
Instantly the commodore ripped open Xellos's sleeve, revealing a 'P' branded near his wrist. "Pirate, are we?" he asked, knowing full well without having to inquire. Xellos smiled, sweat dropping as well. Zangulus continued his inspection of Xellos's arm and found a tattoo of an 'X' and an 'M' on his forearm. "Mozoku, too? Xellos, isn't it?"
"My, my, you're smarter than you look!" Xellos said snidely, taking his hand from Zangulus's grip. "And that's Captain Xellos, please."
Zangulus was not amused in the least. "Well, I don't see your ship, Captain," he said mockingly.
"That's because I'm gonna steal that one!" he said, pointing to the Interceptor. Everyone's eyes lit up in shock that he actually revealed his plans beforehand. "Err, I mean, I'm in the market!" Xellos quickly corrected, putting his hand behind his head and laughing nervously.
Commodore Zangulus then took the liberty to inspect Xellos' effects. "No additional shots nor powder," he said, holding the pirate priest's pistol. "A compass that doesn't point north, hehe!" he added, holding up the 'broken' circular object. He reached for Xellos's sword and yanked it out of its sheathe, the familiar sound of a drawn sword reaching everyone's ears. "And I half expected it to be made of fruitcake," Zangulus commented, making the other soldiers laugh.
Xellos smiled half-heartedly, itching to get his hands around that arrogant commodore's neck and squeeze squeeze squeeze squeeze SQUEEZE!
"You are, without a doubt, the worst pirate I've ever heard of!" Zangulus announced loudly. Xellos held up a finger, bringing the attention to himself.
"Ah, but you HAVE heard of me!" he said in triumph, earning an annoyed look from the commodore.
"Hang him!" Phil ordered, bringing attention from Xellos to himself. "He's a pirate, a Mozoku, and he said he's going to steal the Interceptor!"
"Daddy, NO!" Amelia shouted as the soldiers once again aimed their rifles at Xellos. At that moment, Lt. Milgasia came back from the fort with a pair of irons, ready to clap them on Xellos's wrists. Commodore Zangulus grabbed the Mozoku and jerked him over to where Milgasia was standing.
Amelia followed them huffily, letting everyone within a mile's radius that this was an act of injustice! Or so she thought, anyway. Poor deceived little girl... "Daddy, I protest!" she announced as Zangulus handed Xellos over to Milgasia. "Pirate, maybe, Mozoku, maybe, BUT HE SAVED ME!" she shrieked.
Phil looked over at his daughter, standing defensively in front of the now cuffed Xellos. He was about to inform her that pirates must suffer the consequences of justice no matter what when Xellos threw his chain around her neck!
"Lower your weapons!" Commodore Zangulus ordered, fearful that Amelia might get hurt.
"My, my, I knew you'd warm up to me!" Xellos sniggered. "Now, bring me my effects!" No one made a move to bring him anything but a nice shot in the head. "Commodore!" he said sharply, glaring at Zangulus.
Since he could do nothing else, and Amelia's life was at stake, Zangulus obeyed and called Gourry and Sylphiel forward. They deposited Xellos's stuff into Amelia's arms, and immediately he turned her around and told her to put them back on him.
"Ah, it feels so wonderful to suffer for the sake of justice!" Amelia said dreamily as she slapped his hat onto his head. Xellos face faulted.
"Uh, you're not supposed to be happy about this, you realize," he said frankly as she tightened his belt a little too tight. "Ah, easy on the goods, darling!" This particular comment earned a disgusted look from Commodore Zangulus, but Xellos was enjoying every minute of it.
When she had completed her task, Xellos spun Amelia around and started backing away from the soldiers. "This is the day you will always remember as the day you ALMOST caught Captain Xellos!" he shouted, shoving Amelia into Governor Phil's arms. He retreated immediately, grabbed a rope, kicked a lever thingy, and shot himself up into the air.
Unfortunately, that particular rope was attached to a barrel, and as said object struck the soldiers below, his head got hit with the beam supporting the rope. "Dammit!" he swore, trying to ignore the pain as he swung around the pole.
"Now will you shoot him?!" Phil cried out, hugging Amelia tightly. Instantly all soldiers opened fire on the swirling figure above, though every shot missed its target.
"I could make this so much easier for myself by just teleporting away!" Xellos thought to himself as he circled the post. "But that would take the fun out of it!" he decided, jumping onto a wooden plank, swinging his chain over a rope and sliding quickly down the dock.
"After him!" Commodore Zangulus ordered. "Lt. Milgasia! Mr. Xellos has a dawn appointment with the gallows; I'd hate for him to miss it!" Milgasia got the gist and recruited fifteen soldiers to search for Xellos with him.
Meanwhile, Xellos raced across the bridge after landing, evading shots fired in his direction. He charged recklessly into town, swinging his arms like a broken windmill. Upon arriving in town, he found a convenient hidey hole: a blacksmith's statue. Quickly he jumped behind it and put his sword in the empty hand, as though it belonged with the statue. His ruse appeared to work, for the soldiers that soon passed by took no notice of him. As soon as they left, Xellos came out of hiding but saw more soldiers heading in his direction. Without a second's hesitation he darted into the blacksmith's building, closing the door just as they passed by.
ZX: Well, you got what you asked for: a nice long chapter!
Lina: When am I gonna appear in the story?! Gourry's there, Sylphiel's there, how come I'm not there?!
ZX: (sweat drop) Patience, our dear sorceress! Your time shall soon come.
Lina: Next chapter?
ZX: Err...afraid not.
Lina: DRAGON SLAVE!
ZX: (charred) gasp...review?