"Hello again everyone, I can't figure out the chapter thing yet so I hope I get it right this time. The first chapter was Broken Homeland and the second one is Ambush!"
Chapter 2: Ambush!
The steamship crackshell puffed along, following the southern coast of China. It had now been two days since the villagers left the chaos at Dalian. The sailors were very kind, sharing food and singing songs, but Fai could feel the overbearing sadness in the air.
"What ya thinking lad" came the gruff voice of the captain.
"Nothing Captain Daniels sir," Fai replied staring at a group of huts the ship was passing.
"Now you can't lie to one such as me," Captain Daniels chuckled to him "I've been around enough lads to know something weighing on ya. Why don't ya tell ole Roy Daniels what's on yer mind."
Fai studied Captain Roy closely. "Well I just wondered when you were planning on letting us out of here."
"Ahh don't be letting that worry ya." He said with a wink "While the others may get off at different villages you have the whole trip with me."
"What?" Fai asked whipping around "Everyone can leave, except me?"
"Yep that's right, oh! That reminds me." Roy said as he pulled a sealed letter from inside his jacket. "Yer dad gave me this along time ago, and told me I'd know when ta give it to ya."
Fai cautiously took the letter the grizzled captain handed him and broke the wax. The seal was a green dragon wrapped around a tiny village. The paper was faded and mildewed but the words were still clear.
"Dear Fai,
Though we had a wonderful relationship, i feel that I haven't been fully truthful
to you. If you have received this letter it means that the worst has happened.
The Thanos clan, from which we have opposed for so many years, has come to finish
the job. My son, do you remember when you saw the dragon as a child?
That was your grandfather, the protector of the village before me.
You see son, me and you are not like the rest of the villagers. We
have inherited a legacy that makes us different. Me, you, and
grandfather are all zoatropes, or have the ability to change into
animal form. Thus the Gods have gifted us with the power
to protect our village. This is the legacy that I have passed unto
you. Though you are now alone and confused, trust in the captain
for he is sympathetic in our plight. I leave the safety of the village in
your hands son. In time you must return there and reclaim what is ours.
Your father,
Liau Xenta"
Tears welling in his eyes Fai placed the note before him on the deck. He watched as a few of his tears soaked into the paper. Roy walked over and placed his hand on Fai's shoulder.
"There there lad, your left me in charge, and I wont let anything happen to ya."
"But what am I going to do to get our village back?" Fai's eyes pleaded with the captain "I don't know how to change into an animal or fight monsters."
"Well lad that's what..." Before the captain could finish a dark laughter spread through the air.
"Look at this" came the voice "The once brave people of Dalian village, scattering now that their defender is gone."
The voice drew their sight to a small cliff overlooking the ship. Standing atop it was a smiling man with long blonde hair. His body seemed to move and shift, and as Fai watched, the man's arm broke itself and then rehealed. Someone on the ship cried out and the blonde man laughed again.
"Unfortunately I feel tired, so I'm going to let some friends of mine finish you off." He lifted a large flag that was concealed at his feet. "But do be good little peasants and die quickly." At this he turned and strode off into the surrounding foliage.
"What do you think he meant by friends." Fai asked
Before the captain could answer a thundering cannon shot answered his question. From behind some of the larger islands off the coast sailed a twin masted ship.
"Damn! Pirates" The captain swore "To your posts men!"
Sailors began scurrying about, some mounting rifles over the railing, others hefting oars and anything else they could find. The villagers screamed and hid below decks as the sailing ship closed on their position.
"She's not firing anymore" Roy told Fai, who found himself equipped with a fish cudgel, "That means they'll be wantin ta board us."
As the water between the ships narrowed, Fai watched several sailors panicked and leap overboard. The pirates laughed and jeered at this, throwing insults at the crackshell's crew. Grappling hooks flew from the boarding vessel and dug into the handrails of the crackshell. Though the sailors fought savagely, even if the ones who had jumped off had stayed, they still would have been overrun. As the last of the defenders threw down their weapons, the enemy pirate came aboard. He was a short man that wore a great-feathered hat, and his long black hair fell well past his shoulders. His two bodyguards that joined him were hardened sea-rats, well fit and well armed. As Fai stood side-by-side with Captain Roy, the three pirates pulled pistols and leveled at both of them.
"We've been paid fairly well for your death Captain" The leader of the pirates stated flipping the enormous feather out of his eyes. "You should have stayed in port today"
At this, the boarding parties broke into a raucous laughter, and some of them jeered the now terrified villagers.
Captain Roy simply glared at their leader "You know what?" he asked, "I despise simple brigands, and specially ones who wear hats such as that."
The opposing captain howled with anger, pointed his pistol at the captain, and fired. The pistol shot reverberated between the two ships as Captain Roy clutched his stomach and fell to his knees.
"Well, well, well." The pirate captain sneered "Not much to say now, huh?"
Still kneeling on the deck, Captain Roy managed to look up with a weak smile "I still hate that hat,"
The enemy captain's outrage turned into awe as Captain Roy took his hand away from his stomach. The bullet landed on the deck with a ping, and a loud cracking noise filled the air. Captain Roy fell forward onto all fours and let loose a flood of laughter. The pirates, panicking, started firing wildly at the captain. Fai fell back against the door to the Captain's quarters and stared in shock. Even though most of the bullets hit home they simply ricocheted off or clattered harmlessly to the deck. Captain Roy's laughter started to gurgle as his mouth filled with bubbles. The cracking noise heard in the air made itself apparent as the Captain's shirt ripped off to display a hardened shell forming on his back. As the shell grew, an extra leg grew out of each side of his body. The laughter was completely replaced by the bubbles as the transformation neared its end. Reaching out with his only still human hand, Captain Roy grabbed the enemy captain's head. Struggling all he could, the pirate could not break the vice-like grip of the Captain. The pirate's struggles grew more and more frantic as the arm holding him began to fuse and harden. Finally, with a loud crunch, Captain Roy's arm-turned-pincer slammed home in the enemy pirates head. At the sight of their now headless captain, the other pirates lost all desire to continue. Breaking for their boats however, they were met with a terrifying sight. The sailors who had "Fled" earlier had simply swum under the enemies' boat and were now behind the pirate crew. To make things worse, each one was in the form of a fearsome beast. In the stern, a mighty polar bear backhanded a pirate over the railing, in the bow; a turtle snapped another in half. In the center of the ship, an octopus held its own against four pirates armed with cutlasses. At the sight of this, the remainder of the boarding party ran for the nearest railing and dove overboard. Captain Roy still in his beast form, scuttled towards the railing, and with a mighty crash drove his clawed fist through the enemies' deck. The might of the king crab did not diminish as the claw continued until it broke through the bottom of the ship. The crackshell's sailors withdrew and the enemy ship began to tilt and plunge into the water. Pirates screamed of monsters, dove overboard, and swam for the nearest land. As the last of the ship drifted below the surface, Captain Roy and the sailors began their change back into human form.
"Wow that was amazing!" Fai exclaimed to the human-again Captain Roy.
"Oh that eh," The Captain stated trying on his new hat, "Well why else do you think your dad put you 'ere, ta train ya of course."
With that Captain Roy flicked the enormous feather out of his eyes and marched to the helm.
"You had best get some sleep, Fai, you begin training tomorrow."
"Well theres chapter 2, sorry for the wait but my stupid disk decided it couldn't find my story. Anyways thanks to Anasazi and Macky for the reviews, hope you enjoy."