Chapter 30: The End of Captain Matt Zero
Onboard the Poseidon once again, Matt and the majority of the group that had gone to the island save for Malcolm and a couple of deadweights emerged onto the deck with a great deal of splendor.
"Good to know we've made it back in one piece," Creighton celebrated.
"And the best part is we've got the heart," Willaby added. "And by the time Rommel finds out, we'll be clear and gone."
SPLOOSH
As if on cue, the infamous Gladius Divinum emerged from the ocean depths, its oars at the ready. Willaby simply bit his thumb again as Matt looked onward off the side of the ship, caressing the jar of dirt containing his prize. A plethora of monstrous seamen roared and shouted out at the residents of the Poseidon, just as the Gladius' captain rose up on deck.
"I'll handle this," Matt nodded to the others as he watched Rommel approach the side of his vessel. Then he held up the jar of dirt in the air and called out, "Oi! Hope you're not missing anything!"
Rommel looked over at the spectacle Matt was making. He pulled out of his jacket pocket the small piece of parchment that contained the drawing of the key, the key which was now stuck safely inside the chest onboard his vessel. He looked up at Matt and held up the parchment.
"You best be wise to the error in judgment you've made if what's inside that jar is what I think it is," Rommel called back. "I see my key's been returned as has my chest. I'm willing to let this all go, water under the bridge, if you're planning on returning the heart back."
"Is that right?" Matt remarked. "Well between the two of us, I believe I'm in the better position to negotiate! After all, I'm the one with the jar of dirt!"
"I'll pretend you've lost your mind inside that jar," Rommel called back, "and if it happens to be my heart, I'll soon be scraping out your skull to make sure all of your brain takes its place. Though I don't expect it will take up so much space."
"Give it your best shot then," Matt taunted, holding the jar aloft. "You can't touch it as long as it's here, and by proxy you can't touch me either! So unless you've got a better negotiation tactic than standing there demanding for your heart back, I suggest you start listening to my demands!"
Rommel grimaced at first. Then his scowl turned upwards into a cruel smile, as he turned to one of his crewmen, and ordered, "Sink it."
Almost immediately the oars on the sides of the ship were drawn inward and replaced with cannons. Matt's gloating smile quickly transformed into a worried frown as his moment of triumph turned into a sour situation. He turned to look over at Willaby and with quiet desperation muttered, "I may have vastly underestimated the gravity of the situation."
"HARD TO STARBOARD!"
The crew ran furiously and worked faster than they had ever worked before, just as the Gladius' cannons began firing off. Several shots connected before the turn, rocking the vessel and knocking Matt off-balance, which in turn caused him to drop his jar of dirt. The contents of the jar spilled out onto the deck as the jar crashed, giving Matt great cause for concern. He frantically raced down to the deck and started searching through the dirt.
"Where is it?" he asked himself as he continued searching. "Where's the heart?!"
As Matt continued his desperate search, the rest of the crew sought to escape the wrath of Rommel's cannon assault. Turning the ship starboard, the crew raced about and worked towards increasing their speed as several more cannons fired off. Soon the Poseidon was sailing away from the Gladius Divinum and its volley of cannon fire, and even sooner were they out of range of the cannons.
"They're not trying to pursue us?" Izzy asked.
"Aye, the Gladius knows its limitations," Willaby cheered. "It's an ancient bireme, its singular sail couldn't hope to match the speed of our multitude of sails, even with their oars."
"So we're gonna escape just like that?" Creighton asked smiling.
"Aye, I should hope so!" Willaby whooped and hollered several other crew who began to cheer their escape.
On the other hand, Matt was now sure of two things: the heart was gone, and they were all about to suffer greatly.
Onboard the Gladius Divinum, Rommel looked onward at the Poseidon slowly sailing away. One of the crew members walked up to Rommel and said, "Sir, we've got Bonesman at the ready. Are we ready to pursue?"
Rommel simply smiled and turned. "Give em hell."
The Poseidon continued to cheer on its great escape as the Gladius Divinum slowly shrank into the distance. Matt avoided the crowd of cheers and looked back towards the bireme, a concerned look on his face. Andrew soon came up and joined him, an equally grave look on his face.
"It's not over yet, is it?" he asked.
Matt shook his head. "No," he replied. "Now he sends the beast."
At that moment a lone grappling hook swung up between the two brothers and clung to the steering wheel. The two watched the grappling hook for a moment before turning around and seeing a particularly crude minion clamber onboard and drop another one on the ship before jumping off again. Matt's eyes grew wide as he recognized the fallen comrade.
"Bonesman!" he said rushing up to his old friend's side.
Bonesman coughed up a little and groaned in pain. "Matt...I'm sorry," he whispered. "It's all over."
Bonesman rolled over onto his back and proceeded to work on tearing open his shirt, revealing his bare-boned rib cage and a pulsating mark of four intersecting crosses with a skull in the middle. Matt saw this and grabbed Bonesman's hand, holding onto it as the Mark slowly faded away from Bonesman's body and back into the palm of Matt's hand. Once the Mark vanished from his chest, Bonesman found himself breathing more calmly and readily while Matt's hand began to pulse with pain, the Mark etched onto the back of his hand.
"It's over now, Bonesman," Matt said. "No one else should suffer for what I've done."
Bonesman breathed deeply but laboriously as he looked over at Matt. "Thank you..."
Matt stood up, grasping his Marked hand, and looked over at Andrew. "The Dark Leviathan is coming," he explained. "We need to make way for as many lifeboats as we can, get as many people away as soon as we can."
"You know they'll want to stay and fight," Andrew mentioned.
"I don't care!" Matt yelled back. "I've already hurt too many people in pursuit of this heart alone. I won't let anymore suffer the pain of death for it as well."
Andrew looked back, stunned at his brother's reversal. Matt stood there staring back, the pain in his eyes evident not just from the Mark pulsating in his hand but also an unspoken deeper pain beneath. Andrew simply sighed and nodded.
"Alright," he agreed, walking up to his brother and hugging him tightly. Matt worked to hug his brother back as well, the pain being rather restricting on him. Andrew leaned in to Matt's ear.
"I'll need to know where I'm going," he whispered.
"Left pocket, that'll take you to Auntie's," Matt whispered back. "After that, you'll have to go beyond."
Andrew reached into Matt's pocket as instructed and pulled out a small jade jewel that glowed faintly. He quickly put the jewel into his pocket and tightened the embrace for a moment.
"I will come back for you," Andrew promised. "You still owe me a God Card."
Matt smirked despite the pain he felt and nodded, "Get me out of jail for free, and I'll get you to the starting line."
Andrew nodded and finally let go of his embrace with Matt. Matt noticed that Andrew was tearing up a little, something that Andrew took care of quickly by rubbing his tears away.
"You better take Bonesman with you," Matt added. "He'll be able to help you out, I'm sure."
"I'll get him to safety at least," Andrew replied.
"Good."
Suddenly an intense pulse of pain rushed through the Mark and into Matt, causing him to buckle down onto his knees. "It's coming!" he cried out.
Andrew's eyes grew wide as he ran over to the wheel and grabbed it. The crew members looked up to see this frantic motion, with a few beginning to wonder-
"What's going on?" Willaby called out.
"The Dark Leviathan's coming!" Matt cried out.
At that moment, the entire ship lurched into a forced stop as a chill wind descended on the area. Nearly everyone who was standing fell over onto their sides. Andrew attempted to work the steering wheel, only to have no response whatsoever.
"No no no no no no no!" Andrew cursed to himself, attempting to move the wheel to no avail. "He's got the rudder!"
At that moment, out of the depths surrounding the Poseidon rose up several slimy tentacles that began to thrash about, damaging the ship in all kinds of ways and snatching away crew members with ease, taking them back down into the ocean.
"Stand your ground and prepare to fight them off!" Andrew commanded, bringing out his sword and hacking away at several tentacles as he climbed down onto the main deck.
The remaining crew followed, brandishing all manner of weaponry from pistols to sabers to just their bare fists in Joey and Tristan's case. The renewed esprit de corps of the crew emboldened them and moralized them into a revitalized fighting force that worked against the underseas menace of the deep. The clash and struggle raged on for several minutes, the deck and its patrons now littered with blood and tentacle pieces.
After what seemed to be an eternity of fending off the onslaught, the tentacle attack retreated back into the seas, a minor victory in the war to be fought. The crew looked around at their numbers and cheered for a brief moment before Andrew gave the command again.
"Prepare the guns on all sides, I want them fully loaded immediately," Andrew ordered, walking down the deck of the ship and sending crew off to their duties. "The next attacks no doubt going to be bigger and badder, so we're gonna need to get bigger and badder too. Willaby!"
Willaby turned to Andrew and saluted, "Yes!"
"Get whatever remains of the gunpowder and anything explosive you can into the cargo net on the second floor," Andrew commanded. "We're going to need to blow this guy up with one shot."
"But sir! With all of what would be used, we'll be down to only a few barrels!" Willaby explained.
"Then load the rum!"
A stunned silence as the entire crew looked at Andrew and Willaby for a moment. Willaby bit his thumb deeply, nearly causing it to bleed a little, shaking his head about in a great conflict as Andrew looked at him expectantly and unwaveringly.
"Aye, sir, the rum too!" Willaby finally called out, much to the chagrin of much of the crew.
Andrew walked the deck as everyone prepared for the next assault. He grabbed one of the rifles and hustled back up to Matt and Bonesman, the former kneeling on the ground breathing deeply, the latter lying on the ground breathing slowly. Andrew put the rifle down in front of Matt.
"I don't think I can get anyone off this ship right now," Andrew said. "We're going to have to survive the next wave. I need you to fire this rifle at the barrels at just the right time."
"To be fair, I'm a little busy with my pain right now," Matt groaned.
"Don't you give me that!" Andrew yelled at him, a commanding tone in his voice. "Only a few minutes ago were you saying you didn't want anyone else to suffer for your cause, you are not going to back down on that now!"
Matt looked up at Andrew and then back down at the rifle. "You know I won't," he agreed with a nod. "I'll be there at the right moment."
"I'm counting on it," Andrew hoped, heading over to Bonesman and leaving Matt with the rifle. He picked up Bonesman easily and carried him down the stairs and placed him into one of the lifeboats.
"I know you're not gonna move, so I don't think you'll have any trouble staying here for now," Andrew remarked, leaving Bonesman in the lifeboat.
"You know you may not survive this," Bonesman moaned. "The Dark Leviathan will hunt down anyone with the Mark, and anyone who happens to stand in its way will only suffer."
"That's why we're doing that now," Andrew rallied. "That way no one has to suffer."
He turned away and left Bonesman to the lifeboat as he raised his sword in the air. We're going to fight, he thought. I know we're going to fight because regardless of what you've done, Matt, regardless of what's happened - we're your friends, and there's no way we'll abandon you so easily. Even in the end when we will have to leave, we won't leave quietly. We won't go without our say...
"Right now we stand on the brink of death," he began to think aloud, calling out to all the crew. "We face it head on with nothing more than a thought, an idea, a dream. A ray of hope that we will come back from this, that we will rise again to continue this journey. We're prepared to do whatever it takes to keep going, and we're not gonna stop until we see that journey through. No matter what happens here, it is not the end. This is only the beginning!"
As Andrew's speech rang on, several tentacles and now large terrifying limbs began rise up from the depths, representing monstrous hands and claws and paws and all manner of grotesque amalgamations of animals. The crew remained steady as the net containing all the remaining gunpowder and rum remained high above in the air.
"We will not stop!" Andrew cried out. "We will not surrender! To surrender means to end it all, and we will never end it all! We will fight on! We will live on! And we will come back stronger than ever to take you down! Because even if we should fall, there will always be time to stand back up and fight again! And we look at that opportunity and grasp it by the throat because we will fight on! We will fight on! WE WILL FIGHT ON!"
At this moment, the tentacles and limbs had completely surrounded the ship and were preparing to launch their attack when-
"FIRE!"
A barrage of cannon fire burned away several tentacles and damaged a couple of limbs in mere moments of the sword's gleam in the sun. A pained screech rang out as several more tentacles sprang up and attacked the hull of the ship, with the limbs slowly encroaching around the deck.
Matt continued to watch the struggle from on high as he worked with his own struggle of pain. He began to slowly reach for the rifle as the madness and fury of the crew fought back against the raging and terrifying assault.
We will fight on, he thought to himself. My brother did always believe in that...
"You lose again!"
A younger Andrew and a younger Matt looked at each other from across the table again as the younger Matt sighed. "I hope you're satisfied now," he groaned.
The enthusiastic younger Andrew shook his head. "Come on, Matt, let's duel again!" he exclaimed again.
"Isn't this the seventh duel in a row you've beaten me?" the younger Matt asked.
"Well sure," the younger Andrew answered shuffling his deck. "But it's not about winning or losing! It's about dueling and having fun!"
"Well at least one of us is having fun," the younger Matt grumbled. The younger Andrew simply placed his deck down in front of his brother.
"Ya gotta fight on, bro!" the younger Andrew smiled cheerfully.
The younger Matt sighed. "Only till you tire out," he replied, and he began to shuffle his own deck.
Ya gotta fight on, bro!
Matt smiled as he grasped the rifle. I'll fight on because you fight on, he thought, struggling to get a good grip on it. I'll fight because I believe in that hope you believe in. I'll fight because if you'll fight for me, then I should fight for you!
He finally managed to hoist the rifle up and aim it at the barrels hoisted above the deck of the ship. Several of the monstrous limbs slowly surrounded it, beginning to wrap around the crates.
I'll fight on...
Matt cocked the hammer back.
...because we'll always fight on!
BANG
The rifle shot out the bullet of fate, which collided with the explosive net and created a massive explosion that rocked the ship! The limbs were caught in the explosion and burned painfully, some were even torn apart. The debris rained down on the deck of the ship while the shockwave forced off the tentacles on the deck to retreat. Finally, the tentacles and limbs hurried down back into the depths, battered, torn, and bruised.
Matt collapsed onto the ship, breathing deeply as the pain in his hand became overwhelming. Soon Andrew came up and knelt down beside him.
"You did it, bro," he said. "You've saved us all."
Matt simply smiled. "We'll see about that in a few minutes," he replied.
Andrew nodded. "I'll come back for you," he repeated, and he got up and left Matt on the deck.
Coming back down, Andrew gave the command, "Everyone to the lifeboats now! We've got to get going while we have the chance!"
"What about Matt?" Creighton asked.
Andrew looked over at Creighton, and then slowly he looked around at the crew. Clearly they wanted an answer, but he knew the only one he could give was going to be miserable.
"Matt's going to go down with the ship," he answered.
A long pause pervaded through the next few moments as everyone took this into account. The truth was finally becoming clear: the captain goes down with the ship, and the ship was not going to survive this encounter.
"Aye..."
A few turned to Willaby who wiped away his tears and nodded. "Abandon ship," he called out. "Abandon ship or abandon hope!"
With that, Willaby began heading over to the lifeboats, and soon the rest followed suit. Andrew himself headed over to the lifeboat with Bonesman in it and began working on it.
"You believe you can win?"
Andrew looked down into the boat at Bonesman, who looked back in turn. "You know who you're fighting against, and you're going to fight on knowing that?" Bonesman asked.
"It's what Matt would want," Andrew replied as he continued working the knots.
"And what about what you want?"
A brief pause. "Will you get what you want by fighting Rommel?" Bonesman asked. "Will you suffer the same way he's suffered - the same way I've suffered - just to get what you want?"
Andrew looked back at Bonesman with a determined look that took Bonesman by surprise. "This isn't about what I want anymore," Andrew replied. "Because right now, all I want to do is help Matt."
Andrew then continued to work on the lifeboat as Bonesman looked on, amazed by Matt's brother's determination. "Boy's got guts," Bonesman chuckled to himself.
"Cast off and set sail!"
At the call, several lifeboats dipped down into the water and began to row away from the ship. Soon it was all but abandoned save for Matt, who managed to work his way back to his feet with the assistance of the handrails. He stood up and reached for his sword by his side, unsheathing it and readying it. He descended the stairs onto the deck of his ship, and stood there, ready and waiting.
He looked out at the distance where the gathering of lifeboats gathered with the remaining crew of the Poseidon, ready to leave at any moment. He looked out towards the back and saw the Gladius Divinum, still taunting, still lying in wait. He looked out towards the other side where the island with the chest was, and he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out as the creeping heads of the Dark Leviathan rose up from the deep and rose above him. He opened his eyes and looked up, brandishing his sword gracefully.
"Hello beastie," he greeted, and in a single moment, the Poseidon was set ablaze in an inferno to make the legions of hell cringe.
"MATT!" rang out a mournful cry from the lifeboats, who within another instant were gone in a green flash of light.
Rommel watched on as the Poseidon burned away into nothing and the Dark Leviathan drag it away into the depths of the ocean. "And now, Matt Zero, our debt is settled."
A couple of crewmen looking on commented on the events, "Captain goes down with the ship."
"Not even Matt Zero can best the devil."
Rommel cringed now. He knew there was some truth to what Matt said. He had seen the chest, and he knew that it was gone. He clenched his fists and leaned against the rail of the ship.
"Let me see it once more," Rommel muttered grimly. The crewmen responded in haste and quickly retrieved the chest, opening it up for Rommel. Sure enough, there was nothing but mere remnants of what had been in there. Rommel examined the chest again and snarled, "Now who has my heart?"
"Could Matt have had it?" one of the crewmen suggested, to which Rommel slashed at him, tearing him apart effortlessly.
"Where did you take it...where did you take my heart...damn you," Rommel continued on, finally shouting out at the sky, "Damn you, Matt Zero!"
"Lord Montalban! A phone call from our subsidiary over in the Caribbean."
It was a late night for Montalban, but truly business sleeps for no man. He answered the phone from his servant in the midst of his elaborate master bedroom, his extremely comfortable king-sized mattress bed situated in the midst of an ornate four-poster bed.
"I hope you've got something important for me," Montalban yawned lazily.
"I should hope this is important."
That voice...odd, it sounded familiar. Where had he heard it before? "May I ask who's calling me?"
"I worked under your employ a couple years back, but I can understand if you forgot about your loyal friend Malcolm."
Montalban sat up in his bed at the sound of this. "Malcolm? You swine, I haven't heard a word from you since you resigned! What business have you that you should call me now? At this time of night?"
"I've heard you were in need of someone in your employ once again, and I thought I might fill the position."
"I don't know what would give you that idea," Montalban dismissed, shifting slightly. "Perhaps you're thinking of one of the lower end companies-"
"Oh but this goes straight to the top."
A pause followed. "What do you mean?" Montalban asked, and for a moment this was followed by silence and some shuffling.
BA-DUM
Montalban heard the beat through the phone. Was that a heart? He waited for Malcolm to return to the phone, to which Malcolm's voice remarked, "Hear that? That's the sound of the heart of the most vile man alive."
"And what man would that be?"
"Adolf Rommel."
It was quiet in that lowly hut.
Auntie Margareta passed around a few more cups of a special brew of hers to the various crew. After Andrew had explained the circumstances surrounding Matt's choice, the group slunk into a deep depression. For Yugi and his friends, this was not only the loss of Slifer the Sky Dragon but also the sadness of witnessing another's loss for someone they care about. For Willaby, Creighton, Izzy, Shannon, and the crew, this was the loss of a man they looked up to and whose orders they followed without hesitation.
For Andrew, this was the loss of his only brother.
The sorrow hung in the air like a dense fog, trapping within it the mournful tears and heartache of a dearly beloved. Now was a time for silence.
That is, until Andrew finished his drink.
"Alright then," he grunted, handing the drink to Margareta, "who's ready to go save Matt?"
The entire group looked up at him. Willaby stood up and moved over towards Andrew. "Andrew, I know it's hard to accept, but-"
"Willaby, if Matt were saying something along the same lines as what I'm saying, I'm sure you'd say that what was being said was something to not be taken seriously too," Andrew remarked, almost in a manner similar to Matt's. Then he turned back to the group and announced, "I've already got a plan for how to get Matt back."
"Look, maybe death is a bit of a hard issue to take," Willaby began to explain, but Andrew quickly stomped that flat in a hurry, "But he's not dead, is he? Is he, Bonesman?"
The group looked over at Bonesman, who had been able to somewhat recover from his traumatic experience and who now was called upon to answer the question of death. Being somewhat of an expert in the realms of supernatural death and the like, it seemed logical perhaps to ask the one immortal being amongst the crowd about such a scenario.
"...well, he's been transported to the Great Beyond," Bonesman said. "It's as good as being dead, but he'll just live a tortured miserable existence for the rest of eternity."
"But is Matt dead?"
"...technically? No."
"That settles it, we're going to the Beyond."
"One doesn't just simply 'go to the Beyond,'" Bonesman objected. "It's a place beyond mortal thought, beyond comprehension! To even get there, you might as well be asking us to die ourselves! Why do you think Rommel leaves it all to his Dark Leviathan when he's just roaming the seas? It's the worst possible place to go, and there's no going there without the wrath of the Leviathan."
"And I'm willing to bet there's one person with the resources to help us find out!" Andrew replied.
"You don't mean...Montalban?" Shannon asked.
"He's got a legion of global corporations under his wing," Andrew continued. "We can use that information to keep tabs on Rommel, find the best place to enter the Beyond, and all sorts of mystical stuff!"
"Couldn't be any worse than the Shadow Realm," muttered Yugi.
"Come on, guys," Andrew continued, "this is our way to get Matt back, to give him that second chance! If you got the ability to get a second chance, wouldn't you take it?"
"Not for me," Bonesman joked, though he was quick to change his tone when Andrew gave him a dirty look.
"Aye, Matt would help us out if we were trapped in the Great Beyond," Willaby resolved. "Regardless of who we are, we've got to go save Matt!"
"Den let's go save Matt!" Joey chimed in.
"I guess I'm in on that," Tristan reluctantly agreed.
"Count me in!" Tea added.
"I'll help out too," Yugi nodded.
"Let's go get him back!" Creighton leapt up.
"Let's do it," Izzy gave a firm nod.
"Aye," Shannon agreed.
"That's the spirit," Andrew said, raising a fist into the air. "Now the only thing is to get Montalban's attention, and thanks to my contact, I know just where he'll be."
"Ya know, you never said who dis contact was," Joey wondered aloud, as did many of the other crew members.
"I thought it would've been obvious!" Andrew laughed. "My contact's Kari Asaila!"
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Whaaaat? The author being purposely deceptive to throw people off? No way! Plot twists are so tricky!
...*er-hem* So! Kari Asaila. Originally, she cropped up about the same time my bro thought of the Battle of the Titans pre-arc (I call it that since it has rather little to do otherwise with the main events relating to the Trinity itself...and cause technically that's what it is). She was meant to be the pre-arc's main obligatory obstacle in the tournament, scripted originally to have access to all the powers of the Orichalcos because of her Orichalcos-power-duplicating-medallion. That is, she would have the Seal, its extra circles, access to all the Orichalcos monsters and cards, and even a card version of the Great Leviathan that gets summoned via the Divine Serpent...so that was a little excessive. The weakness was easy enough to exploit (Great Leviathan would need Divine Serpent in the graveyard, so Yami would have used Disappear on it...at least, that was the idea), but I liked the idea of bringing back the Shadow Khan creatures and providing them with the Fiend Generals to power their effects and make them even more formidable. Not to mention the Jackie Chan Adventures reference is more complete with it too!
Curiously, I had plans for the other Fiend General cards to show up, but I ended up not using them. So I've decided to list them out here:
Fiend General Luxuria (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 1500 Atk, 1100 Def, Fiend, DARK
Effect: If "Shadow Khan - Razor" you control inflicts damage to your opponent: it gains 200 ATK.
Fiend General Invidia (Effect Monster)
Level 3, 1700 Atk, 800 Def, Fiend, DARK
Effect: If "Shadow Khan - Mini" would gain ATK by its effect, it gains 700 ATK instead.
Fiend General Socordia (Effect Monster)
Level 3, 1300 Atk, 1400 Def, Fiend, DARK
Effect: The first time "Shadow Khan - Mantis" would be destroyed by battle or card effect each turn, it is not destroyed.
Khan-General Union (Quick-play Spell)
Effect: If you control a "Fiend General" and a "Shadow Khan" monster: all "Fiend General" and "Shadow Khan" monsters gain 1000 ATK, also neither player takes battle damage for the rest of this turn.
Shadow Khan Reformation (Continuous Trap)
Effect: If a "Shadow Khan" monster is destroyed: you can Special Summon 1 "Shadow Khan" monster from your hand, Deck, or GY.
Superbia's Righteousness (Counter Trap)
Effect: When your opponent activates a Spell/Trap card or monster effect: Send 1 "Fiend General" from your hand or your side of the field to the GY; negate that effect.
Next time: we're going back to Domino City! Or more specifically KaibaCorp!
