Happy Halloween! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

"You, stupid, headstrong, IDIOT!"

I couldn't help but wilt a little bit under the fearsome glare that Jeanne d'Arc was giving me. Everyone else, even Mordred, were off to the side, some of them leaning against the mountainside. Everyone was watching the two of us with morbid fascination, even those who pretended to not be doing so.

When we had emerged from the underground complex of the labyrinth, I had immediately been confronted by the blonde Ruler. Gauntlet-clad hands on her hips, her jaw stuck out in a stern frown, her turquoise eyes bearing down on me.

Shiiiiiit….she and the others heard the fighting, didn't they?

"There wasn't exactly much of a chance to get ahold of you guys?" I tried weakly, and Jeanne arched an eyebrow as she crossed her arms, unimpressed by my answer.

"Two words. Command. Seals," the Ruler said in a flat tone, and I winced.

"Okay, okay, I forgot. In my defense, though, even if I had called you and the others, there wasn't enough room for everyone to fight. Besides, it worked out in the end," I said softly. Jeanne's brow furrowed deeper with each word I utter. She started to open her mouth when we were interrupted by the sound of metal moving.

"Hey, Ruler. Relax. As you kept saying, I would sooner die than let our Master get hurt. Even if he's prone to being an idiot at times," Mordred said, finally coming to my side. Jeanne huffed and turned around. "You made your point clear, so let's move on. I'm sick and tired of being on this island," Mordred said with an unusual mixture of diplomacy and bluntness.

Another unexpected thing about the Saber: Mordred had a decent Charisma rank. Though she rarely used it, apparently, she decided this was one of those times. I shot my partner a thankful nod, and she just shrugged it off.

Jeanne remained silent, before exhaling loudly. "You're right. I'm glad you are okay, Master."

"Okay, now that y'all have finished your little chat, can we get a move on?" Drake drawled, and I blushed. This was why I preferred to have this type of discussion held behind closed doors. Oh well. What's done is done, and while I can tell that Jeanne was still irked at me, she was calm enough to not blow up again or something.

"Absolutely"

It was about one in the afternoon when we finally returned to the beach. Nothing had happened during our prolonged absence, and Drake's subordinates who were waiting aboard the Golden Hind began waving excitedly at their leader. While I couldn't make out the words, the bay echoed with excited and rowdy voices.

I smiled and shook my head at the sight, before focusing on our guests. The girl and her Berserker mount made their way over to the water's edge. Asterios bent down, and the gorgon daintily dismounted from her perch on his shoulder. The Berserker then took a few steps into the water, then stood still.

"All right. Remove the Bounded Field, Asterios," Euryale commanded regally, and the Minotaur nodded.

"Under…stood…" Raising his arms to the sky, as if holding it up, he closed his eyes and breathed in sharply. Then, without any warning, he released a mighty roar. Drake and a number of the other Servants nearby actually jumped into the air, so startled were they. His task finished, Asterios and Euryale rejoined us.

"Geeze, big guy! If you're gonna shout like that, tell us first!" Drake said, rubbing a finger around in her right ear. Asterios said nothing, but he did look to the side a bit sheepishly.

"There," Euryale interjected, gesturing towards the Golden Hind. "The Bounded Field has been removed. Now, let's go." Asterios smiled excitedly, nodding his head rapidly.

"Mm!"

"At this rate, I'm not sure what's worse, the ocean or dry land," Mordred muttered as we began boarding the rowboat. I gave her a comforting nudge with my shoulder, and she relaxed slightly at the gesture.

"Don't worry. Once we find and retrieve the Grail, you'll be on dry land for quite some time. Gotta admit though, I wonder how well Drake's crew is going to react to our new friends here."

"He's huge! Huge!" One pirate exclaimed, trembling slightly as Lu Bu helped pull Asterios up onto the deck. Well, at least they weren't disappointing me. Or drawing their weapons and acting all hostile like they kinda had when we had been Rayshifted onto the main deck of their ship.

"And scary!" A second pirate chimed in. A sweating Bombe turned to look at Drake with an incredulous expression on his face.

"Boss? Are we taking these two with us as well?" The one-eyed ruffian asked. Bombe slapped the back of his head slightly, rolling her eyes before glaring sternly at the assembled crowd.

"What's this whole 'scary' nonsense! You guys are veteran pirates! Act like it, for god's sake. Yes, these two are our guests now. Erm, mind introducing yourselves?" Drake asked, looking at an unamused Euryale and her companion. The gorgon rolled her eyes dramatically before answering.

"Remember!" She said loudly, enunciating each syllable of the word. "I'm Euryale. And he is Asterios. Just so you sorry lot of brigands know, we're like these two's companions over there," she said with a smirk, waving towards Rits and I. She then frowned, placing both hands on her hips and glared at the assembled pirates. "If you touch me, I will beat you up. Got it?"

"How aggressive…" Mash whispered to Rits and I. I grunted while my friend nodded. Euryale turned around and smiled sweetly at us, though I wasn't fooled for a minute to think she held any sort of affection towards us.

"With matters like this, it's better to make things clear from the start."

"Okay, well now that's been taken care of, get to it, lads. It's time to set sail again!"

About five minutes later, and we were once more at sea. The helmsman was following a path Drake had charted, referring once more to the map that Eric's ship had held. Meanwhile, Drake's crew had eyed the gorgon and the Minotaur with nervous and suspicious looks, but kept quiet for a bit, focused more on their various tasks, and also not eager to draw the reprimanding words of the pink-haired pirate captain.

Said captain was currently leaning against the railing besides us, smiling faintly as she stared at the bright blue waters we were on top of. "Good weather, low waves. The whole thing with the island aside, it's a really good day! Days like this make me want to grab a drink."

"…Isn't that every day?" Mash said rather dryly, arching an eyebrow. Drake slapped the railing with a toothy smirk, throwing her head back and laughing.

"Hahaha! You're right!"

"I think I have found a soul mate," Jing Ke slurred happily, holding a half-filled tankard up before downing it. I chuckled quietly, shaking my head at the antics.

"Anyways," Drake said, turning around and leaning her back against the railing with crossed arms. "According to that map, the next island is only a bit further to the west of us….huh?" Drake said, closing her eyes and sniffing the air briefly.

"What's up?" I asked, curious to hear what the scarred woman had been distracted by. Opening her eyes, she shrugged with a lopsided smile.

"Nothing too bad, per say. The wind just changed directions. There might be a storm later." Mordred groaned, clearly not looking forward to experiencing such an event. I felt her discomfort quite plainly. Excuse the pun, but I was in the same boat as her in this case.

"Wouldn't that be considered as something bad?" Marie politely inquired. Drake shrugged it off with her trademark laugh.

"Maybe for a bunch of rookies, but this'll be nothing for us! Lads, get the freight and food organized. I want our cannons to be secured! Get to it!"

"Aye, Captain!"

Over the sound of Drake's comrades rushing around to fulfill her latest set of instructions, I started to hear the faintest hints of a song, coming from near the bow, fairly close to where we were standing in fact. Looking in that direction, I saw Asterios wandering over to a singing Euryale.

"…..Song?" He said in a low, rumbling voice. The gorgon jumped slightly, before quickly recovering, adopting a nonchalant posture.

"Oh, did you hear that?"

"Yes," the Berserker grunted.

"Well, fine then. I'll let you hear it as a special treat." With that, Euryale continued singing. As much as I disliked the tiny Servant, she definitely had a fine set of pipes. I couldn't help but wonder if the whole story of the sirens were in fact inspired by Euryale. Drake also listened in, and when she had finished, Drake clapped loudly.

"I like it. Beautiful songs are so soothing."

"Oh, Captain Drake. I don't remember giving you permission to listen," Euryale said with a slight frown. Drake smirked, waving a hand dismissively.

"Oh, don't be like that!" Euryale sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Fine, but it's not something you get to hear often." She paused, smirking deviously. "Be grateful, and listen to the music of a goddess." With those words, she began singing again. It must have been five minutes or so by the time she was wrapping up. Mash's eyes were closed, and the Demi-Servant looked completely at peace.

"It's a beautiful song," she said to Ritsuka and I. Her animal companion chirped heartily from his perch on her shoulder. I grunted. Yeah, I felt that she was quite a brat, but damn, she sang well.

"There, the end," Euryale said, basking in the thunderous applause. I raised an eyebrow at seeing a weeping Amadeus clapping enthusiastically, the composer looking like he had found religion or something in Euryale's voice. Next to him, Marie was alternating between clapping and rubbing his back, and pulling it off with a surprising display of grace and skill.

"Bravo, bravo!" Amadeus managed to say. On the other side of him, Nero's ahoge (another term Ritsuka had taught me) bounced up and down.

"Umu! Truly a voice of a goddess!"

"Hmmmmm," Asterios hummed happily. Mash stepped forward as the small crowd of pirates and Servants began to break up, and Euryale looked at her.

"Euryale, I have a question. Why are people chasing after you?" The Servant wrinkled her nose at Mash's question, her lips curled up in disgust.

"My, you sure know how to open up old wounds," the gorgon said as she shook her head with a sigh. Mash bowed her head apologetically.

"I'm sorry, but I thought it was still something I should ask."

"Hmmmm," Euryale hummed, staring at Mash before shrugging. "Well, since you didn't mean ill, I'll forgive you. See, I'm cute, right?"

"Huh?"

"Nani?" Ritsuka added.

"Umm…" I said nervously, fidgeting slightly.

"I said, I'm cute, right?"

"Erm…Well…Yes," Mash stammered, looking as completely bewildered as I felt.

"What about you, Ritsuka?"

"You're cute," my friend said with a casual shrug. For once, I blessed whoever was watching us from above for Ritsuka's denseness. Her ego now properly stroked, and especially not requiring an answer from me or Mordred, Euryale nodded.

"Yes, I'm pretty and cute, with a wondrous voice. That's why men have always wanted me. But this time, the most atrocious and crazed man is after me. A strange pirate, just like Drake," Euryale began with a scowl, gesturing towards Francis.

"A pirate?" Mash repeated, and Euryale nodded once.

"Yes. But not just an ordinary pirate. No, it is a 'Pirate Servant' who is after me."

"Sounds like fun," my lover said with her usual dryness, and I nudged her gently. It was a bit too late, sadly, for Euryale was giving Mordred the stink eye, but Mordred didn't react, as unimpressed with Euryale's behavior as I was.

"I don't know his True Name, but he's certainly insane. More importantly," Euryale said, with an air of finality to her as she turned to Asterios. "Asterios, are your wounds almost finished healing?"

The Berserker nodded with a grunt, and Euryale flashed him a pleased smile. "I see. Then you'll be alright with carrying me on your shoulders?" She asked sweetly. He nodded again.

"Mhm…" He then bent down and helped Euryale up onto his broad, right shoulder, before standing back up.

"All right," Euryale said with a hint of excitement in her voice, "What a great view—"

"Euryale?" Mash asked, noticing how silent and pale the purple-haired gorgon had gone. It was another voice who provided the answer to the Shielder's question, however.

"Boss! There's a ship bearing the same flag as the one from yesterday! Starboard side! Looks like she's on an intercept course towards us!" The lookout suddenly called out. Almost in unison, Mash, Ritsuka, Drake, Mordred, Euryale, and I rushed over to the indicated railing.

The ship was about the size of the Gold Hind. Knowing their luck, Ritsuka Fujimaru didn't exactly have much hope for them suddenly breaking away at the last moment and retreating.

"I guess they're enemies, then," Drake remarked as she stood next to Ritsuka. The Japanese magus looked over at his fellow Master. Jacob was staring ahead, one hand instinctively resting on the pommel of his trusty sword. "Wait a minute…that ship looks familiar…"

"That flag again…I know!" Mash said suddenly, holding her wrist up and activating her device. "Doctor!" His kouhai shouted frantically.

"Mash? Thank goodness, I finally got through! What in the world is happening over there?" The voice of Doctor Roman was filled with a mixture of concern, relief, and anxiety. Ritsuka chuckled sheepishly.

"Ahaha, it slipped my mind to contact you when the Bounded Field was removed. Sorry, Doctor Roman," Ritsuka said apologetically.

"What?!" He flinched at the shrill pitch Roman's voice acquired. "You forgot about me? I'm the loveable and reliable Doctor Roman, remember?" Jacob coughed quietly nearby, but when he looked over at the American, his friend merely gestured to ignore that, even as he smirked slightly.

"Sorry, but can we talk about it later?" Mash said, looking over her shoulder to see the ship was getting closer. "Could you tell us about that flag again? Communications broke down and we couldn't hear you."

"Oh, yeah. That flag is a legendary Jolly Roger, belonging to one of the most infamous pirates in history."

"You're joking, right?" Jacob suddenly broke in, his face set in a frown. Ritsuka noticed that his friend was now gripping the hilt of his sword, his knuckles turning white as he did so.

"I'm afraid not. His name is Edward Teach. However, he is better known as—"

"Blackbeard. The Scourge of the Carolinas," Jacob said grimly.

"Right! Be careful, Mash!" The Demi-Servant looked over her shoulder one last time, swallowing heavily. The ship was now within hailing distance of the Golden Hind. She had pulled aside, but didn't open fire. Yet. Across from them, on his ship, stood a tall, thin man. He wore an admiral's coat of sorts that he had left unbuttoned, showing off a somewhat hairy, bare chest. His right hand had some sort of gauntlet with a long, dangerous-looking metal hook extending from the knuckles. He had thick, black hair, and his beard was partially tied up.

"Unfortunately, Doctor, it's too late," Mash said sadly.

"What?"

"Ah! It's him! It's him! The pirate who was chasing my ship before I met you guys!" Drake shouted angrily. Her hands were gripping the wooden railing tightly, and a fire was dancing in her eyes. "I found him at last. I'll blast him beyond the horizon! You hear that?!"

The man said nothing, acting completely nonchalant, as if the Golden Hind and her passengers were invisible. Drake snarled, her shoulders rising slightly in anger.

"Hey, are you listening to me, you hairy oath?" The person in question blinked, before cupping his ear slightly.

"Huh?" he called out in a coarse-sounding voice. "Sorry, my ears don't pick up old-hag noises!" The man, Edward Teach apparently, shouted out mockingly. Drake inhaled sharply, and Ritsuka nervously shot her a glance to see that her eyes were now chips of ice, narrowed dangerously so.

"Say that again?" She said in a dangerously calm, quiet tone.

"…What?" Mash asked him softly at the same time. He could only shrug helplessly. He couldn't recall seeing Drake act like this during any of the short time they had been together. The only thing he felt confident in saying was that Francis Drake was not amused.

"What. Did. You. Just. Say?" Drake said louder glaring at a now-smirking Blackbeard.

"I. Just. Said! I didn't ask for old hags! What's with them useless, huge knockers, anyway? Is that a joke? Guess scars are oaky? Blade scars are good, they turn me on. But the age…hmmm, how do I put this nicely?" Ritsuka watched as Blackbeard scratched the side of his head with his claw before pounding a fist into his palm. "Ah, that's right! You're too old! You should consider retiring!"

Everyone turned to look at Drake, expecting her to explode into anger. However, what Ritsuka and the others saw was far more worrying. Her mouth was opening and closing rapidly, her eyes wide. No words managed to escape her lips, though.

"Boss?" Bombe asked nervously. Getting no response, he gingerly shook her shoulder. "Boss?"

"I think she's dead, inside at least," another pirate said, readying a long-barreled musket. Behind them, more of Drake's pirates began readying their own firearms of various sizes and types. Euryale popped her head out from behind Asterios, a sympathetic and understanding look on her features.

"It's hopeless," she said, shaking her head grimly. "She's all frozen up. I was the same during my own first encounter. I'm surprised I survived it. Out of the corner of Ritsuka's eyes, he saw Blackbeard straighten up, a creepily joyful look now showing.

"Mm-hoooooooooooooo!" The…pirate….shouted. "You really are here, Euryale-Chan! Ah, really cute! Cute! Kawaii! Soon, I'll hear that lovely voice of yours! All mine, too!"

Ritsuka's jaw hung open, along with virtually everyone else's. Euryale hid behind Asterios once more. "Uh, I really don't like this," she said with great discomfort. Ritsuka could understand. He also wondered what the hell was up with Blackbeard using Japanese!? Last he checked, the one known as Edward Teach had only focused on the Eastern coast of North America! Ritsuka snapped out of his horror-induced shock by a feral growling noise coming from Asterios, who had now summoned both of his axes, and had a murderous look about him.

"What? You there! Big guy! You're going to be in my way?!" Blackbeard said angrily, neither looking or sounding the least bit intimidated by the extremely hostile Berserker.

"Is this really happening?" Ritsuka moaned to Mash, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head. His friend didn't reply at first, still wide-eyed and slack-jawed. He nudged her gently, and the Demi-Servant jumped up with a surprisingly adorable squeak. "Mash? You good?"

"Huh? I'm sorry, I almost passed out," Mash said.

"Me too," Ritsuka admitted, tuning out the string of curse words Jacob was muttering under his breath angrily. He saw his fellow Master turn around and walk away from the railing, but focused on his other best friend.

"Erm…What is that, exactly?" Mash asked, and Ritsuka shrugged, still processing everything. And here he had thought that Astolfo could be rather eccentric! Guess he owed the Rider an apology later.

"Blackbeard, Servant…Maybe?" Mash shook her head violently, her pink bangs flying side to side by the action.

"I refuse. I won't admit that he is a Servant," Mash said bluntly and rather loudly. Unfortunately, her words caused Blackbeard to shift his gaze to focus on Ritsuka and Mash. The pirate arched one of his eyebrows theatrically.

"Hmm? Mm…Mm, mm-hmmmm…I approve!" He roared, nodding as if he was a wise sage discovering the secret to immortality or something like that. Mash flinched beside him. "You're accepted! Ta-da-dah-da-dah!"

"Eek!" Mash squeaked with a heart-tugging whimper for extra effect. Blackbeard started to stroke his beard, lost in thought.

"Mmmmmm, who was the guy that liked one eye covered? I think it was Bartholomew, maybe? No, his fetish was both eyes covered…." He shrugged with a toothy grin that was starting to make Ritsuka greatly desire a chance to board the crazy-ass Servant's ship and knock those teeth of his in. "Well, it doesn't matter. Anyway, you, pretty Servant! Tell me your name! If you don't—" He trailed off threateningly, shaking his hook-arm at a pale Mash.

"I-If I don't, what?" She asked nervously. Blackbeard closed his eyes and adjusted his hands to make it look like he was resting his head against a pillow.

"I will dream about you when I sleep tonight~" He said flirtatiously. Okay, no. No, no, no, no, no. NO! Unacceptable! Mash summoned her shield while he seethed silently, his fist tightly curled, and she took a deep breath, steadying herself against her weapon.

"My Name is Mash Kyrielight! I'm a Demi-Servant!"

"Mash…Mash…Mashmallow. Mallow mallow…bofufufufu!"

Ritsuka's teeth were now clenched tightly. That was a kind of adorable nickname for his kouhai, except because of the person who came up with it. A trembling and scared-looking Mash backed up slightly, looking at him with those pretty (pretty?!) eyes of hers.

"Please save me, Senpai! The goosebumps that man is giving me won't stop popping up!" Thinking frantically, Ritsuka gave her a brief comforting side-hug. Truth be told, he didn't expect for it to accomplish much, but to his pleasant surprise, Mash seemed to relax slightly. When they broke apart, she had that adorable blush of hers present.

"Th…Thank you very much, Senpai. But, what can we do? Someone like that…what, no, how, do we deal with them?"

"Well, I know where we can start," a familiar voice said gruffly from behind. He turned around to see that Jacob was back. More surprisingly, or perhaps alarming, though, was what he held. At first, it looked like a long, thick stick of metal and wood, but a half a second later, he realized that his fellow Master had somehow acquired a gun!

"Master, where did you get that?" Jeanne asked, cocking her head to side slightly as the American Master moved over to the railing.

"I guess you inspired me earlier, Euryale. My 'voice' might not be anywhere near as good as yours, though. Might wanna cover your ears, you guys. This is about to make a pretty nice whistle," Jacob said rather casually, kneeling at the railing and resting the barrel of the cocked musket on it.

"What the…" Mordred said, her eyes wide, before her lips twitched slightly, quirking upward as she gave Jacob a toothy smile. "Make it hurt, Master."

"Kinda the point. I doubt that it'll kill him, but at least it'll shut him the fuck up!" Jacob said with a feral snarl reminiscent of one of Mordred's, as he finished adjusting the musket. A second latter, he pulled the trigger of the firearm, and a cloud of white smoke and fire erupted at the muzzle. A split second later, Blackbeard stumbled backwards, yelping loudly as he clutched a hand to his right shoulder.

"Oi, no fair! We were having such a lovely time chatting!"

"We have quite a different definition of 'lovely', then!" Jacob hollered back. Drake shook her head, finally snapping out of it. Her eyes were blazing fiercely, as she unholstered and cocked one of her pistols and turned to Bombe.

"…Fire!" She roared.

"What?" Bombe asked.

"Cannons."

"B-Boss?" Bombe tried again, the one-eyed pirate sounding quite nervous now. Drake reached out and grabbed a fistful of her subordinate's shirt, yanking him closer and off balance.

"Cannons. Every single damn one. I don't care. Just Fire! Otherwise, I will pack each and every one of you guys into them as cannonballs and fire them myself!" Bombe gulped loudly.

"A-Aye, aye, Captain!" He said before being released. Landing on his feet, he looked over at the overs. "You heard the Boss, lads! All hands, to your battle stations! Let's show this lousy lout that you don't fuck around with the Golden Hind!"

"Oh, old hag-Chan? You mad? You mad, bro? Like huff and puff?" Blackbeard shouted with a mocking sneer.

"Bring the ship around! Send that bearded fool down to Davy Jones' Locker!" Drake roared, and Ritsuka almost lost his balance if not for Mash's quick-thinking as the Golden Hind began to veer around to both get a better angle and put distance between the two.

"Ooooh, how scary! Bah, empty words, methinks, old-timer! Lads, show this old hag why the Queen Anne's Revenge has no equal!" Blackbeard's own crew cheered, and Ritsuka watched as the covers protecting the cannons below on the gun deck were lifted, and the artillery of both ships was rolled out.

"Master, get behind me!" Mash said, placing herself in front of him while Jacob traded his empty musket for another, before he and Mordred hurried to the other side of the ship. Behind him, he felt a slight yank on the back of his uniform. Turning around, he saw that a grim-faced Euryale had summoned a small bow in one hand.

"Hey, Ritsuka. You too, Servant. Make sure that despicable sea roach doesn't come near me. Protect me well. Got that?" She waited for him to nod, and then continued speaking after he had done so. "Good. Fortunately, as you can see, my class is Archer. Therefore, I can at least give you some cover."

The reply from either him or Mash was drowned out as, after finishing its turn, the Golden Hind shuddered as the opening salvo of cannonballs were launched, bracketing Blackbeard's ship.

The Battle of the Pirate Captains had begun!

Original Endnotes: And done! What did you guys think? Poor Mash, always getting hit on by everyone BUT the one she wants! Also, yay, Jeanne is pulling out the big sister card! Expect her to be a bit more prominent as oppose to background in the next few chapters or so. Also, y'all still enjoying Blackbeard [improved version]?

Not much to say, really, so just tell me what y'all think, and here are the questions of the day: First one: Whose your most recent four/five star Servant for FGO players, and when did you get them? Second question: What do y'all think about Mordred possibly acting like a bit of a tsundere?

As always, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Feel free to leave your thoughts and comments, and I'll eagerly be awaiting them! Have a wonderful weekend, and see you lovely gals and guys in the next chapter!

Updated Endnotes 10/31/21: Once again, I wish everyone a spook-tacular Halloween! Please stay safe. As always, the updated version of this story can be found on Archive of Our Own, with Chapter 132 coming out tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed, and see those of you who'll be keeping to the version on this site in a few days!