A/N: Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!

It was with grim satisfaction that I saw yet another pirate collapse onto his back as I grabbed a fresh musket. While I had focused more on hand-to-hand combat and the art of swordplay, my father had insisted on me knowing the basics to handle a gun. Granted, my old man never covered muskets or other flintlock firearms when he had done so, but I was a quick learner. Still, I could tell that I would never be able to qualify myself as a marksman of the musket, seeing as how I missed twice as much as I had hit a target.

Below me, the Golden Hind lurched violently to the side as another broadside of cast-iron cannonballs were belched out. A second later, and I was watching as the enemy ship rocked backwards slightly. However, the sides of Blackbeard's ship were surprisingly resilient. Maybe because of Blackbeard's status as a Servant?

Regardless of the reason why, the vast majority of the cannonballs that didn't splash into the matter bounced off of the wooden hall, essentially being about as effective as if I had lobbed an orange at the ship. Thankfully, a few of the shots from each broadside were starting to make an impact of some sort, but it wasn't enough to disable or sink the Queen Anne's Revenge.

I braced myself, throwing up a thick wall of ice as I saw the side of Blackbeard's ship become covered in a cloud of white smoke, followed immediately afterward by the roar of dozens of cannons as he answered Drake's latest broadside with one of his own.

Unlike Drake's salvo, this one was aimed at the main deck, most likely with the intention of killing or disabling anyone positioned there. Thankfully for Drake and her crew, there were Servants aboard her ship.

With a soft grunt, Mordred sliced in rapid succession three cannon balls. The iron halves either clattered harmlessly behind her on the deck or into the ocean. With a surprising, awe-inspiring display of skill, agility, and dexterity, Nero leapt off the side of the ship and in a blink of an eye, and a trail of red roses, cut apart at least a dozen cannonballs. Her golden sabaton-heels landed on the side of the Queen Anne's Revenge, and she pushed herself off the wooden hull, landing back on the main deck of the Golden Hind.

The other Servants were performing similar magnificent acts of magic and combat abilities, rendering my make-shift ice shield rather useless. Still, avoiding damage wasn't going to end this confrontation, and no one bothered trying to fool themselves otherwise.

"Fire the cannons!" Drake roared, standing proudly upright, unflinching in the hail of lead and iron balls being thrown at her ship. By doing so, she acted as a rallying point of sorts, keeping her crew of veteran pirates steadfast and determined. "Fire, FIRE!"

With that, the Golden Hind rocked backwards again from another broadside. Sadly, once more was little achieved from the mass of iron her cannons belched forth amid fire and smoke.

"Damnit!" Bombe cursed close to me. "It's no good, Boss! Our cannonballs are bouncing off! Their hull strength is on another level!" Worse, it looked like Blackbeard's ship was moving in closer, and was no longer displaying their cannons.

A grappling hook of cast iron landed on the railing close to me. My eyes widened as I released the gun I had been holding and drew my pugio instead. Moving quickly, I managed to sever the coarse rope that had been attached to the metal hook. Unfortunately, dozens of others had been thrown.

Blackbeard was about to try to board us! Cursing like a sailor, I moved on to the next grapple, trying to sever them as quickly as possible. Other pirates were thinking the same thing, but for every line one of us managed to cut, it seemed like two more took their places.

Glancing upwards, I saw that dozens upon dozens of pirates were at the ready on the main deck of the Queen Anne's Revenge. We were out of time. Keeping myself crouched down, I drew my sword and steeled my nerves.

"Fuck," Bombe cursed angrily as he crouched next to me, drawing his cutlass frantically. "They're coming on board!"

"Damn!" Drake snarled. "All hands, prepare for close combat!"

"Captain Drake, is there any chance that we can retreat from this chaos?" Mash shouted as loud as she could, though I could barely hear her voice over the clamor surrounding us.

"We'll have to find a way! Bombe, get those smoke shells we discovered loaded! When I give the command, fire them off! We'll use them to create a diversion, cut those ropes somehow, and haul ass. Get to it, we'll hold them off for as long as possible!"

"Aye, aye, Captain Drake! You five, with me!" Her first mate shouted back, pointing to some nearby pirates. Then all six of them hurried towards the stairway leading to the deck below us.

"Master, get over here, please!" Jeanne called out, her hands tightly gripping her flagpole. As much as I wanted to fight alongside our current allies, she had a point. If Ritsuka or I die, we all die. Sheathing my dagger, but not my sword, I scrambled through the crowd of pirates now gripping cutlasses, hatchets, muskets, and pistols, steel and murder in the eyes of each one of them.

By the time I reached Ritsuka, Mash, Drake, and some of the other support-class Servants, the Golden Hind and the Queen Anne's Revenge were practically pressed up against one another.

"Now, lads! Board her ship, and make sure to bring me both her head and Euryale-Chan! If you touch that darling singer, I'll slit you from mouth to anus and wear you like jackets!" Blackbeard said energetically. To my horror, the enemy Servant then struck a cheerleader pose. "Go Team Blackbeard! Yeah!"

"GO TEAM BLACKBEARD!" Cried out each of his crewmates, waving their weapons frantically in the air like as if they were at a rave or something.

"Go Team Blackbeard!" The pirate said again.

"Yeah!"

It was then that I noticed the two women standing at the rear of the ship. A tall, extremely-busty blonde with a large musket and a small, white-haired girl with a cutlass. Great, more enemy Servants. Thankfully, the duo seemed disinterested in helping Blackbeard, as the insane pirate turned around and started shouting something to them.

"Seems like not everyone on that ship is happy with working with Blackbeard," I quipped to Amadeus, as the Caster readied himself. The demonic-looking composer grunted.

"As much as I enjoy trash, he takes it to a whole new level."

Before any more words could be shared, a series of wide wooden planks slammed onto the railing of the Golden Hind, creating a temporary (and rather unstable) bridge between the two ships to enable a boarding operation.

"Here they come!" One of Drake's pirates cried out. Chiron fired an arrow, and Drake fired both of her pistols, as did a number of other pirates. About a half dozen or so would-be boarders fell off of the gangways they had been on, either dead, wounded, or knocked off balanced by their comrades. The others didn't pause for a moment, however. They kept advancing like a swarm of ants.

"Me…Kill!" Asterios bellowed behind me, summoning his axes. The Greek Berserker tried to step forward, only to halt as a concerned-looking Euryale tugged his leg.

"Asterios, don't move in your state like that! You're already injured!"

"…Ugh…" Asterios huffed, but complied with his friend's request/demand, de-spawning his axes.

Looking back ahead, I saw the chaotic mess of brawling that had erupted. The two sides lacked any uniform level of distinction, making it hard to tell friend from foe. Blood started to spread across the deck as pirates from both sides began crying out and falling. The wounded ran the risk of being trampled, if their assailants didn't go ahead and finish them off, that was.

In other words, it was like peeking into the depths of hell for Ritsuka and I. My fellow Master began breathing in rapidly, hyperventilating as his face turned a sickly green. I placed my empty hand on his shoulder and squeezed tightly. Even I was a bit sickened by the sheer bloodshed we were witnessing, just as I had been during the final battle between Nero's forces and those of the United Empire.

The more combat-oriented Servants threw themselves into the fray, slowly pushing the allied pirates towards the rear and focusing on defeating Blackbeard's followers. It was extremely difficult to follow or describe the carnage now.

"Hey! Don't overexert yourself, old hag!" Blackbeard hollered, hanging from the rigging of the main mast of the Queen Anne's Revenge. Drake shot him a murderous glare after slamming the butt of an empty pistol into the face of one of his pirates, breaking the nose with a sickening crack. "If you behave and hand over that Holy Grail of yours, we'll let you go, yeah?"

"Holy Grail?" Drake repeated, eyes narrowed.

"They know about the Holy Grail Drake reclaimed?" Mash said, stepping back slightly.

"Hey, are you going to hand over the Grail or not?" Blackbeard shouted impatiently.

"Shut up!" Drake said, pointing a finger at her nemesis. "Keep your trap shut!"

"Scary, scary! LOLOLOLOL!" My own eyes narrowed as I noticed the figure approaching the gangplank near Blackbeard. No way…

"Gigigigigi!" Eric Bloodaxe bleated rather demonically. Even from the distance between us, I could see the bloodlust shining in his eyes. "Kill! This time, kill for sure!"

"…Eric Bloodaxe? How?" Mash demanded in disbelief, her eyes wide.

"W-We already defeated him, right?!" Doctor Roman shouted over Mash's open commlink. "We even verified that he vanis—"

"He vanished, like Caligula did when he was recalled by either Romulus or the traitor," I interrupted grimly, gripping my sword tightly. Mordred hurried over to my side, her armor covered in places by blood, though thankfully none of her own. She must have already noticed the not-so-dead Berserker, for her slight, armored frame began shaking slightly, indicating her levels of anger she was now experiencing.

"Th-That's right," Roman stammered after a split second. "There was a turbulence in the magical energies that shape the Servant. If so…then he's a Servant summoned by Blackbeard!"

"A Servant summoning another Servant…is that even possible, Doc?" Ritsuka asked anxiously. Next to him, Mash's jaw dropped open.

"And by Blackbeard, no less?!" She coughed awkwardly as her shouting drew a number of stares towards us. When she resumed speaking, she sounded more composed. Business-like. "Perhaps he has the other Holy Grail in his possession? The one left behind by Lev?"

"Go get them, Mistah Bloodaxe!" Blackbeard crowed encouragingly, drowning out any response Roman might have offered. His apparent subordinate having received permission, the Nordic Berserker crouched down slightly, before suddenly jumping forward. To my shock and horror, he landed right before us, having cleared the entire brawl in a single leap. Eric turned to look at a now-frightened Euryale, and took a step towards her, brandishing his massive battle-axe that gave him his epithet.

"Bloooooooooooooooood!" He roared, and Euryale flinched. Then she was obscured as her friend and self-appointed bodyguard pushed her behind him.

"Di…e!" Asterios roared, summoning his axes.

"Asterios, no, don't!"

"Stand aside, big guy," Mordred growled angrily, not so gently shoving Asterios to the side as crimson lightning began to crackle off of her body. "I thought I killed you once. The least you can do to show respect to a Knight of the Round Table is to stay dead!"

"You!" Bloodaxe snarled, stabbing his weapon at Mordred. "Killll!" And with that, the enemy Berserker charged headlong towards my knight.

Mordred's eyes narrowed as her gauntlets clinked lightly, clutching the hilt of her stolen sword, Clarent, tightly. It was the second time today that she was fighting against a Berserker in a field of battle that required her to fight at a reduced level. Even as Mash positioned herself behind the knight to guard the two Masters of Chaldea, Mordred knew that she was still limited.

One of the last things anyone wanted was for the Knight of Rebellion to split the ship they were on in twain, after all. Still, she had defeated Eric Bloodaxe once. She damn well would do so again. To let him live now would make her the laughingstock of Sabers everywhere!

Mordred exhaled slowly, waiting for Eric to commit to his line of attack before reacting. Normally, she'd consider dodging to the side at the last second, and then slash Clarent across the unprotected back of the unarmored Berserker. However, doing so would put the others, especially Jacob at risk, and that was unacceptable.

With a roar, Bloodaxe raised his namesake weapon over his head, swinging it downwards with a cruel, vicious smile on his lips. She caught the jagged edge with her sword, and a shower of sparks danced between the Saber and her foe. Activating her Mana Burst ability, she pushed against Eric's weapon with her own, catching him off-guard before slamming a sabaton into his midriff.

Spittle splattered against her helmet, though thankfully none of it slipping through the eye slits, as her attack both drove the air out of Bloodaxe's lungs and also sent him skidding backwards. He hadn't even come to a halt before she shot forward.

Anger and determination fueling her movements further, the Knight of Rebellion unleashed a flurry of stabs, slashes, kicks, and punches, slowly but surely overwhelming the Berserker. The duel, if one were to use that word generously, was over almost as soon as it had begun.

With a feral shout, Mordred swung Clarent hard enough to knock the axe out of her opponent's hands. Taking full advantage of the moment of shock the Berserker was experiencing, she closed the gap with another activation of her Mana Burst ability and thrusted her sword through his abdomen.

Wanting to make sure that the wound was fatal, however, she didn't leave it at that. With a loud grunt, the blonde knight dragged her sword still deeply-embedded in Bloodaxe's body, upwards, not stopping until she sliced his heart in half, and fatally damaged his Saint Graph. Eric glared at her with pure hatred, blood dribbling down his chin as he coughed.

"…Kill…you…kill…you…Damn…Get…Holy…Grail…" Eric's face then went slack, his eyes closing, and he vanished once more. This time, however, it was in the proper way, amidst a bright cloud of golden dust.

"And stay dead!" Mordred said rather viciously.

"Doctor?" Shieldy asked. Normally, Mordred would have felt offended by the small gesture of doubt, but considering what had happened last time, it was understandable.

"Alright! He's gone for sure this time! Mordred has defeated Eric Bloodaxe!" Doc Roman said joyfully. The taste of victory quickly turned sour as she heard that loon of a Servant laughing.

"Hohohohoho! It's too soon to be happy! LOLOLOLOL! Eric Bloodaxe was the lowest rank among us Blackbeard Pirates!" The enemy paused, and then frowned slightly. "Honestly, perhaps I should thank you, Knighty! Mistah Eric smelled bloody all over, his armpits reeked, and I think his feet were greasy! There was nothing good about him at all!"

She pointed her sword towards him, grinding her teeth. Does this idiot not have an off switch? Behind her, Jacob groaned loudly. "Looked in the mirror recently?" Despite the current situation, she couldn't help but snicker softly at her partner's remark.

She looked over her shoulder, but as she did so, she noticed a metallic glint heading towards the group behind her. Or rather, towards someone in particular. Her eyes widened as a feeling she loathed flooded her body.

Fear.

"JACOB!"

"JACOB!"

The last time I heard Mordred call out my name, or addressed me in that same tone, I had been on the brink of being killed. I looked ahead, towards the Queen Anne's Revenge.

My eyes widened as suddenly a midnight-black spear with a golden, sword-like tip shot towards me at the same time. There was no time to either dodge or draw my sword or dagger to try and deflect the sudden thrust.

"Don't you dare you bastard!" Mordred roared suddenly, throwing her sword towards me. With just milliseconds before I was impaled, the mass known as Clarent slammed into the spear just below the cross guard, causing the weapon to fly past me. Though, I wasn't unharmed.

"Fuck!" I cursed as part of my uniform was cut open on my left upper arm. As I fought to ignore the instant flaring of pain, and the wetness of blood weeping out, I could tell that it was just a flesh wound. Both Clarent and the lance dissolved in gold as Mordred shot in front of me, Clarent reappearing in her hands.

Looking over her, I could see the owner of the spear who had just tried to skewer me like a hog. A middle-aged man with a beard and brown hair shook his head sadly. He was dressed in green clothing of some sort, and with a black mantle draped over his shoulders. He had a lazy air about him, completely in contrast to the speed and ferocity that he had hurled his weapon. I didn't need Doctor Roman to tell me that this was a Servant. Judging by his weapon, a Lancer, no doubt.

"You're dead meat," Mordred hissed angrily. The man clucked his tongue, shaking his head sadly as he planted the butt of his weapon onto the deck, and leaned against the iron shaft, a lazy smile gracing his lips.

"And you have a sharp eye. Didn't let your guard down, even while talking. Good knight, good knight," the Servant said lazily, nodding his head slightly. I watched as the newcomer shrugged apologetically as he continued speaking. "I know it might come across as distasteful, but I thought that it would be easier if we killed one or both of the Masters as soon as possible." I gritted my teeth. Even though he had tried to kill me, it was a sound plan on his behalf.

If it wasn't for Mordred, it would have worked, too.

"Cowardly bastard," Mordred sneered. The Lancer shrugged off the insult easily, eyes glancing to the side to see that the brawl was slowing down. Apparently, Blackbeard had decided to stop sending in waves upon waves of his pirates into the brawl. Those who were left were rapidly being finished off.

"Tell me, knight, what is your name?"

"Mordred, son of King Arthur. It will be the last name you will hear," she said murderously. The sides of Clarent shifted, and my eyes widened as I realized she was getting ready to begin unleashing her Noble Phantasm. Oh crap, she was extremely angry! The Lancer, unbothered by the surge of magical energy being channeled before him, straightened upright, resting his lance against his shoulder as he looked over his shoulder.

"Mordred…hmm, very well. Sadly, I must go. Don't worry, though. We'll meet again. Do your best when that happens," the Servant said cheerfully, before making his way back to the Queen Anne's Revenge, managing to cross it just as the last few members of Blackbeard's boarding party were wiped out.

"Bastard!" Mordred seethed, before breaking off from deploying her Noble Phantasm. She looked at me and walked over, but said nothing. I wanted to ask if she was okay, but I already knew the answer. Talking would have to wait later.

Drake sneered at Blackbeard's direction, before turning towards her eager crew. Thankfully, it looks like the losses on our side were comparatively light compared to those of Blackbeard. The pink-haired pirate breathed in deeply before shouting once more from the top of her lungs.

"This is it, you scallywags! Fire the smoke, now, and cut those cables!" The Golden Hind bucked violently to the side once again, and before the railing was obscured by a cloud of choking white smoke, I saw the gangplanks being thrown off, and Bombe and some of the other pirates who weren't seriously injured hacking away at the remaining grapples.

"All right! Set sail!" Drake instructed, shouting at the top of her lungs still. "Helmsman, hard to starboard! Get as much distance from that bastard as possible!"

"Aye, Aye!"

"My ship is faster compared to that bulky ship," Drake explained rapidly to Ritsuka and I. I nodded my head, sheathing my sword before gripping my injured arm. The wound may, at worst scar, but damn, if it wasn't bleeding like a busted pipe! The wound was made to look worse by the mere fact that the dress shirt of Chaldea's uniform was a pristine, snow white, making the blood all the more prominent.

If it wasn't for the surge of adrenaline being pumped into my body, I'd doubt I'd be fully conscious after what is now my most intense near-death experience. Yes, this hadn't been the first time a Servant tried to kill me, but this was the first time I had been directly injured by one. I knew I was going to feel something about it later, but that would be afterwards.

"Master!" Jeanne cried out in alarm, the blonde girl rushing over, her long ponytail dancing behind her. She grabbed my injured arm and ripped a portion of her skirt off, tying it around the injury before I could even have a moment to protest. Mordred, though silent, was standing close by my side.

Meanwhile, I could see that the Golden Hind, after finishing its sharp turn to the right, was quickly putting distance between us and the Queen Anne's Revenge. The taste of defeat (for that was what this skirmish had ended for us) cast a bitter silence over everyone on the main deck. I spared one last look at our nemesis, and my eyes widened as the tall blonde woman from early was now standing by the bow of Blackbeard's ship. Her musket was unslung, and it appeared to be pointed at us.

A second later, she was obscured by a cloud of blinding white smoke. Next thing I know, I was sprawled out on my back, along with at least half of my companions, be they Servants or regular old pirates.

"Ugh," Drake groaned as she pushed herself back up, one hand pressing against her temple. "What happened?" One of her followers rushed over to the stern, bending over the railing. Whatever he found wasn't good, for I could hear raw panic in his voice as he shouted back a report.

"Seems like there was some kind of explosion in the rear, near the rudder! There's a hole right at the waterline. We're starting to take on water!"

"What?!" Drake roared angrily.

"Impossible!" Mash added breathlessly.

"Not if a Servant did it," Ritsuka said grimly, shaking his head slightly as he re-oriented himself. So, it seems that my hunch that the two woman I had seen earlier by the insane pirate was correct.

"Damnit," Drake cursed with a scowl. "We're slowing down. They'll can now catch up to us. No, wait, we'll sink before that!" Drake cracked her knuckles loudly, steeling her nerves as she breathed in deeply. "I'll go fix the hole below! The rest of you, keep the Hind balanced!"

"That's unreasonable, Boss! You'll die doing so!" Bombe roared with his own intensity of anger. "Everybody, stop her!" He said, trying to countermand the orders of his superior by tackling her from behind. Letting out a startled yelp, Drake was thrown off-balance by the weight of Bombe, though she managed to stand upright as more of her comrades rushed towards her, dogpiling onto her.

"Hey, let me go, you idiots! This is mutiny!" Drake spluttered angrily, struggling to escape the mass of bodies now trapping her. "If I don't go, who will—"

"Asterios?!" Euryale's shout of panic drowned out the rest of Drake's sentence. Looking towards her, I just saw a large splash, as well as the absence of the Greek Berserker who had been sticking close to her side all this time. Putting two and two together, I rushed towards the railing, craning my neck to see Asterios swimming towards the rear.

Quickly reaching the damaged area of the ship, I felt the ship jolt and shudder slightly. I fell down onto my hands and knees. Mordred gripped my right shoulder tightly, protectively, while Mash gasped loudly.

"The ship…Asterios is lifting it up?" She said in an awe-struck tone. Drake hurried over to the stern, looking down before laughing rather hysterically.

"We've recovered! Okay, drop all the remaining smoke shells behind us, now! Go, go, go!" Soon, a large smoke screen was laid down, and we started to lose sight of Blackbeard and his cronies. Drake shook a fist in the direction of the Queen Anne's Revenge, and I could swear that a vein was bulging and pulsating violently by the pirate's right temple.

"You said you're Blackbeard, right?" She snarled. "Someday! For sure! No matter what! At all costs! I'll take your head and tie it to my bow! Remember it, idiot! Dumbass! You—" Drake shouted something guttural and unintelligible. "I'll make sure to get my revenge on youuuuuuu!"

Her final words delivered, she looked back ahead, and we continued to rapidly depart from the scene. This wasn't a true defeat, I kept telling myself as I tried not to sulk. This was just a strategic withdrawal. We needed to get to that island Drake had been telling us, and take shelter there for a day, maybe two. Use that time to repair her ship, regroup, and come up with a better plan.

This was only a setback. "Let's get to that island at full speed," I quietly suggested, and Drake nodded, barking out orders as we resumed our odyssey.

Original Endnotes: And done! Man, this was quite a scene to type, that's for sure! How did it come out, did you enjoy it? Also, looks like Hektor is going to be a dead man now, huh? Of course, seeing as how Mordred isn't yet good with the whole feelings concept, I'm sure that she is going to handle watching her Master and lover almost get killed fairly well, right? Right? Also, we finally have a Master getting injured! Yay for no more true plot armor stuff! XD

So, who is ready to see me try to salvage the scenes with Artemis and Orion as best I can? I managed to do it with Blackbeard, so maybe it will work? (Insert doubtful look emoji). Guess I'll just have to wait and see, huh?

Also, happy belated Valentine's Day!

Now, for the question(s) of the chapter! First up, for my fellow FGO players, who was your most favorite and least favorite chocolate lines of the Valentine's Event? Second question is this: What's the worst weather event you've ever had to deal with? (e.g. for me it would be a tornado that touched down half a mile from where I was)

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! Please feel free to leave your thoughts, opinions, and all that jazz, and I can't wait to read it! Hope y'all have a great day, and see you in the next chapter!

Updated Endnotes 11/2/21: Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and if you want to skip the wait of catching up on here, feel free to check out the up-to-date version of my story on AO3, with Chapter 132 having been posted yesterday.