Strategy was important, even in piracy; plunder and pillage worked from chaotic melee into an advanced plan of attack. Two hundred years of experience showing. The most easily defendable position for miles was, to their boss's ultimate delight, the Falcon family estate just outside of town. They are could defend the occupied city while their boys did their thing down in the streets and be able to evacuate before the army could arrive. That said it was obvious as the Price Octopus descended towards the large manor house that strategy was the last thing on their captain's mind. The thick smirk on his face was a testament to that.
The gangplank hit the ground with a soft thud and two by two the hand picked men chosen for the raid had descended, their sabres already drawn. Expecting no resistance they rushed towards the main entrance. Understandably it was locked from the inside and probably barricaded as well, the door standing firm even after several heavy bashings with a battering ram.
"You two, around the back." Octo ordered jabbing a large finger at a couple of men waiting for the entrance to break open. "Find a window or something." They nodded and with swords drawn made for the side of the house. The battering against the door continued several times, the wood beginning to splinter under the attacks but still it did not give. "Let me through." The second officer declared brushing those trying to force their way in aside with one sweep of his large arm and approached the door. He paused just long enough to crack his knuckles before swinging an arm back. He tensed his muscles before throwing a fist forward. The impact seemed to rattle the windows of the entire mansion, the sound echoing across the sky and cracks ran like spider webs across the door but still it didn't move. Grinning, the pirate brought his second arm back and slammed that forward as well. Weakened by the first punch the door groaned and bent inwards a little, the cracks splintering off in a spray. Now it was compromised all Octo had to do to force it open was shove it with a solid kick down its middle. Nearly sent flying off its hinges the door flew inwards forcing all the furniture the estate servants had packed against it away.
"Show off." Puss remarked callously. He had had a canyon ready to fire but his idiotic brother had to let the testosterone go to his head again.
"The doors open, what's it matter?" The big brute asked gruffly before marching in quickly followed by the rest of those around him. They had orders to steal only what they could carry and since some of them had brought baskets they could be quite a lot. No one was there to meet them upon their arrival. Either the servants had all fled when they saw the ship coming or they were hiding. Octo wasn't too bright, but even he had the wits to see that someone still had to be here to have barricaded the door.
"There in't anyone here sir." One of the crew shouted over to him, several of them following him out behind him out of the door that lead into the kitchen. A few more of them were still there, rummaging through the cupboards according to the loud smashing sounds echoed through the house.
"Check upstairs dunderheads!" Puss told them angrily. "Someone has to be here to have locked us out! Find them and slit their throats!"
"Aye sir!" They cried almost all at once before turning to search through the remaining rooms, several of them making for the stairs.
"What are the orders Captain?" Octo asked back over his shoulder as Kraken walked in followed by his first mate. Their captain gave the interior hallway of the Falcon manor a quick glance over. His men were already running through all downstairs tearing the place up looking for anything of value. Those left outside on the ship would fortify the position for him. Slowly he reached into his pocket and withdrew the Power Stone of the Wind, one of three stones taken from him over a year ago. Now it was back in his hands he could feel his old strength returning, the necromantic power that had kept him alive for so long rejuvenating itself. Some of the wrinkles in his face faded away as bit by bit the youth he had enjoyed crept back. Using its power, he searched the house for any traces of the two other stones he sought, his highly attuned senses probing the air around him. Residual traces of their presence were pungent in the air, but they were not here. Kraken growled angrily in frustration. Either young Mister Falcon was out for the day or he had run away. The latter he very much doubted. None of them had ever flinched in his presence before; it was unlikely they would start now.
Kraken knew they would they would have to return here eventually, either to confront him or to take the house back. Either way, he would be here waiting for them when they did.
"We make ourselves comfortable lads." He replied with a thick sneer. "There should be a wine cellar near the kitchens. First one to finds it, gets to have the first bottle of bubbly."
-
Before the bullets could fly, Wang-Tang grabbed Ryoma by the shoulders and pulled the samurai back through the doorway. The metal projectiles rang forward and sunk into the wall mere inches from his head. Mel slammed the door after him, bolting it shut. Ayame was trying to keep the table at the window so those outside couldn't shoot at them but with a lack of physical strength they were slowly forcing her back. Falcon was at the back door pinning his weight against it. It shuddered every moment or two as the pirates outside were trying to force it open.
"Is there another way out?" Doctor Erode asked seeing that now they were all trapped inside the one room, pirates on the outside of both doors leading out.
Mel dashed to the old fashioned black iron oven that stood against the wall. It was so old the pipe at the top wasn't even fastened to the wall by moorings. She began pushing against it, the four metal legs scrapping on the floor. Erode quickly joined her side and together they pushed it out of place, revealing a short trap door leading down into the cellar. Mel yanked the iron ring up as hard as she could and the trap door came with it, revealing a short flight of wooden stairs leading down.
"After you my dear." Erode began letting Mel pass down through the escape route, quickly following behind.
One of the pirates outside in the alleyway fired a shot into the door, the bullet passing through the wood and into the room missing Falcon's nose by a single inch. The door into the shop hammering angrily as two pirates put their elbows to it. It wouldn't be long before they were inside. There had to be at least ten of them altogether already, and Falcon could tell more were arriving in the alleyway with each passing moment. Wang-Tang, Ryoma and himself were good fighters but even they couldn't contend with that many. The pirates also had them at a disadvantage. Doctor Erode and Mel weren't fighters at all. They wouldn't stand a chance. In the melee of battle anything could happen.
"Get going." The Englishman told the girl trying to keep the window clear of rifle fire. Ayame glared up at him, her expression one of steadfast determination, then turned and ignored him pushing hard against the table trying to keep it in place. Mel and Doctor Erode were already climbing down into the cellar. Fitzroy had a secret passage hidden behind a false wall down there she had revealed long ago. It was build during the civil war for royalists to escape the parliamentary forces, it lead underneath the buildings and arrived at the bakery just across town.
"No Nakamura runs." She told him in the best English she could manage and applied herself against the turned up table with renewed strength. Another one of the pirates fired a shot into the door and this one scrapped Falcon across the side of the leg cutting his trousers. He fell back from the door and the second he did it burst open, two pirates armed with pistols and sabres charging in. They never saw what hit them as Wang-Tang soured though the air with a flying kick sending both of them flying backwards back out into the alley. One armed with a knife rushed at him, and Wang-Tang quickly disarmed with him a slight flick of his wrist, before flooring the large man with a blow to the back of the head.
Even without a Power Stone and physically tired out from his journey, Wang-Tang was still faster than all of these men and by the time his limbs began to tire five of them lay sprawled out on the alley floor. Slowing down, Wang-Tang couldn't defend himself from a blow to his back. Knocked forward he left himself wide open as one of the pirates swung the bayonet on a rifle up.
"Power Fusion!" Falcon declared out into the air, his Power stone arching through the air glowing brightly before plunging directly into the Englishman's chest. Ayame watched again as his clothes changed from pilot's garments to metallic red armour as he adopted his Power Fusion form. Two metallic fists were sent rocketing forward out into the air, smashing into the crowded pirates there knocking them over like skittles. The man about to strike Wang-Tang was knocked over by his own comrades and slammed into a wall. Even in their superior numbers, Falcon punched his way through them. Iron fists sending them one after the other literally flying into the air.
"Wang-Tang." Ryoma began as Falcon flew out into the alleyway. The young man hoisted himself up breathing hard. "You should go with Mel."
"No, I must help you." He retorted looking a little annoyed. The samurai shook his head.
"Forgive me my friend, but you'll be vulnerable without your Power Stone and you are fatigued." He jabbed the point of one of his swords at trap door entrance. "You will do the most good protecting them." Wang-Tang wanted to argue, but couldn't deny the logic. With his Power Stone now in the hands of Kraken, he wouldn't be able to keep up with either of them and would probably end up just getting in the way. Reluctantly he was forced to agree.
Ryoma watched him go, before darting out into the alleyway after Falcon. The Englishman had disappeared into the fog but the sounds of battle could be heard nearby. The succession of gunshots rung out through the streets and alleyways intermixed with screams and loud shouts that echoed off the walls. Falcon could survive by himself, what Ryoma really need to do at this moment was assess the situation. If Kraken really had returned then the samurai wanted to know exactly where he was instead of enduring this game of hide and seek in the fog.
He leapt at the wall, pressing his wooden sandaled foot against and pushing off it, rebounding to the wall on the far side of the always. Rebounding up the close walls Ryoma soon reached the rooftops. Like he suspected, the fog was almost none existent a few feet above the ground. It could have been natural but the odds of it coinciding with the pirate's raid were unlikely. This was nothing natural; only magic could make the weather behave in this way. Silently he scrambled up to the top of the shop's roof before somersaulting effortlessly to the chimney. From here he could see most of the streets that stretched throughout Bristol. The fog covered most of the city and stretched for at least a quarter of a mile beyond it inland, flashes of orange appearing then vanishing in the gloom that ran with the sounds of rifle fire. What caught the samurai's immediate attention was the sight of a large Turbine ship hovering over the grounds surrounding the Falcon estate. He could see the colossal vessel from here, its spiked bow pointing out over the cliff the mansion stood upon. Even from a distance the samurai could make out the skull and cross bows flag flying from the top of the mast. A samurai felt a sensation pass through him at the sight of it. An emotional agitation that shook him to the core and that his mental training had difficulty shrugging off. There was no doubt in his mind now. There had been only one other time when he had felt that; in the presence of the pirate king.
Now there could be no question. Wang-Tang was correct. It was Kraken himself.
-
Ayame had no intention of following Mel and the others to safety, although it would have landed her right next to that cute boy. Clearly what was happening here involved the Power Stones. Having one in grasp already, she knew exactly how important they were and perhaps if she was lucky she could own up owning more than one. Besides, she disliked the idea of pirates owning them as much as anyone else did.
The fog rendered her almost completely invisible as she darted through the streets and combined with her already perfected art of stealth not a single pirate could tell she was coming before the blows floored each of them one by one. It was the Englishman she was following thought the gloom as the samurai had seemed to have disappeared. Even if she no longer had Falcon in her sights it didn't matter; she could hear him charging through the streets. There probably wasn't a single person in the city who couldn't.
The bodies of the law enforcement lay scattered throughout the roads, their blue uniforms stained black and red with blood. The raiders, now that they had dealt with those who would deal opposition, turned their attention to the houses and buildings around them. People had gone inside and locked their doors when the bullets started flying, pinning as much furniture against them as possible. Those that had cellars descending down to hide as pirates began breakings windows in an attempt to gain entry. Many had taken sanctuary in the Cathedral, the priests shutting the large wooden doors to deny entry to the pirates but even here it seemed they were no entirely safe. Molotov cocktails were being thrown through the stained glass windows, burning as they broke open on the floor.
Ayame glanced up through the streets and glimpsed a brief flash of metallic red lancing across the sky, followed by a loud thud and a yell. Darting though the fog strewn streets, the young girl watched as half a dozen pirates armed with sabres in one hand and pistols in the other charged at something just out of sight.
"Power Explosion!" A familiar voice shouted from out of the gloom and instantly the air was full of missiles, each one with a mind of its own as they flew before crashing several at a time into the row of raiders.
The pirates trying to break down the door of the Cathedral barley got the battering ram into place before two gleaming metal hands flew out of nowhere dealing each of them a jaw shattering punch one after the other.
The young Japanese girl looked up just in time to see a pirate coming right at her, a sword raised above his large head preparing to strike. Sliding over the swing like he was moving in slow motion, Ayame ran up the length of the large arm before smashing a kick directly into his eyes. Staggering back blinded the raider left himself wide open to a single blow to the back of the head as she somersaulted over him. Precisely aimed it knocked the large man unconscious nearly instantly. Swaying for a moment the pirate stood there before toppling over.
Someone rushed her from behind with a sword blade drawn back. Side stepping the blade lanced through her clothes missing her. Spinning around with acrobatic grace she smacked whoever it was along the face with the back of her hand leaving them stunned for a moment. Long enough for her to back flipped and smash her toes into the underside of their chin.
"Gonna make you squeal!" A gruff voice shouted at her and out of the mist came a large fat man armed with a rifle, the bayonet on the end being swung like an axe. He was slow and easy to avoid, his attacks even more so. They were poorly aimed and for one she didn't even have to side step. Clearly this man was drunk but she didn't need to read his movements to realize that. The smell was evidence enough.
Several shuriken to the heart was enough to send him crashing down. Ayame considered it a waste of throwing stars.
Something hit her hard on the back of the head and she was sent crashing forwards onto her knees. In that blurred moment a large fist closed around her robes and using the momentum tossed her hard through the air to slam her back into the side of a building. Her head swarm and sight blurred, the faint outline of the Cathedral and the red armoured warrior exchanging blows with at least three pirates at once fading. Forcing herself to stay conscious she looked up in time to see the barrel of a gun aimed right at her head with the bullet already on its way.
Time seemed to freeze for a spilt second and Ayame froze with it, unable to move out ricocheted off something between her and the rifle. Thick lines of blue light lanced out of her pocket, the stone within glowing brightly. In an instant her fatigue vanished, every sense crystal clear. Somersaulting to her feet as their would be executioner stood there confused, she smacked him several times around the head with line of punches before twisting out of his way as the pirate tried to stab her with a dagger. Now around his side, a kick to the side winded the man allowing her to deal the knock out blow with a swift upper cut.
As soon as he opponent was down the energy following from the stone into her vanished and she nearly lost her footing, her sight blurring again. No, not now! Even with her sluggish vision she could make out the shapes of several pirates coming right at her. She silently pleaded with the stone to help her but it remained inactive sitting in her robe pocket like a lead weight. It had worked when she was dire peril before, so why not now?
As the first pirate reached her, a swift shape darted out of nowhere to smash a flying kick into his head. The young girl looked up as one by one the raiders began falling, crying out in pain as a streamlined shape darted through their midst before sliding to a stop before her. A young man, well built but lean; short black hair at the top of his temple with a multi-tied pony tail trailing out back. A pair of kind brown eyes stared down at her.
"Are you alright?" Wang-Tang asked in Japanese, laying a hand on her shoulder. Blushing uncontrollably she tried to nod, but nearly toppled over in the process. Wang-Tang caught her before she did and gently let her sit down on the edge of the street.
"I'm fine." She replied not willing to accept his help but was still red from her contact. "I thought the samurai told you to go with Mel?" The boy suddenly looked a little sheepish.
"Well, he did." He replied, before grinning widely. "But he didn't say anything about not coming to help once I got her and Falcon's friend to safety." His humour was infectious and Ayame found herself smiling with him. Looking up, he finally noticed the bodies of the raiders the young girl had defeated lying around. "Wow, not bad for a beginner." He stated with a genuine look of surprise on his face.
"I'm just as skilled as the samurai is." Ayame told him angrily but being unable to get rid of the blush her glare did not look too menacing. "I just wish this would work when I need it to." She took the Power Stone out of her pocket and stared at it, her reflection shown in the cut blue surface. While she had experienced its magic before, she realized now she was not in control of it. The Englishman and the Samurai could direct their actions while using their stones and control when its power was called. She couldn't even manage that.
"You've got a Power Stone!" Wang-Tang exclaimed leaning over to get a better look, astonishment clear in his brown eyes. "I was right, there are more than three!"
"Hey it's mine!" She snapped at him, slapping his hand away.
"Easy, I wasn't going to take it!" He told her, holding his arms out in front of her defensively. "Mine may have been stolen, but I'm not going to take yours to replace it." Ayame was naturally suspicious of people, even close friends, but she found she couldn't help but trust he wouldn't try to swipe it when she wasn't looking. "I plan on getting my own back." The hint of the presence of another stone peeked her curiosity.
"Where is it?" She asked sliding her own stone back into her pocket. Wang-Tang hesitated, for the first time actually realizing he wasn't sure. No, that was wrong, he did know. He knew Kraken, he knew how his mind worked. So naturally he knew where he would be.
"The Falcon estate." He replied, turning to face the direction where Falcon's mansion lay; to the east. Kraken had a personal debt to settle with all three of them. The pirate would be at the Englishman's home and if he was, Wang-Tang was absolutely certain he would be waiting for them.
"I'm coming with you." Ayame stated hoisting herself up. Given a moment to rest, she found her fatigue lifting and the blurred senses clarifying.
"It's going to be very dangerous." He told her, which was no attempt to make her go someplace safe; it was the honest truth.
"Don't care." The young girl snapped at him forcing him to back step a pace. "Where the Power Stones are, I'm going." Wang-Tang looked her over, before stifling a short chuckle.
"You're a funny girl." He told her, causing her to blush even harder. Ayame tried to eclipse the red glow her cheeks were adopting with an angry glare. "What's your name?" Her glare died away and she looked away a little embarrassed.
"Nakamura Ayame." She muttered. Wang-Tang smiled at her, butterflies forcing their way into her stomach in response.
"They call me Wang-Tang." He replied. "Well, what are you waiting for? Are we going or not?" With that he took off through the streets, his outline quickly vanishing in the fog. Ayame blinked once before running after him.
Within moments the Cathedral's siege was over. The pirates were either dead or lying unconscious on the ground. Falcon soured up to the tip of the building, the rocket engine on his back propelling his jump far beyond normal ability. From this high the Englishman could see the entire city. The fog was clogging the streets, giving the raiders the advantage of camouflage.
"Hey!" He proclaimed suddenly looking angry; sighting the Turbine ship he had seen earlier. "That's my house!" The pirates flying vessel was sitting floating just above his family's estate. "Oh now it's personal!" He didn't known if this was truly the work of Kraken or not and while he still wasn't prepared to believe the pirate king had returned, no one was going to set up shop in his household without his permission. Falcon tensed his legs before pushing himself off the top of the Cathedral. His rocket roared to life and instantly he was propelled through the air with tremendous speed.
-
Stealth was not something a samurai was expected to master, yet Ryoma had made an exception and learned as much of the art as he could. It gave him an edge in the clan wars against the Ninjas. Employing that learned skill he made himself almost invisible in the pristine garden outside the manor. The front door was being watched by the men on the Turbine ship and by two guards. There were surely more pirates inside and going in that way would only alert them.
This Turbine ship was different from the ones he had observed in the harbour. This one was longer, the sails on either side folded in against the hull. The fans underneath the ship were still going to keep it above the ground, the rotating blades sending a powerful gust of wind across the lawn. As Turbine ships could not land as planes did, it stayed floating with the only thing connecting it to the ground being a wide gangplank.
Ryoma could see from his hiding place amongst the line of trees that grew across the length of the estate that the ship had several look outs posted on the highest points, most of them armed with rifles. Strangely they did not seem to be watching the grounds of the estate too much; instead their attention was drawn inland. The cannon turrets on the front of the ship were pointed that way as well.
They were preparing to defend this place from retaliation by the English, Ryoma was quick to realize. News of the cities plight would have reached the army by now and would probably be on their way within the hour.
From this high ground the pirates could easily defend themselves long enough for their crew to drag the spoils of their raid onboard and for them to get a head start. These were not simple men looking for a quick profit. These pirates were professionals.
That foreboding feeling of emotional agitation intensified as he drew nearer to the building. Any doubts he had entertained now evaporated into mist. Every sense was screaming at him the word; Kraken. The question of how he had escaped his supposed destruction escaped Ryoma for the moment, but its answer would have to wait for a more suitable moment for contemplation.
From what he recalled the samurai knew that the pirate king was skilled in many forms of European martial arts such as; as Falcon had described it, 'Kick boxing' and 'wrestling'. Formidable fighting skills in themselves but that was not where Kraken's true strength lay. The pirate king drew his power from necromantic magic, the same magic that had kept him alive for two hundred years. Ryoma had no doubt that the fog engulfing the city was here under his summoning, but subtle weather control was not one of his abilities the samurai found himself fearing.
Ryoma had seen the pirate king destroy and entire cruise ship by himself, a single bolt of magic energy right down the bow. That was one of the events that had forever engraved itself in the memories of all who saw it. Especially Edward Falcon.
Their fears when it came to Kraken were different for each of them. Wang-Tang feared Kraken because of the evil he could unleash even without a stone in his possession. Ryoma, while he would not directly call it fear, was concerned only of the power he wielded while the others were afraid of Kraken himself.
What Falcon felt for the pirate king was not fear, something far more powerful. Hate, in its blackest form. He did a good job of hiding it behind his optimistic façade but it was there, boiling to a pitch inside him. This was why the Englishman found he could not believe that he had returned. Falcon had to believe that he had finished this business a year ago, that he had avenged a close friend on the cruise ship Kraken had sent to the bottom of the sea. The girl called Alicia.
Ryoma, who was able to detach his actions of his personal feelings, found the notion of the pirate kings return unsettling but did not dismiss it with denial. After all, they HAD seen his ship go down but NOT the death of Kraken himself and if he survived, that event would assuredly make him very anger.
Two centuries of practise had given him control over Power Stones they couldn't even being to fathom and with Wang-Tang's stone in his grasp he could be capable of just about anything.
Sighting a side door leading into the house, Ryoma crouched low and waited. After a moment when he satisfied it was unguarded he darted out from the undergrowth and up to the side of the outside wall. His best attempt would be to take Kraken by surprise. No one was to offer him any warning.
Gently he put the blade of his first katana against the steps leading in, watching in the reflection to see if anyone was coming. Seeing an empty corridor leading in, he slipped inside. Placing a signal foot down, an almighty roar erupted out from behind him; echoing across the sky and shaking the windows in the house. Snapping around Ryoma watched in dismay as Falcon landed on the grass outside. The roar from the rocket on his back had to be attracted the attention of every pirate in the building.
Dismissing his Power Fusion form, Falcon shook himself off and glanced around. Nearly instantly he sighted Ryoma in the doorway. The Englishman started to say something but stopped when he noticed the flat look on the samurai's face. While it seemed emotionless Falcon had seen it often enough before to realize it meant trouble.
"What?" He asked just before the alarmed shouts from inside the building behind. Ryoma stared him right in the eyes before shouting at the top of his lungs;
"BAKA!"
-
The trap door was buried under several sacks of grain and it took all the strength Ayame could muster just to open it a crack to glance around the room it emptied up into. Once sure there was no one there she pushed hard against it and eventually heaved it open; before climbing up into a small storage room inside the mansion. Her face had turned almost completely blood red as during the climb up the narrow passageway, Wang-Tang must have had a near perfect view of her panties.
Completely oblivious to Ayame's embarrassment, he climbed up after her and as quietly as he could manage it shut the trap door after him. Mel had told him as they passed through the underground passage that lead from her shop to the bakery that her escape route was not the only one in the city. Her connections in the grapevine gossip chain were that there was many other secret escape tunnels constructed here and there over the years including one, she had heard, that lead into the Falcon estate from the undertakers shop in the high street. He could tell she was subtly telling him to go and help his comrades but it was only after Wang-Tang had meet up with Ayame that he finally got it. Kraken would be here, with the Power stone he took from him and Mel had handed to him a way of getting close enough to take it back.
The storeroom was small, probably nothing more than a cupboard for housing kitchen supplies. Large white sacks were stacked on the lower shelves while rolls of cheese wrapped in paper, loaves of bed and vegetables lines. There was a keg in the corner labelled in large red printed letters, 'Best British Brew'.
"What's that smell?" Ayame asked quietly wrinkling her nose. Wang-Tang took a quick glance at the wrapped cheese on the shelf to his right.
"Lederhosen." He replied with a short smile.
The door out and into the manor was shut, a short beam of orange light highlighting the crack under the door. Wang-Tang put his ear to it, listening for anyone present beyond. Nothing could be heard, not even the soft sound of breathing or light footsteps. But didn't mean there wasn't a pirate beyond holding his breath and standing very still, however unlikely that was.
Gently he took hold of the iron handle and pushed it down. It seemed to groan loudly, deprived of oil. Why did a door always make a racket whenever you wanted to open or close it quietly he asked himself, biting his lower lip. Inch by inch he pushed it open, the hinges protesting as much as the handle.
Wang-Tang didn't have time to take in any details of the room beyond as out of nowhere a frying pan whipped around and smacked him square in the face. Sent toppling backwards he crashed to the floor, his fall broken by a few sacks.
"A-vast ye pirate scum!" A loud voice declared. Ayame glanced up expecting to see more of the raiders but instead saw two men that didn't strike her as the pirate type. One was short and fat, armed with the frying pan. His nose was nearly completely red and eclipsed a short black moustache. A thick grin was plastered over his face, the tiniest hint of blood lust in his bloodshot eyes. "Into the Fray Apollus!" The other was tall and thin, dressed in a grey suit with a pink bow tie. He was old with grey hair and spectacles. In his shaking hands as a weapon he was wielding a stale baguette. Unlike the fat one this old man was shaking in fear; although he stopped shaking when it saw who he was standing before.
"Gourmand, I don't think these two are pirates." He stated as he let his baguette drop out of attention.
Wang-Tang was rolling on the floor clutching a bleeding nose, swearing occasionally in Chinese. Ayame was at his side trying to see if he was alright. The fat man, 'Gourmand' Ayame gathered, gained a confused expression and lowered his frying pan. Neither one of them looked to him like the raiders who were storming the house.
"Whoops…" was all the fat man could manage after a brief silence.
"Ah, you're that friend of the young Masters that called around about an hour ago. My apologies." Apollus, the elderly one stated, offering Wang-Tang and Ayame a hand up. "We thought you were some of those dreadful raiders."
"I sort of guessed that." Wang-Tang replied wiping away some of the blood from his nose with the back of his hand.
"Where is the young master, is he safe?" Apollus asked eager to hear news of Falcon.
"Him?" Gourmand demanded with a raised eyebrow; the side of his face twitching nervously. "What about us? I fail you see why we should be concerned with his fate when he can't even be bothered to eat one of meals I slaved for hours to create!"
"Don't ask." Apollus whispered to Wang-Tang in a warning as the boy opened his mouth.
"Falcon is….unharmed." Ayame stated; her English was still not good so she hoped they understood.
"Ah that is welcome news." The old man sighed. She didn't understand most of the English in his statement but the happy expression on his face told her she'd told him what she wanted to.
"Where are the pirates now?" Wang-Tang asked; glancing around the room they were in. It was a side kitchen, a second door leading off to their right into the main kitchens; but that had been hidden behind a false kitchen cabinet. Horacio Falcon, the man who had this estate built had several secret rooms and passages built into it. Exactly why he'd had them built still remained a mystery.
"They're everywhere in the house." Apollus replied casting a nervous glance over at the locked door.
"We barricaded the door to give the other servants time to escape." Gourmand explained. "But didn't have time to get away before they got in. Now we're trapped in here."
"Take the trapdoor." Wang-Tang told them; gesturing behind them to the trap door they had just climbed up out of. "Its how we got in, it leads down through the cliff to the undertakers on the high-street."
"No, we stay and fight to defend our place our employment!" Gourmand stated tapping his frying pan to his open palm with a proud and noble expression on his fat face. Apollus was already over at the trap door opening it up as he spoke.
An instant later a loud roaring sound like the back draught from a rocket shot through the air, like some distant roll of thunder suddenly sparking from outside the mansion. It died away quickly to be nearly instantly replaced by a succession of loud shouts coming from within the manor. "What the hell was that?" Gourmand demanded.
-
Pirates were sent flying by punches and swift kicks as Falcon and Ryoma began surging their way through the house, now filled with alerted pirates thanks to the Englishman's foolishness. The lucky ones were the ones who faced Falcon's flying punches. The other less fortune ones were caught in the furry of Ryoma's spinning katana blades.
The raiders had reeked havoc with the house, half the furniture tipped over and broken. They had been in the process of carting away anything of value when they were interrupted. Infuriated by the intrusion in his home, the Englishman went after them with the fury of hell itself. Tossed like rag dolls raiders went flying left and right, out through windows and open doors.
"Get the hell out of my house!" Falcon declared grabbing several of them at once.
"Oh, but we'd just made ourselves at home here." A grouch and very recognisable voice stated from behind him and now he could feel hot breath on the back of his neck. That voice… not possible…but Falcon knew that voice.
He cried out as a huge metal pincer grabbed him from behind pinning his arms to his side. Before he could so much as struggle, it tore itself back flinging him violently off the floor and out through a window with an almighty crash. Tumbling through shards of shattered glass Falcon rolled out onto the pristine lawn outside, coming to a stop by sliding to the edge of the hill the estate stood on.
Ryoma turned around just in time to see a boot come flying at him, smashing itself into his face. Sent toppling backwards the samurai left himself open to a sharp grab by a single hand from behind. Lifted up with surprising strength Ryoma was tossed violently out after Falcon directly into the side of a tree disappearing amongst the leaves.
The Englishman hoisted himself to his feet unsteadily and glanced up, a frown full of hate lancing across his face at the figure crouching in the window.
It was a tall man with thin arms and legs, his right ending in a large metal clamp that switched every two moments. Undoubtedly old with long grey hair tied back into a pony tail with a red ribbon but his skin unblemished by the passage of time. His unshaven chin was horribly square and jutted out slightly in front of his face, coming level with his hooked nose. Hiding an injury to the left eye was a mask modelled after a skulls eye socket, fastened onto his face by a leather strap half concealed by a bandana and a mariners hat. The clothes were old seamen style, a blue captain's coat that tapered off down the back of the legs and brown leather boats. A belt was tied directly across his flat stomach and another over the coat; across the chest and right shoulder. The pants were strangely coloured, mostly green with thin purple stripes going vertically down to the ankles. "Arrgh, what's the matter? You look a little surprised to see me." Falcon stumbled forward, eyes ablaze with anger.
Kraken slid down from the window and dropped to the ground, his thick smile showing he had several teeth missing. "That be what I expected though, you did leave me for death." Then his smirk vanished. "Sunk my ship." A deep frown replaced it. "Stole me treasures." A thin arm trailed out to the left and one of the pirates handed their captain a pistol. "But as ye can see, I still be here."
"How…how can you…" Falcon began through clenched teeth.
"Be alive?" Kraken asked completing the Englishman's sentence for him. "Little necromantic secret I picked up over the last two centuries. Sorta like a cat's nine lives. I did technically die, but the spell regenerated the decaying tissue before my soul could pass on." The pirate rolled his eyes towards the sky. "Only works the once though. Pity, but I guess I'll just have at be more careful in the future." His face forced itself back into a grin. "So this time around, you'll be the one sinking to the cold depths of Davy Jones!"