Earlier...
The sky over the mountains looks to be quite clear for even the lone airship sailing onward there, embracing the warm heat of Celestia's sun. It was another day for the Storm King's minions away from the rest of the fleet, as there was yet to be another attack commanded by him on Panthera next.
If there is no command, the minions would do what they normally do under the Storm King's fist, obey him with the minor instructions and maintain control of the ships. One lone ship in the area though that two kept an eye on, ensuring there were no other threat in the area that would endanger them or what they had on board.
Two of these minions were watching the clouds and above from their own masks, their arms resting onto the railing as they did so. They looked quite calm, though it must have seemed boring for them. They're trying not to let the sun's rays get into their eyes, looking only towards the blue infinite.
"Afternoon, Ralph." The minion to the left greets, the tone of boredom in his voice.
The other minion next to him exhales a tired sigh. "Afternoon, Sam."
"How's the sky, Ralph?"
"Lookin' clear, Sam."
However, something did catch Sam's eye in the sky. It appeared to be coming out from the white puffy astral bodies, as it was some sort of ship that wasn't marked down as the fleet belonging to the Storm King. It didn't even look close to having that design on even their flag. "What about that, Ralph?" He asked.
"Well," Ralph turns and looks at the ship crawling out and catching up next to the airship. "That looks like a pirate ship, Sam."
Uh oh... they realized from there that this meant trouble because it was one of those sailing high above. Pirates were no good for them, as they were out for gold or treasures alike. A sailing spear pierces right into the hull of their ship from there, and they were brought into full attention.
Ralph and Sam could only turn towards one another, shock expressed on their hidden faces - though almost tired in their own eyes since they weren't ordered to coffee break by their lord and king.
"Think maybe we oughta start screamin', Ralph?" Sam asked him.
"...Think maybe we should, Sam." Ralph responded immediately.
From there swinging on their ropes and sheathing their cutlasses and blades, the pirates swung over their ship and to the minions, showing no fear when they crawl over and begin to surround the unarmed two. All showed intimidation to them, and even if they could try to run away they would be disobeying the commands and becoming cowards by shame.
"Sky Pirates!" Ralph screams out as a parrot jumps down from above on the rope with a fine steel cutlass, sharpened to the touch and that which shines in the sun.
This pirate was completely different when she points her blade at them. "Ya-ha-har!" She introduces herself to them, even with the color of red in her eyes. "Prepare to be boarded, ye dogs!"
Both of the minions didn't want to deny it, but they knew they were face-to-face with one of the leaders in the sky pirate world, infamous for the adventures they went on to Tartarus and back. No... this was no ordinary captain they were facing. Not like the books they've read in the ravage places from an invasion by the Storm King, where the captain is usually portrayed as fat and always clinging to a mug of iron and a hook for a hand. This one was female though, and from the newspapers scattered throughout... only her name came to their minds.
It was the infamous Captain Celaeno and her Pirates!
Celaeno's POV
"Avast, ye scurvy scallywags!" I nearly howled with intimidation as the wind blew through my hair and my blade was lifting upwards as they weren't as hostile as I thought they would be. I am sure this is a first for them eye-to-eye with me, so I will give them the honor of introducing myself and the tradition of demands after. "I am Captain Celaeno, and we are fearsome pirates! Give us your loot or face our wrath!"
"N-No way!" The minion on the left stood his ground, not going to surrender so easily - though vastly outnumbered.
The other begins to speak with us. "The Storm King's rulebook says w-we oughta defend our cargo to the end!"
My response to that statement itself was just pressing my own face up against his own mask, a glare from these wild eyes of mine to give him quite a bit of a shock. Even he himself is close to shaking a bit... probably afraid to hit a female. What a sissy himself, and I thought the last ones we robbed of their loot were total cowards that surrendered in battle. My blade is pointed at him again, so that could be why he is shaking.
"On second though..." He finally stutters out, coughing for a moment and ensuring it is covered before continuing to speak to me. "Perhaps we could consider a temporary suspension of the rulebook."
I sheathed my blade and tipped my hat upward. "Mighty wise of you fellows!" Gee, that was almost way too easy. There definitely wasn't even a single battle or attempt at resisting at all, it's like they just put up the white flag and waved it for us to know. "Now... what cargo are you haulin'? Gold doubloons? Precious jewels? Valuable knick-knacks?" The list I am stating could go on forever.
"Uh..." The minion to the left can't figure out what to say, so his arctic blue dotted eyes turn to the other expecting an answer from him.
He pauses for a moment, probably thinking of something. Maybe he's hiding it... "...Wallpaper paste and bags of sand."
For that statement, I could only just give them this cold stare while they were shaking out of their own wits. The crew behind me have not said anything, but if it's just wallpaper paste and sand... it could definitely be worth something, even if it's very little a price to gather. I just kept that expression on my face for a second, no response from either side.
"YARRR!" The crew right behind me chants out, placing a smile right onto my face when I turned to see how excited they were about sand.
"You hear that, crew? Sand!" Mullet, my crew-mate announces to the others.
The Storm King's minions could only look at one another in confusion as the ship moved closer and the plank had been set down to begin the ravaging of the lone ship itself. They barge into the cargo bay below, taking ahold of the bags of sand and paste, bringing it back up on deck and moving across the plank to our ship.
My crew-mates' chants of "Ya-harr!" and "Yo-ho!" was enough to bring a smile upon my own face as I turned to the white-furred minions one final time.
They were quite speechless and I am certain that they wouldn't know what to say when they inform their leader of the robbing. Even the cracked hole in the side of their ship should give them the let-alone reason how they were hijacked. But my name is the only thing they should give away as a message to the Storm King, that I will strike without mercy.
I took off my hat and gave them a mockful bow as I walk backwards onto the plank beside me, turning and making a bunch of jumping tricks like the cartwheel and back-flips back onto my ship. The plank retracts back upwards to down from the deck as we depart away from there, sailing back above the roaring skies of Abyssinia - by the border of Equestria.
Moving to the railing and overlooking the skies ahead past the snow-top mountains, I exhale a sigh, placing the both of my arms down onto it to give it a rest. Another day, another ship ravaged of its materials... again.
"Another fine haul, eh, Captain Celaeno?" I knew I recognized that voice approaching from behind me.
I didn't turn away, keeping my eyes set out on the landscape. "Indeed, Mullet."
My crew right behind me were settling down after having packed the last of the paste and sand into the cargo. "We're a fine crew, we are," I began to speak with him, speaking my mind. "Surely there's never been as brave or as noble a band of adventurers to sail the skies. Some of us may be missing a few parts, sure... but that doesn't mean we're broken."
To my right, I can see Mullet resting his arms on the railing as he listens in on what I am saying. "We're not just a crew, Mullet... we're a family. And we've made this ship into a home."
"Maybe so..." He responds to me, his voice sounding calm as he spoke. "But the ship needs repairs and and restocks. If we're going to keep flying, we need to bag more than paste and sand."
I exhale another sigh upon realizing that kind of struggle there. "You're right," I said to him. "We can't keep scraping by with robbing cargo haulers."
Turning around and removing my arms from the railing, I began to move back and forth, letting my mind think about what we should do there. We practically have some gold... practically crazy that they call these things bits in Equestria, and neither I or the crew had ever gone that far before.
Being aware that it was a land filled with ponies, griffons and various other races there... I've heard the rumors from outside. A foreign creature in their land... someone who wields some silver blade. Don't really pay attention to that though as we're already trying to make a living and get food for all of us.
"We could start going after bigger ships," Mullet's suggestion brought me back to his own attention. Even so, what he was suggesting wasn't a good idea. "Follow the trade routes deeper into the Storm King's territory, find richer targets-"
"And put ourselves in greater danger," I interrupted him, the tone of my voice showing concern about that. I turn to the side to face the skies once again, standing my ground on my thoughts. "We've survived this long because we only go after small ships. The more we harass the Storm King, the more he'll notice us...and the more likely he'll want to destroy us. I admit, we can't keep flying with so little, but going after bigger prizes means bigger risks - and I won't put my crew in danger."
He nearly laughs behind me. I turn to face him, seeing a calm yet clever smile upon his beak. "That's a worthy sentiment, Captain..." He commented, finally having a chance to say something. "...But I don't think a better opportunity will simply fall onto the deck!"
I was going to make a response to that comment of his, but from out of the skies and the sounds of the wind, there came a loud crackling in the sky... or what sounded like it came from the sky. The strike of lightning in front of me was very much the reason how I was able to hear it.
KRA-KOOOM!
Both me and Mullet had been caught completely off-guard even when we jumped backwards from the strike on our own ship. None of us were harmed, but there is confusion abroad the ship deck.
"What was that?" One crew-mate asked.
"T'weren't no storm in the sky!" Another claims, confusing yet having the feeling like he saw something that doesn't even resemble the moon.
"And what's this bottle?" Mullet spoke up after the others.
I wondered what he meant by bottle, since it seemed completely off-topic for what happened, even when there was only clear skies with a bit of small puffy clouds rolling along today. If this is another made-up story he is telling...
Wait. He is right, but there also seems to be something visible inside there. It maintains a green tone in its color... lightning flashes inside of it. That must be what he was talking about. I moved closer towards the bottle, picking it up off from the ground. I can feel the smooth glass texture while I am examining the inside of it.
"Looks like lightning in a bottle to me..." I claim, placing my hand on the top and removing the cork from the top.
The green clouds inside began to crawl out rather quickly from the inside of the bottle, as it looked to have begged to be set free. The pirates on deck squander into a group, unsure as if there would be a large explosion following afterwards or that we would all get electrocuted from thousands of lightning bolts that were yet to come out. From what I was aware... perhaps it was on the ship we raided.
From the clouds that formed around in a circular shape, we can see ourselves being greeted with what looks to be a blackened cloud inside of it with detailed light violet... at least until it has shown its eyes, which look to be dots in the color of arctic blue. Almost like the eyes of the Storm minions.
"Greetings Captain Celaeno..." The cloud introduces himself with a deep low-tone in his voice, those eyes staring like a piercing knife almost right into my soul. "My name is Strife. I have a proposal for you..."
I wondered exactly what he meant by proposal, a possible trade... maybe it was an ambush and we didn't know it. I had to be careful on what it was. It could be a trap that lures our enemies to us.
"You and your crew have been a thorn in the side of the Storm King for some time. I wish to help you," Help us? Really? My red eyes catch him pulling out a paper at first, but he unrolls it and reveals it almost like a map except it's directly in the sky with an X for that territory which we knew being the pass out from the nearby land. He continued to explain to us as I turn with an intrigued smile at Mullet. "In two moons' time, the Storm King's treasure fleet will be moving through this pass. His ships will be loaded with the treasures of the Abyssinian Kingdom...and I can ensure the lookouts will not be watching."
He places the map away and out of view in the green clouds, looking at both myself and Mullet with those haunting eyes. "There will be riches for the taking," He offers one last time. "The choice is yours."
The black cloud himself disappears out from the sight of the green, eventually allowing the green to disappear into the nothing. The bottle inside is emptied out, driven clean of the haze. The crew behind me who haad been listening were in a complete absolute silence from his message and offering to us.
"Did you hear that?" One pirate finally asked, excitement in the tone of his voice.
Another one of my mates speaks out. "Treasure! Treasure for the taking!"
"We could be real pirates again!" Another shouts with joy followed a couple of crew mates sqwaking in agreement.
"Just think of what we might plunder!"
I can see how easily the crew got the message when it came to gold and riches alike. Even when Strife had told us that there would be no patrols on our tail, I do sense that there would be something wrong - considering this was quite dangerous an offer. Should keep myself eased though, and warn them of this.
"All right..." I said to them with a calm voice, raising the both of my hands. "Hold on crew. This plan is awful dangerous, and we've no idea of who this Strife fella is or what he wants." The crew became silent again, looking at me as I spoke my concerns to them.
"We might take a mountain of treasure-" I stopped for a moment, letting myself exhale a bit of a sigh. I move back and forth whilst talking with them. One crew-mate that was drinking a bit of water from a bottle stops for a moment when I faced him. "But stealin' from right under the Storm King's nose is risky." I turn from the crew-mate towards the rest of them and Mullet who listens carefully. "We might gain...but I'm worried about what we might lose."
Silence yet again from the crew, and I look back at them with only the sounds of the distant wind blowing as our ship soars above. "Do we really want to risk what we have?" I asked them finally.
"AYE!" was the single answer that gave to me with excitement in their voices as they wave their iron blades, hooks and our signature flag in the air. They couldn't simply resist against this plan at all.
With that, a smile beams onto my face when my surprised emotion faded from their response. "So be it." I responded to them, Mullet looking quite forward to what was coming up in the next two moons ahead.
The Storm King himself shouldn't expect this at all.
In two moons' time...
Night covered the entire land itself as our ship soars from above the pass. We could see the giant flag-ship below, floating silently above along with the rest of its fleet. Only a few lights were on in the ships but remain to be dim... must be the minions' quiet hour. The wind had calmed down, but at the steady level above, we wait.
My red eyes stare down at the prize itself, which is where I suspect Strife is waiting for us to make our move. From behind on the wheel, it is my second-in-command Mullet ensuring that we would get to the perfect spot for an all-out strike with iron spears. Should be enough to hook up our ship to the ships and the leading. Though I will keep watch on my crew, this should be quite the show.
"Steady as she goes, Mullet..." I spoke with the one-eye covered Mullet from behind me. "We need to approach the Storm King's fleet stealthily."
"Aye-aye Captain." He responds to me, taking us down slowly towards the side of the flag-ship. It was between empty skies and another treasure ship, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem since we're all quiet and awaiting until I gave the order.
I turn around and faced the rest of my crew, feeling like I need to give out a bit more advice to them - this is almost practically a suicide mission after all.
"Remember, crew: Pick a ship, hijack it, then flee!" I can find it inside of me as I tell them my strategy. "Make your way to the rendezvous! Don't take unnecessary risks! I'd rather have my crew home safe than a bunch of boats and no one to share them with! So stay sharp!"
A few of the crew-mates ready into position by the cannon and the iron spears, ready when given the order to open fire and begin spreading onto each ship for control. The ship has dived down between ships in the Storm fleet and I stayed quiet for a moment.
"And luck be with us all." I finally said as I drew my blade and rose it to the twilight skies above to signal the attack.
BOOM!
The cannonball that had been fired out strikes the side of the flag-ship, practically catching everyone who was on there off-guard. Followed by that was the different directions that the iron spears were launched from our ship, latching onto the treasure ships. It pierces into their hulls and gives the crew access towards them.
The crew take ahold of the ropes attached at the spear's ends, zipping down towards the ships and beginning the infiltration. Onto my face came a smile... Strife was right about this after all, and I don't even sense a trap or ambush at all. It's just perfect.
From the treasure ships, I can hear the sounds of "YARR!" and "YA-HARR!" when they catch the minions off-guard. A couple are forced down and are captured by rope around a post while the professionals take care of those wheels to our gain. Others are thrown to the flag-ship. As for those coming off, I assure they will have a safe landing.
"First few ships have been captured, captain!" Mullet sounds very excited as he points to the ships and crew ahead that are cheering in sweet victory.
"Excellent!" I smiled and responded to him and everyone. "No point in being quiet anymore, crew! Time to make ourselves known!"
"Avast!" One ship-mate cries out.
One fires an spear into the flag-ship, piercing the hull straight through with full gripping force onto it. "Booty!" Another ship-mate calls.
"Ace! Pinwheel! Take that one to starboard!" I made orders to a few of my ship-mates by their given names. "Marco! Brutus! You're up next!"
From the infiltrated flag-ship, I can see a glimpse of the dark cloud Strife with a bit of my crew on the deck. From the shadows was that figure himself, the Storm King who remained quite puzzled. Probably found out that he was being betrayed by Strife. His arctic blue eyes are like the rest of his crew, but were more along the lines of the traditional eye shape in Equestria and other races like the Griffon and Dragon.
"They're starting to scatter, Captain!" Mullet notifies me as the ships we've captured fly off in different directions. Ran by our crew, there is the distant cheers coming from their ships and our flag rising above proudly.
"Take us in to the flag-ship!" I ordered to him. "We need to pick up our passenger!"
We began to make haste on edging closer to where Strife and the remaining crew were. Strife almost looks calm even when he is raising his long arms to the yeti-satyr himself, almost as if those were the famous last words being stated to him.
"Hold her steady, Mullet..."
We came into a close enough range for the crew to swing across. From the flag-ship, the crew throw their ropes above the ship to wherest they could come. Strife on the other half surprises me when he floats across the sky. I do look quite intrigued when he was on deck.
"You- You can't do this!" I can hear the Storm King shout at the cloud ahead of him.
"I already have, King." Strife could only answer to him, now aboard and safely in our grasp.
"All right! We've got him!" I turned to Mullet on the wheel. "Take us away!"
He salutes to me. "Aye-aye, captain!" He responds to me, spinning the wheel in a different direction, leading us away from the Storm King himself. Though I did have a bad feeling that he could be in an immediate pursuit.
"RRAAAAH!" I can hear his rage in the distance at even losing his own ships and isolating himself from them.
"Hold on tight, Strife!" I was ready for a chase should it happen, and if so I would be willing to fight. "We'll need to outrun the flag-ship! More speed, Mullet!" I gave another order to my second-in-command whilst I spoke with him.
In the low-toned voice I remember him speaking in, he sounded quite calm as he spoke. "Don't worry Captain, I sabotaged the flag-ship myself before I left. They cannot give chase."
I can hear him exhale a sigh of relief for a moment before he continued. "We are safe."
Later...
We've all made it safely to the rendezvous as we had planned. The ships began to come into distance from the white clouds that spiral in different random directions. Flags of our name can be seen on the front as they approach.
"We did it, boys!" I called out to them with glory in my own voice.
Treasure was spread throughout the ships in good share. All of them are practically digging through the sea of golden bits and wearing all kinds of those golden and jeweled trinkets alike. Mullet sits atop of a heap of bits, wearing a ruby jeweled crown upon his head.
"We're rich!" He cries out with happiness in his voice. Normally, he's always been sounding very loyal and sometimes serious... but this was probably the happiest I ever saw him being like.
The crew agree greatly with him as they responded with "YARR!" and "YAH-HARR!", laughing away at their victories and having a great time with the new wealth we acquired.
"Your crew did well, Captain," Strife says to me as I can see his haze beside me. He too looks almost surprised at the number of treasures we obtained. "I am glad I trusted you with my plan."
"Likewise, Strife," I responded to him. I blink for a moment and look quite proud of the achievement. "This is the biggest haul we've ever taken!"
I turn to look at him with my red colored eyes. "I have to say... I was worried about the risks, but...it seems as though it all paid off."
"Cap'n!" Ace's voice called out to me, grabbing my attention. I turn around and can see him running towards me with a white cloth wrapped around an item of some sort. He looks almost excited just like the others. I don't really know what he's carrying though. "Take a look at what we found on one of the ships!"
From that joyful smile on his face like he had been given a present, he brings the cloth closer to me. "Here!" He says one last time, before moving the cloth and unveiling the item.
My eyes caught a glimpse of a green mysterious glow at first, but cleared quickly enough to see that it must have been like a rare stone of some sort, but glazed in a way. It looks like a jewel of some kind, but it sparkles quite beautifully aside from the glow.
"By the skies..." I was astonished for a moment, trying to get more words out. "...It's beautiful."
I took it into my hands, feeling the rough, yet glassy surface of the jewel. "What is it?" I turned to Strife and asked curiously.
"A trinket the Storm King acquired in Abyssinia," He begins to explain to me. "A magic gem known as the Misfortune Malachite. Supposedly it contains great power...but it also brings disaster. The Storm King thought to use it for his own purposes..."
He paused for a moment, while I am examining the gem with my eyes gazing upon it. "...Of course, that shall never happen now," He responds to me, almost sounding like he was making a suggestion to me of using it. "But you could use it for your own gain."
"I..."
Speechless again I was, me use the Misfortune Malachite? Even by the warnings Strife was giving me, it has a bit of a lure coming from its magic. I'm not really sure though... we were already making big enough risks within the decisions of the crew.
"...No." I gave him my answer quite calmly. "I never trusted magic much, and besides... I'll do nothing that puts my crew at risk."
I grip onto the black obsidian-like chain that was probably used for being worn to put it into effect. "I'll put this on one of the empty ships for now... until I decide what to do with it." I gave it to Ace, issuing the order silently to deliver it to a ship we've occupied. "Come with me, Strife."
"As you wish." He responds to me.
A rope is grabbed and I make a jump to the side on the other side, Strife floating right behind me as I led him there. The ship was really quiet from there, especially with Lix on the wheel, her eyes set to the horizon that the moon was yet to cross to.
"Ahoy, Captain!" The ship-mate greets me, focused.
"Ahoy, Lix!" I responded to her with greeting as well. "Anything to report?"
She shook her head with a smile. "Clear skies, Cap'n! I did hear some scratching below decks earlier... might be rats."
I made my way to the deck door and bent down to open it. "Rats, ugh." I almost complained for a moment. The usual that we hear of when any come on ship. "It's always something..."
Even when I was pulling it open, I was caught completely with shock and surprise as one figure pops out with a roar right into my face nearly scaring the absolute storm outta me! I certainly didn't expect to see two tabby cats in different fur tones coming out from there.
Nor did I expect to see one coming out and trying to scratch at me with its paws. I had to grip onto them even as they formed into fists, like he was trying to start a fight. The other one was quite calm, but the one in white and grey with black stripes needed to REALLY calm down.
"D-Don't come any closer!" He intimidates at me, his cat eyes in the color of blue glaring right at me - even if I was wondering what the hay was going on. "I'll knock yer lights out!"
All I did in response was grip onto the feline from his back and hold him up in a way of calming him down. His friend, the orange tabby, places his hand onto his mouth in almost a complete shock over this.
"Chummer!" He sounded like this was no way to act, especially for his friend. He was practically embarrassed by the tone of his voice.
I can only glace curiously with many questions soaring in my own mind. "What in the sky is happening here?" I asked as Lix and Strife can only watch me in this confrontation and even they too are in shock to see the Abyssinians on our ships.
"What are a couple of Abyssinians doing on this ship?" I questioned them, still holding onto the back of this 'Chummer' fellow. "You're a long way from home, fellas!"
"Lemme down ya palooka!" Chummer seems to resist, not answering my question.
The orange feline looks to be raising his paws to keep the peace. "Please! Let him go!" He begs of me, the tone never sounding like he was demanding.
"They must have stowed away after the Storm King attacked their home." Strife assumes. Being that these treasures were straight out from the capital of Panthera itself, I can rest assure myself that he was correct.
"Is that so?" I pressed my beak onto Chummer's nostrils, the tone of my voice almost intimidating, even for his other friend. "Well, I've no use for stowaways..."
He seems to gulp for a moment, swallowing down spit. He seems nervous that I'm going to toss them off the ship instantly. His other friend also seems to look worried about that as well. But being that they seemed young as me, I don't want to take that chance. They seem quite innocent and even far from home, unable to find their way back.
Something else could work for them though...
A smile beams onto my face and my voice of intimidation is gone. "...but I can always use two more crewmembers." The orange feline behin him seems to sigh in relief, knowing that as well as I do, that I have a good heart when I need to show it. "You two need a bath and some food, am I right?"
"Uh..." Chummer seems to stutter for a moment, unable to answer.
"Yeah!" His friend speaks out his answer.
"Excellent," I responded to him, quite impressed with speaking out when his other friend couldn't there. I place the white and gray tabby back onto the deck floor. "Now, as he said before - he's Chummer. What about you though? What is your name?"
He looks to be grateful. "I'm Capper!" He introduces himself.
"Very nice," I too was impressed with that name as well. I decided to give the kind order as I promised I would. "Head up to the main ship - I'll be along shortly."
"Yes, Captain!" Chummer responds gleefully.
Capper too seems happy as well. "Y-yes!" He says, taking the same rope as his friend and swinging to the next ship across.
Strife though... his dark hands appear to be on his chin. He's thinking about what just happened there, along with why I was generous enough by the look on his mysterious face. "Why are you doing this?" He questions.
I turn around and look at him. "These kids are far from home, without a friend in the world," I tell him of my concerns about them. Even by their smell, I'm guessing they grew up on the homes "Who else is going to look after them?"
Strife too seems concerned, as from as far as he knew - they snuck onto one of the properties of the Storm legion. "But it is not your responsi..."
We appear to be surrounded in darkness and even that caught us off-guard, with only our bodies illuminated in purple. Everything except the wind seems to grow quiet, other than my breath when I study this kind of weather and cloud.
"...What is this darkness?" Strife questions to me, surprised.
"A storm?" I questioned... that is until I turn another direction towards the open hole unveiling the night sky. "No..."
From the uncovering of the cloud, and the showing of numerous lightning bolts in the sky, I can see the large figure crawling out into view. No... how did... That symbol on the top of the ship, and approaching towards the side of the main ship. "Oh, no..." I can only find myself to respond as the Storm King's flag-ship was in eyesight.
"The Storm King!" Strife looks to warn the rest of the crew. "We must flee!"
"The crew!" I sounded a bit panicked as I go straight for the rope and begin making my swing across to the main ship.
"My treasure!" Strife panics as well, flying across the sky at my side.
Lix looks to be panicked. "They've got harpoons, Captain!" She warns us as our feet land on the deck.
I caught the glimpse of their black harpoon being inserted into their cannons, and felt the ship rock as soon as one was fired out. Ropes are attached to us from the flag-ship, and our crew surrounded by what looks to be army-ready... they seemed ready for a fight.
We still might have the possibility of escaping, so I think of a chance there. "Get us moving, Mullet!" I ordered in desperation.
"I'm trying!" He calls out, unable to move the wheel. "I think they've speared our rudder!"
"We're caught!" I can hear another one of my crew-mates call out.
The iron plank is drawn out towards our ship, connecting theirs with ours. I ordered my crew to draw their swords and begin fighting back in resistance as a swarm of the Storm minions came past our defense, knocking the crew down, and holding them in place by their own spears. Some are gripped by their own large hands and held back from fighting more.
I grabbed my blade, charging towards a minion and clashing my steel with their black wood spears. This minion knew I was coming and I didn't expect to see the back of the spear strike me in the stomach. Another minion of course grips onto me.
I began struggling for the minion to release me as once, but their arctic blue eyes behind their masks keep me held tight. I can't even find myself to reach my own blade that had fallen to the floor. One other minion, kicks it across the floor to the end of the deck, leaving me without a plan and with no weapon to fight with.
Clomp! Clomp!
The sounds of the iron plank can be heard as the crew too are struggling to be free for another fight, others unable to due to spears pointing at them. However, my attention is drawn to the iron plank as I can see those recognizable feet as told in the description of the picture of who was most feared. His snow white fur above the gray feet, and his white tail swaying in the wind.
"So..." I began to look up from the grasp the minion had on me, seeing his blackened armor with the arctic blue symbol on it... just the same as his eyes. His crown was wide and even the appearance did show me that I was looking at the eyes of who was most feared, even in these skies. He doesn't look impressed. "...that was a short-lived escape, huh?"
"Storm King..." I can hear Strife say as he comes forward by a few feet across from me. Even the sound of his name, gives me the chills.
With his name called out, the Storm King drew forward off from the iron plank and towards the cloud who had been his second-in-command. He still holds a look on his face that he is not impressed in the slightest. "You... completed your repairs sooner than I expected." Strife admits to him. "I suppose I am to be punished."
The response to his statement on punishment... I didn't expect the Storm King to grip onto him and have him thrown off with a whisk of force by even a flick of a finger, sending the dark cloud flying off into the infinite night skies. That alone made me silently gasp, placing my hand onto my beak. Better not try anything else for now, otherwise that could be me sharing the same fate as him.
"I listened to him talk, once." He brushes his own hands clean. "Look where it got me."
He turns around and looks at me, then to his minion to release me which his minion obeys. I felt the pressure be released from me as he put his arms off of me. The Storm King takes my left hand. "But enough about him! Let's talk about you and your crew." He says to me, bending down his head and kissing my hand. "You are the captain right?"
"My name is Celaeno," I said, my tongue sticking out a bit with disgust when he kissed my hand. Not to mention I felt really uncomfortable with him doing that.
"Captain Celaeno! That's fine! That's perfect..." He says, turning around and placing his hand onto his chin. "Now, you and your crew did steal from me. But you did a darn good job of it."
What's he trying to say? He's thinking about something, but I can't quite put my own finger on it as to what it is.
"I can respect that kind of skill, Captain," He says to me, turning around with some smart business-like look on his own face and smile, pointing at me with both hands. "I'd like to offer you a job." The crew-mate of mine behind him looks to be surprised from his words as well as one of the minions as well, but even he won't say anything.
"...A job?" I was almost frozen in shock and surprise.
He moves to the side, placing his arm around me as he begins to explain why he would offer me something like that. An offering is something that normally cannot be refused, but even with me being frozen there, I can still hear him. "A position! An opportunity!" He exclaims proudly to me, like a son or daughter being offered a reward from a father or mother. "After the unexpected departure of my right-hand creature... well, I've got an opening. I'd like you to fill that role."
"Me?!"
"Sure!" He says proudly to me. "Plotting invasions, organizing the fleet..." His face and tone appears to drop though, sounding like something bad was going to be said by him. "Of course... your own crew will have to go." I was filled with anger and disgust for the fact that he wants me to get rid of my crew, turning me to anger. "I need new cargo haulers, for one."
I removed myself from his grasp. "Leave my crew?!" I was in uproar with even the sounds of my crew gasping in horror that he would even offer that job to me. How dare he! I would never leave my own crew, considering that they are family to me. "Never!"
A frown finally appears on his face when I pointed a finger at him, having placed it on his chest when I resisted. He still looks to have a different idea though. "Well, then perhaps-"
"Sir!" The voice of a minion calls out to him, catching his attention. When I turned, the minion seems to be pointing at a lone ship flying off that we captured before. "One of the ships is escaping!"
"WHAT?! Harpoon them now!" The Storm King sounds enraged as he points at the ship and gives him the order.
The ship though... my crew are all on this ship gathered and captured... no... the kids! The minion grips onto a black harpoon and takes aim at the ship, covering the back of it with rope.
"Yes, sir!" The minion obeys, ready to release it at any given moment.
I ran forward and swipe the harpoon from his hands though. "NO!" I shouted as I gripped onto it and used it as a weapon to keep him back should he try to get it back from me. He stands his ground though.
My only response instead of fighting back was tossing the harpoon overboard as the ship flew off into the distance, merely laughing in the failure of the minions' attempt to gather more prisoners for the Storm King. I was in relief to see that both Capper and Chummer will be safe... at least until a gray hand grabbed me by the throat.
I couldn't get any air to breathe for that moment when I was turned around to face the Storm King himself. I have angered him much further, and even he had begun to speak to me in his now-scary voice.
"Congratulations, Captain," He says to me, furious and with his other hand clenched in a fist. "You helped one ship... escape my grasp."
He drew me closer towards his face, still gripping onto my neck. One of my crew-mates tries to fight back to protect me, but is knocked to the floor with spears pointing behind him. My beak is pressed up to the Storm King's nose as those arctic blue eyes filled with the same wrath stare me down.
"If you're so devoted to your crew...I suppose you should be allowed to stay together," He speaks to me, his tone lowering further and brows displaying his emotion. "Like I said...I always need more cargo haulers."
I can hear his other hand snap a finger, silence drawing down once again as I can hear the iron plank again being covered with the sound of footsteps. Something seems off about these footsteps though, as they sound... heavier. I try to turn my head, but I cannot see who is coming.
Thankfully even in the Storm King's wrath, he turns me around to see who was coming right behind us and was approaching. When I finally saw the figure, I was unable to gasp... but I was frightened by the slightest for the figure's appearance.
He looks almost as tall as the Storm King himself, but is slightly more shorter than the appearance. His armor was black with blue linings in them as they were heavy and look like steel, just like the blades we had. He has wings behind his back, but they maintain a tone of dark gray to them. His facial appearance though... his eyes just like the Storm King and his minions are arctic blue, and his hair looks to be shoulder-length down and in the color of coal black.
...It's a human. I thought they were only a myth... at least, until I have now seen one with my own red eyes, but being that he was working with the Storm legion terrified me.
"You called for me, Storm King?" The human speaks to him, expressing question in the tone of his voice.
"That I did, in fact..." He responds to the human. "Celaeno, meet my servant. He goes by the name of: Takeo."
As the human approached towards me with one open hand, I can only gulp - aware of what was going to happen next under the imprisonment of the Storm legion. I, Captain Celaeno and the pirates... prisoners and cargo haulers for the yeti-satyr himself...
Capper's POV
I can only look ahead at the distant two ships, as I saw that the flag-ship of the Storm King hadn't moved at all to go after us. One of the Storm minions did raise a harpoon to get us, but I don't know what happened since I was too focused on having Chummer steer at the wheel to get us away.
"They missed!" I announced to him with a smile and turning around to join him. "We made it, Chummer!"
He takes off one paw from the wheel and uses it to high-five me. "Yeah!" He says to me with relief that they hadn't been caught. "I'm tellin' you, pal..."
I turn my green colored cat eyes to the front of the ship, looking ahead at the night-time horizon. It would be morning in a couple of hours, so we don't really know which direction we're going. Maybe north-west... east? I'm not really sure, but at this point I don't care at the moment, only listening to Chummer speak.
"...We've got nothin' but blue skies ahead!"