Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any characters from the anime. I own the plot and Tide Whisperer. Enjoy! Review!
D-17 pharaohfox/AyaSeth – Trust me, I'm just as enthusiastic about what happens next. And I always wondered what a tall Atemu would be like…but in keeping with realistic views of Spaniards being a bit larger in build than Japanese. ^_^ Or so I say…
A/N: There is a fight scene in this chapter, and I'm a little self-conscious of what it might look like to you all, so please let me know…since there will be at least three more later in the story. Now, on with the story!
Chapter Four – Siege
Time seemed to stretch on into eternity as the English caravel cut across the water toward the Tide Whisperer. As they drew closer, new details became visible. The caravel was flying the Jolly Roger for one thing.
Atemu used that time to gauge his options.
The Tide Whisperer was a good mile and a half long from stem to stern, and another half-mile wide from port to starboard. He had the masts and ropes above the deck that he could use, and twelve levels below deck. There was one huge disadvantage to him, and that was he hadn't had time to memorize the layout of the ship in its entirety, and so Atemu was limited to the deck.
"Steady…" He heard Seto murmur, "Steady…"
Atemu rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms high overhead, and grimaced at the restriction in movement his tunic caused. He quickly discarded both his vest and tunic. Atemu had always been bare from the waist up when he first began learning how to fight, and anything different was something he couldn't afford in a life and death situation.
"Just a little more…" Seto whispered.
Atemu braced for attack.
"Now!" Seto roared, and the Tide Whisperer shook as the first volley of cannon fire was loosed.
Some of the cannon balls fell harmlessly into the sea, others punched holes into the hull of the caravel, and two had collectively collapsed one of the minor masts. The barrage did slow the enemy ship down, but not by much. And then, it became clear that they planned on ramming into the Tide Whisperer head-on.
"Shit." Seto hissed, having just come to the same conclusion. "Ready the tri-barrel gun!"
Four brawny White Dragons rushed toward a five-axle crank built into the stem of the ship. Each man grabbed hold of a spoke and pushed, and a trapdoor in the floor of the stem began to fold upward to reveal a massive three-turret cannon.
While that was happening, a second flurry of cannon fire was launched, and this time, the caravel took a lot more damage, and slowed a bit more, but even so if it struck the Tide Whisperer now, the caravel would split the galleon in two.
Seto grabbed the wheel and jerked toward the starboard, and excruciatingly slowly, the Tide Whisperer moved into a safer position. Although they would still hit, it wouldn't be as dangerous.
The tri-barrel cannon let off six shots in quick succession, and each one put a fresh hole into the hull of the caravel.
The Tide Whisperer scraped against the pirate caravel like it had struck an iceberg, The masts got tangled together, the hulls jointly connected, and a moment later, enemy pirates flooded over onto the deck of the Tide Whisperer.
Seto loosed a battle cry the second the first pirate set foot on his precious ship, and the White Dragons met the English threat with Seto and Mokuba leading the charge.
Atemu lunged forward, unsheathing his cutlass in one fluid flick of his wrist, just in time to stop a downward strike that was aiming for his head. He kicked the pirate back and sliced a deep gouge in the older man's gut, blood and intestine spilled out at Atemu's feet. He whirled in a circle, his leg coming up in a roundhouse that sent three of the pirates staggering. He easily dispatched of them and moved on to the next fool that the boy reached.
The rage that had been building inside of him on the day Atemu Santiago was born boiled up from deep inside of him, until it became overwhelming.
Every indignation, every degradation, the realization that he would never again see his father, brother, master, or cousin fueled his anger until his consciousness dimmed to make way for the demon dwelling in his heart.
Seto jerked his cutlass out of the chest of his latest kill and pivoted to decapitate another when his attention briefly flashed to the flurry inhumane motion coming from the stern. Steel clashed against steel, blood spurted from castrated limbs and necks, and small cries of agony cut off by the hand of death had captured his interest.
Among the slaughter, the cause of the slaughter was Atemu.
Seto drew his pistol and fired twice, his targets too slow to pull the trigger on their own guns, and he engaged in a furious duel with four pirates at once. He holstered the pistol in exchange for his second cutlass. He spun, blocked, advanced, and retreated, his cutlasses a blur of motion as he rained vengeance upon the pirates who dared to damage his ship.
He caught the first man across his chest in a scissor-like move that cut a crimson 'X' into his torso, and then he felt a pain in his side where a second pirate had cut into his hip. Seto leapt back before the blade could bury too deep but it would slow him down. Outraged, he dropped one cutlass and took out his pistol, firing a bullet through the second pirate's jaw. Blood, bone, and brain tissue erupted from out the back of his skull, splattering across those unlucky enough to be standing behind the now very dead pirate.
He spun and fired again at the third, and then he planted his sword into the fourth pirate's stomach. Still imbedded, he weighted down on his sword, and the blade severing the man's pelvis and privates. The pirate gave a blood-curdling scream before he bled out.
Seto turned in time to see Mokuba surrounded and tiring. He kept retreating while fearlessly fighting off the English pirates, but his movements seemed a bit sluggish. Seto rushed to help, cutting down anyone who got in his way.
Seto watched in horror as Mokuba's calves connected with the raised wall on the portside of the deck, and he fell overboard.
"Mokuba!" He shouted and without a thought, Seto ran and dove over the side of the ship after his brother.
Mokuba hadn't resurfaced yet, and the added momentum in Seto's jump made it easier to reach him. Seto swam to the surface with his brother firmly locked in his arms, but before he could call for someone to throw the ladder down, Seto felt something brush up against his leg.
His open wound in his side had attracted the attention of some very unwanted visitors. Seto watched a dark gray shape cut across the surface of the water. Seto had dropped his cutlasses when he had hit the water, but he still had his pistol. He fired at the shape, and killed the first shark. It's blood, however, called out like a welcome beacon, and more sharks arrived. He tried to shoot again, but he had run out of bullets.
"Seto…" Mokuba murmured frightfully as he saw the danger.
"It'll be okay, Mokuba."
He only hoped that he wouldn't be made into a liar.