Chapter XX

The Ghost Ship

'There's no mistake…' Trowa muttered, glancing attentively through the telescope. Shadow's tail swung, wiping the floor as she sat and watched him curiously. His eyes met hers then and he frowned. 'We're being followed.'

He picked the cat up and climbed one of the ropes to the aft mast, sliding down from there to land beside the helm. Heero did not even flinch. 'Trowa.' He acknowledged, his eyes never straying from the horizon.

'We're being followed.' The lookout said, putting Shadow down. The captain's eyes narrowed as he turned to the other pirate and pulled out his own telescope. 'Seems to be a single ship.' Trowa continued.

'Pirates?' Heero wondered aloud.

'Hard to tell in the dark.'

'Hn.'

'Do ye think…?'

'Jay's and Lowe's tongues slipped? Aye. They were trying to gather a crew on their way to England, after all. Surely mentioning a treasure – even if they made it seem way smaller – would make things a lot easier.'

'Ye think they've been following the Peacemillion ever since then?'

'Either that or they heard the rumours and were lucky enough to recognise our ship when our paths crossed.'

'What are we goin' to do?'

The captain pocketed his telescope with a blank face. Trowa waited in silence. 'We'll wait…and strike first.'

'Wouldn't it be easier to simply escape?' Quatre's voice cut in as he and Dorothy adjusted the mizzen sail.

'Oh, don't be such a bore!' the blonde woman waved her hand at him, frowning lightly in annoyance.

He pouted at her for a moment before turning back to Heero. 'We're already richer than many a king. There's no reason why we should engage in battle. It would endanger us, the ship and the treasure.'

'Wake Chang.' The captain told Trowa.

'Heero.' Quatre stepped forward. 'Shouldn't we call on a vote? It's the right thing to do.'

'We'll be fine, Winner. Catalonia, wake whoever else's asleep.'

'Aye, Captain.' The woman answered promptly, racing excitedly down the steps and disappearing from view.

'What do you aim to accomplish with this?' the blonde man kept pressuring Heero, feeling both worried and annoyed. He had always been influential on board, his opinion worthy of respect and – at the very least – debate. It was unacceptable for him to be dismissed like that and, of all people, by a captain whom he had always supported, and who had always supported him …

'We've a lot to lose until we find a place to hide the treasure… So we must strike fear in our enemies' hearts. Otherwise we'll soon be chased by a lot more than a single pirate ship.'

Quatre frowned. He did not agree, but he said nothing because he knew it would do him no good and because Chang arrived at that very moment looking none too pleased about being awakened.

'What's goin' on?' he demanded.

'We're turnin' 'er about.' Heero said simply.

'Ye' wish to face the enemy head on.' The Chinese man could not hide his scepticism.

'Aye. Any problems?'

'It just seems unlike ye.' He shrugged, moving towards the railing to shout the orders to the crew.

'Are ye jestin'?' Duo jumped the last couple of steps, arriving at the quarter deck with wide sparkly eyes. 'We're really going to fight for the sake of it?'

'They're enemies and they're following us. They deserve to be taught a lesson.' Chang corrected him. 'It ain't "for the sake of it".'

'It is "for the sake of it".' Quatre protested sourly. 'We might just as well escape them.'

'And yet we're fightin'…' the braided man looked nothing but excited. "I'm starting to like this new Heero.'

The captain snorted at him and Duo left to gather his weapons, muttering something about having missed the good old swordfight. 'I don't question yer decision – as impulsive as it may be – but I wonder if doing somethin' that makes Maxwell jolly's a good idea after all.' The Chinese man commented.

'Let's not overthink this.' Heero warned. 'And don't forget to hoist the colours.'

Soon all pirates were awake, armed to their teeth and back in position. The black flag with the skull hovering over a pair of wings was raised and the Peacemillion mounted the waves as it turned around, the helm battling the captain's grip. Water splashed onto the deck, but the ship finally faced their pursuers and Heero dexterously steadied her.

The moon chose that moment to peek through the clouds, finally allowing the Peacemillion's crew to get a better look at the enemy's vessel. It wasn't larger than their own. The cannons had been positioned on the main deck and a flag waved from the top of its main mast barely visible yet clearly black. Blades appeared on her side as soon as the enemy crew noticed the Peacemillion approaching, the metal gleamed for a moment before the moon disappeared behind the clouds again.

'Chain-shots, Chang.' The captain said, his eyes fixed on their target.

'Chain-shots, men! Aim at the blades!'

'Arr!'

'All the money they spent on repairs and they couldn't have installed some blasted swivel guns.' The Chinese man complained.

'They knew we'd be takin' over the ship the moment they decided to rescue us.'

'They wouldn't wish to make things easy on us, would they?' Chang gave a bark of a laugh, but it was muffled by the reports of the firing cannons. Only one of the blades was destroyed and the first mate hissed. They were getting closer and fast. 'Fire!Again!'

There was not enough time, Heero noticed already steering the ship left, trying to get away from the blades. 'Aim for the masts.'

'What?' the Chinese man turned to the captain wide-eyed and sceptical. 'There's no time to dodge them, Yuy. If we don't destroy the blades they'll sink into our hull!'

'Tell them to aim for the masts and drop anchor. We're making a sharp turn.' Heero's tone left no room for argument so Chang repeated his orders however unwillingly.

'Brace yerselves!'

When the anchor chain tightened the pirates were jerked forward. The captain clenched his teeth as he fought the helm, turning the ship around yet again. Part of the planking to which the anchor was attached cracked and loosened, but it did not give. Some expletives could be heard coming from the main and lower decks.

'I hope no one's fallen off.' Quatre said harshly from where he stood, grasping the mast a few steps behind them.

'We couldn't 'ave anticipated those blades!' the first mate snapped back at him.

'But we could've just lost the damned pursuers.'

'Quiet.' Heero cut in, his tone sharp. 'Let's fire at 'em before they fire at us.'

'Load cannons!' Chang shouted. 'Fire at will!'

In the chaos that followed the Peacemillion's manoeuvre, the crew prepared a new row of shots. The captain's eyes narrowed as the ship came to a halt and he let go of the helm. He noticed it when the enemy crew ran about preparing to fire their cannons. 'Brace!' he shouted and heard the warning repeated by others along the deck.

Both ships fired nearly at once and the smell of powder and fire, mixed with the sound of splintering wood sent their battle into another phase. Heero reached for a musket that had been resting against the railing earlier and now lied on the floor. He made his way to the railing where the others had already taken cover. It was not a certainty he could make a shot from that distance, but he took aim anyway at the man nearest to him. All those who were close by seemed to follow his example.

'We'll need to destroy those blades if we mean to board her.' The Chinese man reminded him, clearly displeased with the whole situation.

Heero wasn't affected. He craved the distraction, the adrenaline… Focusing on the battle was a lot easier than dealing with his latter thoughts and feelings, it was easier to squash them that way. His eyes ran over the enemy ship and their own as he searched for a solution. 'We could either rope them and break them or set them on fire, if the cannon shots cannot destroy them that is.'

'The cannons can't reach them from this close up.' It was Trowa who answered, joining them, a loaded musket on his hand. He raised it and fired as the captain turned to him.

'Could ye jump on one of them?'

'And break them with me weight? While the enemies rain me with bullets?' the lookout paused to finish reloading his gun as Heero and Chang both fired, covering him. 'Even if ye covered me, those shafts're surely sturdier than they look.'

'Aye. I think so too.'

'Maybe we could send Lowe…' Chang smiled maliciously, glancing at the stairs that led to the lower deck. 'Or Jay.'

The captain snorted. 'They'd find a way to escape amidst the mayhem. That's what they're good at.'

Trowa fired again. 'Are we even hitting them?'

'I don't know.' The first mate scowled as he peeked over the railing. 'I can't hear their shots wheezing by.'

'That might be 'cause of the cannons.'

'I wouldn't be so sure.'

'Chang, ye're in charge.' Heero said suddenly, abandoning his musket on their feet and starting to make his way to the other side of the ship.

'Yuy… What the bloody hell?' Chang spread his arms in a gesture of utter bewilderment.

'He's swmming there.' The lookout surmised for him.

Wufei snorted. 'He's trying to get 'imself killed… We should've known… Should've known since he suggested this attack.'

'I'll go with him.'

'No, ye won't. Ye're going to the gun deck and ye're goin' to make sure every cannon shot counts. Let that fool do as 'e pleases. The rest of us are leavin' here with our lives.'

XXX

Another wave headed his way and Heero dived underneath it. His breath was not half as long as Chang's – the best diver of their crew according to bets placed during the looting of Romefeller's treasure – but he made do. He could hide under the water for bouts long enough to make it to the enemy vessel unseen, not that anyone was paying much mind to the dark waters bellow while a shootout raged above. For a moment, the Peacemillion's captain paused, covered by the enemy's ship's bowsprit, to access the damage his own craft had already taken. It put a displeased scowl on his face as he resumed swimming, searching for a rope or a handhold that would allow him to climb on board.

He found nothing. Thankfully, he carried a hidden dagger in his boot, so he thrust it into the hull and used it to haul himself up enough to reach a grip, that allowed him to climb up further until he had a foothold. Through the openings between the railing supports, he peeked at the forecastle.

Most of the crew was gathered at the main deck and those few who remained on the forecastle were taking cover and firing from behind the opposite railing, far too preoccupied with the Peacemillion to watch their backs. Heero did not blame them. He pulled himself up onto the ship as the enemy crew returned his men's fire and drew his pistols. Shooting a man through the back was not something he had ever done though he knew no pirate would think less of him for it. The deck was well illuminated, but his eyes narrowed until he was squinting and his jaw clenched. It might be wrong by his own standards, might be hard to make himself do it, but – at the very least – it would help him alleviate his anger. An anger born from being a fool, from letting himself be fooled even though he should have known better.

It coursed through his veins, blinding hot rage, and he fired both pistols at once, felling two men. The other three, who also occupied the forecastle, immediately turned to him and it was by sheer luck they did not call in reinforcements from the main deck, or perhaps – seeing that he was alone – the enemies thought they could easily defeat him.

Heero drew his cutlass, allowing the sense of danger to erase every thought, every doubt, every emotion left in him. The first man charged, his sword raised high above his head in preparation for a crosswise strike. With one well-timed step to the side, the Peacemillion's captain stepped out of the attack's way and swung his own blade, slicing the attacker from hip to chest. There was no time to watch him fall, however, as the second pirate was already on him. Heero stepped towards the man, raising his sword in time to deflect the blow.

The third man jumped behind his back at that very moment and he smiled to himself though he had honestly expected to last a little longer. A shadow stepped between him and the attacker, parrying the blow. 'Who told ye to come?' he demanded, pushing away his attacker with rage fuelled force. The man stumbled in his surprise and could do nothing but watch as the other pirate's blade cut his throat open.

'Wha'? Don't I get a thanks for savin' yer life?' Duo sounded more confused than actually wounded. He severed his opponent's arm with a well-aimed slice, grimacing in pain when the man let out a blood-curdling scream. 'Now that was unexpected.' He looked over his shoulder briefly, but it was enough to confirm that Heero was very displeased with him for alerting the rest of the crew. 'No one told me to come, ye see… Bart'n arrived at the gun deck mumbling about how ye'd gone on a suicidal expedition and about how Chang was gonna let ye' kill yerself… Never seen Bart'n swear like that. Honest to god.'

'Maxwell…' the captain's tone held a warning, six pirates had come from the main deck to check on their screaming crew mate and were slowly and carefully surrounding them.

'I ain't lying!' The braided pirate resumed not at all concerned about the gathering enemies. 'Not sure who he's angrier at though… You or Chang. Either way, me reasons for following ye were entirely selfish. Mannin' cannons ain't exactly what I like to do.'

Having settled in their chosen positions, the men finally attacked – all at once – raising their swords. Heero ducked, pushing the one closest to him with his shoulder and nearly tripping over the man's feet as he made his way to the mast. With his back now guarded by solid wood, he shifted his grip on his cutlass and prepared for the following attack. He could see his unwanted ally had already sliced someone's leg off and was trying to make his way closer, probably with the ill intent of resuming their one-sided conversation.

He sighed at the thought and focused back on the battle as one of the enemies advanced towards him. The man swung his sword, but Heero was faster, lunging forward as he thrust his blade into the man's middle and avoided his blow. The enemy's cutlass hit the mast with a thud, the blade embedding into the wood as he fell on his knees.

The remaining pirate pleaded in French, raising his unarmed hands and falling on his knees when the Peacemillion's captain's eye met his. 'Grâce! Sil vou plait!'

'Didn't bring nothing to tie 'im up with…' Duo mumbled mournfully.

Heero raised his reloaded pistol. 'No witnesses this time.' He said coldly.

'Parley! Parley! Le Capitaine, sil vous plait!' the enemy shouted. 'Non!'

'You have parleyed with the captain.'

'Ye could've let 'im go.' The braided pirate frowned at the fallen enemy. 'We'd have found a way of tying 'im up.'

Duo followed because the other man was no longer listening to him. They made their way to the main deck where at least fifteen pirates awaited them armed to their teeth. He could only gape when his captain raised his other pistol and fired at one of them. Heero really was trying to get himself killed. He paused and wondered what to do… Should he let him? Or should he die with him? Because – as good as they were with their swords – they were unbelievably outnumbered…

A cannon ball came flying from the Peacemillion then, over the railing, and carried an entire line of enemies with it towards the other side of the ship. That answered the braided man's question for him. He shrugged to himself and, praying in his head, jumped down to the main deck. In the distance, amongst the shouting and the blasts he thought he could hear Hilde yelling angrily at him.

'I'll die either way.' He told his first opponent. 'Me lady's none too pleased with me…' he continued, spinning on his heels as he parried the attack and sent the enemy head first into a wooden wall. 'And neither's me capt'n.'

Ahead of him, Heero seemed to be fighting in a trance, falling one enemy after the other. If he really meant to die, Duo mused, he was doing a damn foul job of it. Or, perhaps, he was not aware of what he was doing so ingrained was his training. It was not pleasing to watch, the braided man had never seen the other man kill with such gusto, with such anger… He might be gory himself, but – for all he knew about his captain – the man was nothing but clean in his kills. Turning away, he deflected a blow from a very heavy mace and kicked another enemy away from him.

'I honestly hope Chang's sent someone after us now that they know I'm here too.' He resumed his monologue and swung his cutlass again.

XXX

'Again!' her brother shouted.

Relena ignored him as she tried to regain her breath. The blade of the heavy sword she had insisted on practicing with rested on the floor of the Libra's gun deck, as her limp arms tried to recover some of the lost sensation. She had been surprised when the first mate had agreed to teach her how to fence, but also unbelievably grateful. It was the only thing she could do to keep her fears and doubts at bay, to distract her throughout the long journey across the sea.

Milliardo had ordered all men off the gun deck whenever the two of them came down and had been practicing with her daily. It had taken her a couple of weeks to get used to the weight of the sword and finally start moving more freely. She had been more than pleased, but her joy only lasted until the next day when she discovered just how harsh and demanding a teacher her brother could be.

'Was that not good enough?' Relena questioned sceptically.

'No. Start over.'

'What did I do wrong?'

'Must I really point it out to you?' he inquired and let out a resigned sigh when all the young lady did was stare expectantly at him. 'Very well. When you defend, after the second moulinet, you always leave your right flank open.'

'Always?' she raised an eyebrow.

'Always.' Milliardo assured her and his tone left no room for argument. His eyes followed her every move as she repeated the sequence at a slower speed in order to correct her mistakes. 'I still wish you won't need any of these moves.'

She paused then and met his eyes. 'I do too.' Relena confessed. 'I don't think I could ever cut a man with a sword… It's one thing to shoot someone, but to feel the blade slicing through skin and muscle…' her face contorted in a grimace at the thought, and she had to put away the sword to massage the ghostly sensations off her hand and wrist.

'It's highly likely you will need them though… If you continue down this path.'

'Milliardo…'

'You know that as well as I do.'

Relena sighed, abandoning all pretense of returning to her practice, as her heart suddenly left her. She did not wish to part, to leave her brother now that she had finally found him, but there was no way she could forget about the Peacemillion and all the things she had been through while she was on board the pirate ship. Her only fear was getting rejected by those she had come to consider her crewmates, having to return to Milliardo defeated and humiliated. She tried not to think of what might be, for it would not change the fact that she was going after her friends. There was no way she wasn't.

A commotion overhead had the first mate frowning deeply. He held out a hand to stop anything she might have meant to say, but though he stared at the wood above their heads he could not discern any of the words being spoken… They were too far from the main deck. 'We'll have to continue this some other time.' She nodded quietly and followed him up the stairs, taking the sword with her. The crew had gathered at the larboard railing, whispering excitedly. There was a wall of men and Relena did not even try to look past them, simply sticking to Milliardo's heels as he made his way to the quarter deck. 'Treize.' He greeted. 'What's going on?'

'There's a ship ahead. No flag, no identification of any kind from what we could see from this distance. We fired a warning shot. I'm surprised you did not hear it.'

'I thought it might've been a mistake… It wouldn't be the first time.' The blonde man waved a hand dismissively. 'Why did you not send for me?'

'Here.' The captain handed him his telescope. 'Look at her size. Do you really think it stands a chance against the Libra?'

'I never said it did.'

'We were sure, once the warning shot had been fired, that they would retreat or raise their flag, but they kept advancing towards us.'

'Shouldn't we be preparing for a fight then? What is this ruckus about?'

'She did not advance towards us for long, quartermaster.' Lady Une's authoritative voice cut in a she joined them at the helm. 'Before the men could even move from their posts she turned sideways and stopped.'

'What?' Milliardo frowned, turning back to Treize. 'Are they challenging us? Or trying to stop us?'

'That is what I thought also, but they did nothing else. They still raised no flag, fired no shots… So we approached a little ourselves and now – if you take another, more careful look – you'll notice there does not seem to be a single soul on board.'

'The crew believes it to be a ghost ship.' Une added seriously, her arms crossed and her eyebrows raised sceptically.

'What do you think?' the captain sounded curious and not at all worried.

'It might be a ruse.'

'Or merely a drifter.' Treize shrugged.

'Are you truly willing to take the risk?'

'My dear friend, you really do think they stand a chance against us.'

Milliardo fought back a scowl. 'I do not. I worry there'll be powder inside that ship and once we get close…'

'Clever.' The captain conceded, but his smile remained careless. 'But I don't really see a safe place from which one could set the powder on fire. Have you any enemies willing to give their lives to take yours?'

'Let us send out scouts then.'

'Very well…'

Relena, who had been quiet throughout the whole exchange, watched her brother make his way to the main deck and select a few men to approach the ghost ship by rowboat. If she squinted she could discern a few details of the ship… It was simpler than the Peacemillion, but the general construction was still similar and the young woman could not help but be reminded of her. She raced down the stairs. 'I'm coming too!' she shouted and saw Milliardo's expression grow troubled.

'What for?' he asked.

'Because.' She said.

'Because…?'

'Just because.' Relena saw him sigh, wearily, discreetly. 'I need this.' She added. 'Please.'

'Go.' Milliardo waved her towards the boat, however unhappily. 'Do as you please.'

The unwilling redcoats climbed into the rowboat after her, then her brother who – Relena suspected – was only accompanying them for her sake. His presence seemed to reassure the other men somewhat, but as their vessel was lowered to sea their faces were still pale and contorted by fear. They rowed reluctantly, making slow progress and yet not even Milliardo complained.

'Stop shaking your leg!' one of them hissed to the man beside him.

'It's not my fault my legs wish to run.' Came the angry reply. 'They can sense the danger.'

'Danger…' the first man snorted, feigning bravery. 'What danger? 'Tis only an abandoned ship, a drifter. Crew must've fallen off during a storm.'

'I doubt that.' The second man shook his head, glancing warily at the dark waters around their boat. 'It's not likely that ship would remain afloat after a storm like that…'

'Then if it wasn't a storm, what do you think did it?'

'Sirens…' came the quiet frightened whisper.

'Ghosts!' an older man said behind her and Relena turned her head in time to see his eyes grow as large as saucers.

'Nonsense!' the fourth redcoat stated. 'Ghost ships only appear at night! Everyone knows that! Sirens it is!'

'Sirens would've sunk the ship just like a storm!'

'Nay, ghosts would've!'

'How's a ghost supposed to sink a ship?'

Milliardo cleared his throat, reminding them of his presence and all men fell embarrassedly silent. 'Men did this, gentlemen. Pirates most likely… There's absolutely no need for alarm, just for a little caution.'

'They could still be in there, sir. Hiding in the lower decks… Awaiting.'

'Row faster then so we can kill them sooner.' The first mate said monotonously.

Their boat finally picked up speed and Relena waited in suspense for them to reach the abandoned vessel. As they approached, it became clearer and clearer no one remained on board, at least not apparently, and the silence around them grew thicker and thicker. Her brother sent one of the men ahead when they reached their goal, she thought she could see his knees shaking as he climbed up the hull, but she might have imagined it. His knuckles turned white on the railing as he peeked over it and, when he twisted his neck to look back down at them, his face was as pale as a ghost's.

'Th-th-they're all dead.' He stuttered, his lip trembling. The young woman felt sorry for him.

'Let us climb on board then.' Milliardo ordered. 'You stay with the boat.' He added, meeting her eyes.

Relena narrowed her gaze at him. 'I'm coming with you. Let one of the men stay with the boat, they're scared out of their minds.'

He scowled, one side of his mouth contorting in displeasure. 'Fine, but do not come running to me when we're up there and you change your mind.'

She saw him turn to the pale young redcoat who had just rejoined them and order him to stay in the boat. The man seemed truly relieved. Her dress and boots bothered her throughout the climb, the couple men who had anteceded her were all too shocked by the sight to mind their manners and help her up, but – after a couple slips – Relena managed to reach the deck.

The smell of rottening flesh struck her like a punch to the stomach and she had to fight the urge to bend over the railing and heave. There were bodies strewn all over the deck some with their heads cut off, others with missing limbs and some with their innards hanging out. Dried blood had painted the floor boards a nasty reddish brown colour.

'Pirates indeed.' The older man was saying when she turned away. He gave her a half-sympathetic look. She had brought this on herself.

'Search for familiar faces among the dead…' her brother's voice seemed to fill in the permanently quiet ship, disturbed only by the buzz of the occasional fly. 'Maybe we'll find out who did this… Cross some names off our list.'

'Sir…' one of the men approached him. 'You think the Peacemillion…'

'It might have been our runaway convicts or an internal fight, a mutiny, or some other pirate ship. There's no telling for sure. One thing's for certain though… This was not the work of sirens.'

The mention of the Peacemillion had Relena closing her eyes and taking a deep breath through parted lips. Search for familiar faces among the dead… If one of her friends had perished in that battle, she wanted to know. If Heero had… She took another deep breath, clearing her mind. There would be plenty of time to mourn once they had returned to the Libra… Still, she fiercely hoped she would not have to.