Ch. 16 Rendezvous

"Coming out of the stormgate now," Bonnie announced. It had been a long three hours, but Adam was feeling better and watched as they exited to Shangri-La Skyway.

"I never thought we'd be back here so soon." He limped down the steps of the bridge. "It's only been a week." Adam was tired. He'd used his golden energy to heal the wound when he woke up from his nap, but he still needed time to fully recover. I really hope this isn't permanent. As they docked at El Dorado, Adam grabbed his pistols and exited the ship with everyone else. Riley stayed close to him. "You know," Adam stated, curiosity in his voice, "No one's going to hurt you."

"I know," she replied, "I'm just making sure you don't get hurt anymore." Adam grinned.

"You're definitely Brave's kid," Lenora chuckled. They walked through the jungle, hoping for some sign of the inhabitants of Skull Island. They entered the clearing where they'd fought off Blaze's former lackeys and were greeted by a relieved cheer from the population of Skull Island.

"You're alive!" Adam faced the voice and saw Jordan jump into Bonnie's arms. She nuzzled her face into the fox's mane. "I didn't know if I'd see you again. I wanted to go back. I wanted to-"

"Shush, girl," Bonnie comforted, "It's alright. I'm here now."

"Lenora!" The swashbuckler turned and saw her parents, Morgan's arm in a sling.

"What happened," the swashbuckler asked as she embraced her parents.

"Caught a spark bullet to the shoulder while getting out." Morgan rotated his right arm. "I'll be fine in a few days."

"Dad!" Riley ran off to greet her father who had worked his way through the crowd. The musketeer embraced his daughter with his remaining limb, crying every second he held her. He walked over to Adam.

"Thank you for saving her."

"She saved me." It was then Brave noticed Blaze. He drew a pistol from his belt.

"What is he doing here?!"

"That's enough, Brave!" Mary pushed the sniper back. She directed her attention to Blaze. "Good to see you broke Tauros' control. I saw you go down." Blaze nodded.

"I don't expect anyone to be too happy to see me." He turned to Brave. "I'm sorry for everything that happened in the past. And I'm sorry about Will." Brave winced. "It won't bring him back, but I know a bit about artificial limbs. I'll make you one when you're ready."

"I," Brave struggled, "I appreciate the offer. I'll think about it. And, thank you for your condolences."

"So," Adam interrupted, "Where's Ryan and Autumn? They enjoying each other's company while they have some down time?" Everyone besides those that just arrived lowered their heads.

"She's gone." Pedro entered from the crowd.

"What?" Adam couldn't comprehend what he'd just heard. "What do you mean 'gone?'"

"We were followed by my sister on our way out," Mary explained, "Autumn and Hannah fought and Autumn got slashed by her blade. It was dipped in poison meant for you. She knew she wasn't going to make it, so she stayed behind to destroy the Bronze Pegasus hoping to kill Hannah in the process. I know my sister and she most likely got out." Mary turned to one of the huts on the edge of the village. "Ryan has been taking it pretty hard." A thought occurred to Adam after being caught up for the most part.

"Who got Autumn's powers? And Will's for that matter?" He saw Pedro shimmer a dark purple. "Okay, that's one question answered."

"Peyton got Autumn's power," Mary answered, "She's watching over Ryan right now, if you want to talk to her."

"I'll do that. I need to see how Ryan's holding up." Adam went to the hut that Mary had pointed out. He opened the door and saw Ryan lying on the bed, bandages over his eyes. Peyton was resting her head on the edge, sitting in a chair next to him. She heard the door open and shot up. "It's okay, it's just me." Adam raised his hands to show he wasn't there to cause trouble, if only to reassure her.

"Sorry, everything is still fresh." Peyton rubbed her face in her hands. She hadn't slept since the attacks on Skull Island had started.

"What happened to him?"

"Golden clockwork when we were leaving Skull Island. It slashed out his eyes." Adam gently touched the bandages. They were still wet. "We've been trying to keep the wound clean, but whenever he wakes up, he reopens them." Adam removed his hands from the bandages. "I think he hopes he'll die so he can see Autumn again." Adam moved to the window of the hut.

"He's my oldest friend and my strongest ally. Seeing him like this…" Adam turned back to Peyton. "… It's just hard to process." He put his hands on his waist. "I hope he wakes up soon." The door opened and Lenora entered.

"Is he alright?" Adam and Peyton nodded. The swashbuckler sat down in one of the chairs. "How's the leg holding up?"

"It still hurts, but I think I'll live." Adam looked out the window at all of the pirates that escaped. "You made the right call." Lenora had a confused look on her face. "I was in a rage after Will got killed. I would have let everyone on Skull Island die if only to kill Flint." Adam put his right hand on his belt, reaching for the hilt of his sword. Wait a minute. He looked down and saw that he had an empty sheath. "Hey, where's my sword?" Lenora's eyes widened.

"Oh, right." Lenora opened the door and shouted, "Riley!" The young musketeer heard her name called and rushed to its source.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"I think Adam needs his sword back." Riley fumbled, trying to detach the sword from her belt. When it was finally off, she handed the blade, hilt first, to its owner. Adam reached for the hilt, but hesitated. Lenora noticed. "What's wrong?"

How am I supposed to take it back when I almost got hundreds of people killed? He knew he couldn't voice this thought out loud. "Nothing." He took the hilt and returned the sword to its rightful place on his hip. There was a small groan and the pirates turned to see Ryan waking up. "Ryan, you're up! I'm glad you're…"

"Get out," Ryan growled. Adam took a quick step back, stunned.

"Ryan, it's me. Adam." The musketeer moved closer to his friend. Rage grew beneath Ryan's skin.

"I know DAMN well who I'm listening to!" Ryan rolled out of the bed. "And I'm telling you to get out!" The assassin still had his gauntlets on, so he activated the blades and started to slash out haphazardly. Adam jumped out of the way, causing Ryan to smash the window behind him.

"What are you doing?!" Peyton grabbed hold of Ryan and pushed the buttons on his arms, deactivating the gauntlets. "He's your friend!"

"Let go of me!" Ryan broke free of her hold using the technique she'd taught her in the sparring chamber. Peyton grabbed her face in pain and felt blood drip down from her nose. Not being able to see what he'd done, Ryan moved to where he'd heard Adam last. "You are not my friend! A real friend wouldn't let my family get hurt. You went above that. You got them all KILLED!" Ryan activated the right gauntlet and raised it up to Adam's neck. "I've lost everything. My friend. My wife. My sight. You've caused me nothing but pain. I'll say it again: Get the HELL OUT! NOW!" Accepting defeat, Adam walked towards the door.

"Lenora, Riley, Peyton, let's go." The four pirates exited. It's all my fault.

"So what do you think of the new Ryan?" Brave asked. He had been talking with Pedro until Adam found him.

"I don't even know if that was Ryan," Adam admitted. "After everything he's been through, it's a broken heart that's going to be the death of him." Adam crossed his arms. "This is Flint. He doesn't just want to kill us; he wants to break us down, tear us apart, and erase everything we were or ever will be."

"Flint is a menace," the sniper agreed, "He killed Will and, for that, he'll pay. I'll be sure of that. I'm in this to the end." He looked back at the hut. "But Ryan," Brave searched for the right words, "I think he's just given up."

"We can't beat Flint without him. He wouldn't have had Ryan wounded so badly if he wasn't threatened by him. But his eyes." Adam was still haunted by what had happened to his friend's face. "He's in no condition to fight and we need him to be fighting NOW." Blaze walked up at that exact moment.

"What are we talking about?"

"Ryan's eyes," Brave answered.

"Cybernetic implants should do the trick." Blaze pointed to his gray left eye. "That's how I can see out of this eye. The procedure is painless."

It could work. The thought of having Ryan at full strength was too great to pass up. Then he remembered. "It won't work. He hates the clockworks, and your implants are made of that same technology. He'd rather stay blind." Adam paced back and forth in their small talking space. "He needs an eye transplant."

"You're serious?" Pedro, who had been leaning against a tree, separate from the conversation, finally joined in.

"We don't have a lot of options." Adam punched a nearby tree. "Why do we have to keep sacrificing?" Pedro couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. "Something funny? Last time I checked, you were against us."

"Sorry," Pedro replied, "It's just that what you said and something Autumn said before we left her finally makes sense." He pointed towards Ryan's hut. "That man in there was more than just my friend; he was my brother. I hurt him so bad, but now I know that you don't sacrifice family. You sacrifice for them." Adam turned to look Pedro in the eyes.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Pedro nodded in confirmation.

"Give him my eyes."