Ch. 18 Spiral Council

"Are you sure that you want to do this?" Lenora stood by Adam as they stood outside a large marble chamber in Marleybone with the rest of the crew except for Pedro and Riley, who was still injured with the latter taking care of him. He was about to beg the other realms of the Spiral for aid against Flint. The musketeer leaned against the wall to maintain his balance in his current state.

"It doesn't matter what I want," Adam stated, a slight notion of fear in his tone, "We can't defeat Flint without the numbers to face him. He's taken over an entire realm of the Spiral, one that was occupied by almost every other realm. The other realms can't just sit by while their strongest ally's home falls into darkness." Adam turned to look Lenora in the eyes. There was a determined look in them.

"I don't care what everyone else needs or thinks; what do you think?" Adam stared at her.

"I," the words got caught in Adam's throat. "I'm scared that they'll think I'm preaching a lost cause."

"Adam," Morgan walked up to the younger musketeer, "You could have hidden how Flint is your uncle and how Blaze created the clockworks. Why didn't you?" Adam didn't answer. "You had faith that we wouldn't judge you and would help anyway. We're with you." A grin stretched across Adam's face. The pirate took a deep breath, exhaled, and pushed open the door, his crew following close behind him.

The room was designed after an amphitheater, with the leaders of every realm in seats closest to the main floor. Adam surveyed the room and saw Admiral Nelson and Mycroft Bones representing Marleybone and Rajah, the emperor of Mooshu standing for himself, Ulysses for Aquila, Queen Eleanor for Monquista, El Toro for Cool Ranch, and an unknown unicorn from Valencia.

I guess things are settling down in Valencia. Adam walked into the center of the room. "Admiral Nelson, it's good to see you again." Adam gave a slight salute. The dog replied with a salute of his own.

"Likewise, Captain Silver." Adam greeted everyone in turn until he reached to unicorn.

"I'm sorry," Adam started, "I haven't been to Valencia in a while. I don't know what has happened since I freed your realm." The unicorn nodded in acknowledgement.

"That is alright. My name is Emmanuel the third. Successor to King Casimir." The Italian unicorn bowed. "It is an honor to meet the man who freed my people from the Armada."

"That is why I am here." Adam spoke to all of them. "Skull Island has been taken." A wave of murmurs fell over the room. "The man who took it brought an army made up of clockworks and pirates alike. He has an immeasurable amount of power compared to me and my crew's. He has loyal followers-"

"You are referring to your uncle, Dark Flint Silver." Adam was stopped mid-sentence by Mycroft.

"How do you know that name?"

"We have all been given the same information prior to this meeting," Queen Eleanor answered. "He also gave us a holo disk with a video he said to play in front of you." Adam took the disk and inserted it into the holographic interface that stood before him. An enlarged version of Flint filled the room.

"Leaders of the Spiral, you all know who I am, but for those who don't know, my name is Dark Flint Silver." The holographic form moved about the room as it spoke. "You all know the truth. I have taken over Skull Island and all of its skyways. This is all that I desire. I don't want to fight you, but I will defend what is mine. If you do attempt to help this rogue take back his, so called, home, I will have no choice but to unleash my forces on your realms in retaliation." Seeming to know that Blaze was in the room, Flint turned to face Adam's crew. "I would, also, like to introduce you to someone special. This man with the golden arm," Flint pointed out, "Is Merciful Blaze Silver: my son, creator of the clockworks, the man who killed Avery Silver, and Kane." Blaze stepped back. The rest of the room locked their eyes on the privateer. "Now, why would someone who would call upon your aid harbor such a dangerous war criminal?" Flint turned to address the Spiral Council again. "I've said my piece. I hope you make the right decision." The image flickered off. Adam just stared straight ahead.

"Is all of this true?" Ulysses' hands were already moving to the sword on his hip. Adam snapped out of his trance.

"Yes." The whole room erupted in screams and demands of arrest and execution. "Let me explain. Blaze was under the influence of a personality matrix called Tauros. He took advantage of him after Flint killed our mother. You can't hold him accountable for the actions of another."

"Sigma was the only known personality matrix in existence. How do you know that others exist?" The question from a random dog in the audience spurred an unavoidable action from Adam.

"Come on out, Sagittarius." Adam's golden matrix flickered to life.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Sagittarius. I was created by Captain Horace Avery Silver along with my brother program, Tauros."

"So," the Mooshu emperor stated, anger in his voice, "Not only have you been harboring a war criminal, but you have also been in possession of technology that has been deemed illegal in all realms of the Spiral after the Sigma incident!"

"With all due respect, Emperor," Adam attempted to explain before he was cut off by Sagittarius.

"Sigma sought power and control, much like Tauros has. I am here as a combat advisor and memory fragment. If I wanted to control Adam, I could have done so at any time." Adam shuddered at the thought of being controlled. "That being said, I still voice my opinions to Adam when a move seems risky or when I know an outcome is inevitable and he adjusts to the standards."

"We're partners," Adam stated. "Look, what my brother did in the past was horrible and can probably never be forgiven, but I'm asking you to overlook that right now. After everything I've done, that is the least you can do." The room fell silent as the council members each took their seats. Mycroft motioned with his hands for Adam to continue. "There will come a time where my brother must pay for his crimes, but now is not the time. As I said earlier, Flint has dark pirates and clockworks at his disposal. Blaze has first-hand knowledge of how they're built and how to destroy them. My crew and I will keep a close eye on him, but you need to understand; he's more valuable free than he is imprisoned or dead." He paced in circles around the amphitheater. "I have helped you all with one problem or another on numerous occasions. All I'm asking is for you to give us aid as we gave it to you." Silence, once again, fell over the room. Please, help us. He walked back to his crew while the remainder of the council left the room to discuss the matter.

"They'll help, Adam," Mary reassured. Blaze stood away from everyone else.

"They'll want me." Adam turned to his brother. "They think I'm too dangerous to run free and I don't blame them."

"Blaze," Lenora consoled, "You can't think like that. Now that they know how valuable you are, they can't afford to take you in." Blaze faced Lenora.

"If you had created an army to destroy every living thing and could have stopped it at any time, but didn't, would you trust yourself to run free?" Lenora had no response for the question presented. "No answer. I thought so."

"That doesn't matter," Adam interrupted, "I trust you." A door opened and the council filed back into the room. Adam retook his place in the center of the room. He placed his hands behind his back as a show of respect and awaited their decision.

"Merciless Adam Silver," Admiral Nelson started, "Captain of the Golden Archer. In light of your accomplishments in the course of defending the realms of the Spiral for personal purposes and that of the greater good, we have elected to dispel the law regarding the use of personality matrixes. Your relationship with this 'Sagittarius' seems to be one of mutual trust." A grin started to form on Adam's face.

This is going better than I thought.

"Furthermore," Emmanuel continued, "We have agreed to suspend the charges that stand against your brother until your situation in Skull Island can be resolved."

"Oh, thank God," Adam sighed in relief, "You have no idea how much that means to me!" The musketeer couldn't help, but do a little dance. "Thank you so much!" Adam stopped when Queen Eleanor raised her paw.

"However," the queen resumed the deliverance, "Your foe is a powerful one and while our fleets are strong." The queen couldn't bring herself to finish the news. The Mooshu emperor finished for her.

"We will not be sending aid to Skull Island." The smile that had formed on Adam's face quickly faded.

"What?" Adam was confused. How can they promise all of these things and not send help?

"We understand that your situation is dire," Ulysses answered, "But Flint has made it clear; any action will result in attacks on our realms."

"Don't you get it?" Adam's blood started to boil. "He doesn't care if your honor your part or not. He'll attack you sooner or later. He knows that if you're too afraid to attack, it'll be easier to pick you off one by one."

"He has not given us any reason to believe otherwise," the Mooshu emperor retorted. "Our word is final." A fire burned in Adam's eyes. The musketeer stormed out of the room. His crew followed quickly behind him. Brave turned to face the council.

"You're making a big mistake." Brave followed the rest of the crew.

"Admiral Bellamy." The one armed sniper turned to see Admiral Nelson chasing after him.

"I'm not an admiral anymore. I'm just a pirate."

"You fought alongside many Marleybonians; like it or not, you're still an admiral in my book." The dog naval officer put his hand on his hip. "I just wanted to say that you're right. We are making a mistake." Brave raised his eyebrows quizzically. "I remember living through the end of the Polarian Wars, seeing the death and destruction that followed in the penguins' wake because of their arrogance. That's why I was fighting to get our fleets on your side."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Your captain is a good man. He deserved better than what he got in that room." The admiral leaned in and whispered into Brave's ear. "I'll send in whatever support I can. It won't be much, but it'll have to do until I can convince the others to set aside their fear."

"I won't forget this, admiral," Brave graciously accepted.

"I'm sure. Just make sure that whatever comes your way, you fight to the last man." Nelson saluted and turned away.

"Admiral," Brave called. The dog turned to face the pirate. "Do you ever feel it? Like it was still there?" Brave motioned to his missing limb.

"Every day," the admiral sighed.