Ch. 21 Broken Blade

"Lenora, you need to relax." Jordan and the rest of the crew had met up with Lenora, Bonnie, and Brave at the nearby hospital upon hearing the news. "Pacing around the room isn't going to help anyone."

"Well, what else can I do!?" Lenora was stressed. The swashbuckler took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I'm just scared."

"We're all scared," the brunette buccaneer consoled, "You just need to rest. That's the best thing you can do right now."

"I want to know who did this to my brother." Blaze got up from his seat in the waiting room. "Not just anyone could have done this. This attack was meticulously thought out."

"'Traitor,'" Bonnie spoke the last words Adam had said. "That was the last thing he said before he passed out. Someone is working for Flint. We need to find out who." The fox took off her hat and brushed her fur back. Who can be trusted? Who can't? Bonnie turned to Jordan. No. Never Jordan. She wouldn't let fear of the unknown make her paranoid of everyone. Putting her hat back on, she stood up as Mary walked out with the rest of the doctors. They had sent Ratbeard, Morgan, and Sirena to get her as soon as Adam had been rushed to the hospital. If anyone could save him, it'd be her.

"Is he alive?!" Lenora panicked. Mary took off her surgical gloves and wiped the sweat from her face.

"He appears to be stable." The crew let out a sigh of relief. "You three saved his life. Any later and… well." Lenora refused to think about the alternative right now.

"Can I see him?" As soon as the witchdoctor nodded, the red-haired pirate rushed through the door.

"Fifth door on the left!" Lenora caught the information and ran faster, her hair flowing behind her. She opened the door and was greeted by a frail old woman.

"Can I help you, dear?" Lenora blinked.

"Um." The pirate felt a hand on her left shoulder. She turned and saw Peyton.

"One more door, Red." Lenora looked back down the hall and saw only three doors.

"Oh," she mumbled. "I am so sorry, ma'am."

"Not to worry, dear," the woman smiled. "You seem worried. Go find whoever it is you're looking for." The two pirates walked over to the next door and entered. Adam lay on the bed, missing limbs with bandages around them. There was an eye patch over his right eye.

"My God." Peyton covered her mouth with her left hand. "Lenora, I am so sorry." The swashbuckler slowly made her way to Adam's bedside. She dropped to her knees and laid her head on the edge of the bed.

"Adam," Lenora wept, "I'm sorry for everything that happened. I wish I could take our fight back and erase it from existence. Maybe you wouldn't have gotten hurt and this traitor wouldn't have been able to do so much damage." Peyton wanted to console her; tell her everything would be alright, but she knew this wasn't the time. Lenora needed to let it all out.

"Is he going to be okay?" Peyton turned to the door and saw Brave and Riley standing there, waiting to enter.

"I don't know, sweetie," Peyton responded. She didn't want to be brutally honest, but she also didn't want to get her hopes up. "Only time will tell." A groan came from the bed.

"Adam!" Lenora jumped up in surprise.

"Hey." The musketeer surveyed the room. His whole crew had filled the space available. "What's everyone looking at?" He noticed his sight was very limited. Reaching his hand to his face, he felt the leather of the patch over his right eye. "My eye." Adam attempted to prop himself up on his elbows, but couldn't get his right arm to support his weight. He moved his head and saw a stump where his arm used to be. "I guess you and I are twins, huh, Brave?" The sniper couldn't help but let out a laugh. Adam slid off the bed, only to fall to the ground. Lenora and Blaze helped him up. "Why can't I stand?" The musketeer looked down and saw his missing left leg. "Take me to a mirror." The two pirates complied and Adam saw himself for the first time. The bandages covering his severed limbs and eye were a shock to the system. "Well." Adam motioned that he wanted to lie back down. When he was comfortable, he began to ask questions. "What happened?"

"Ye mean," Ratbeard asked, "Ye can't remem'er?"

"No," Adam admitted. "I remember the meeting with the Spiral Council. After that, nothing."

"You don't remember anything after that?" Lenora wondered if he couldn't remember their fight.

"No." Lenora was secretly relieved that he didn't remember what he did.

He doesn't need to know. "You said, 'traitor,' when you woke up after we found you. That means Flint has someone in our ranks."

"I'm sure Sagittarius saw who did it. Let's just ask him."

"Adam," Brave held up Sagittarius' control chip, "You got drunk last night and removed Sagittarius from your body. Whoever did this, we have no way of knowing who it was." Adam rubbed his face with his right hand.

"God," Adam groaned, "How many more stupid mistakes am I going to make?" He looked at his crew. "I want to talk with Lenora, Mary, Blaze, Brave, and Bonnie alone." Everyone complied, leaving the six of them in the room alone.

"Look, Adam," Blaze started, "I'm still working on Pedro's prosthetic eyes, but limbs are easier to build. I don't know why, they just are. As soon as I'm done with his eyes, I'll build you one, along with a new arm and leg." Adam shifted his body in his bed.

"We still have what little support we can get from Nelson," Brave stated. "But we still need you." Brave held out Sagittarius, waiting for Adam to take him.

"No."

"What?"

"I said 'no.'" Adam pushed Brave's hand away. "I can't take Sagittarius. He's only useful to someone who is in control. I'm like a broken blade. I'm… I'm not fit to lead."

"Adam," Bonnie tried to convince him otherwise, "Do you know how many times your plan has saved countless lives?"

"And how many people have died because of my mistakes?" Adam's retort made sense. "Joe, Catbeard, Avery, Will, and Autumn. We still don't know if Kyle is alive!" Adam buried his face in his hand. "I'm the reason Ryan left us. If I hadn't caused all of those deaths, maybe he'd still be here."

"We'll give you some space," Mary said. Only Lenora stayed behind. Adam lifted his head and looked into Lenora's eyes for the first time since he woke up. He saw the strength she was trying to give him, but he couldn't accept it.

"Where did you get that scratch from?" Lenora touched the scar from where Adam had hit him.

He can't know. "Some idiot at the bar. They were playing a game of darts and it flew towards me."

"Must have been some idiot," Adam chuckled. His smile quickly faded. "I remember how you led the people of Skull Island when I was out of control."

"Anyone could have done the same thing." Lenora blushed.

"No, they couldn't have," Adam stated. "I want you to lead them."

"What?"

"Like I said, I don't trust myself with command anymore. I trust you more than anyone else. You know how Sagittarius thinks and you have leadership experience." Lenora didn't know how to respond. "Please. Do it for me." Lenora grabbed his face and kissed him, refusing to break it for the next two minutes. When they finally broke away from each other, Adam laid his head back down. "I need to rest. Don't wait too long to visit me." Lenora stood up, but not before planting a kiss on his forehead.

"You're still the only captain that can lead us." Lenora left and Adam started to shift in the bed.

"It's your fault." A familiar voice drew Adam's attention. One he hadn't heard since they left Skull Island. The musketeer faced Will. "How could you let me die?"

"I didn't!" Adam wanted to push him away, but couldn't. Another voice joined in.

"Your leadership took me from my husband." Autumn came into view. "Your arrogance has separated me from my love."

"No. I was trying to save everyone!"

"Your pride cost me my life." Catbeard joined the two pirates. "I died saving you."

"I didn't mean for any of you to die!" Adam covered his remaining eye. "Please, leave me alone!"

"Adam," Lenora removed her ear from the door, "Please, be strong." Lenora made her way down the hall, thinking of how to deliver the news to the crew.

"Well," Sirena inquired, "What happened?"

"He's," Lenora searched for the words. "He's stepping down from command." Everyone was taken aback. "He named me captain." The swashbuckler motioned for Brave to step forward. The sniper knew what she'd called him over for. He took Sagittarius out of his pocket. She took the chip and placed it on her wrist. A quick burst of energy jolted through her body, similar to when Adam had first activated Sagittarius, a golden light surrounding her for a brief moment.

"Doing?!" The personality finished the sentence that Adam had cut off in his drunken state. His holographic body flickered to life over Lenora's shoulder. "Lenora? What am I doing in your body?"

"Adam was critically injured by an assassin," Blaze explained, "He lost an eye, most of his right arm, and his left leg. He stepped down from command." Blaze looked at the swashbuckler. "Lenora is in charge now." Sagittarius lowered his head.

"Fine," he sighed, "What do you want to do first?" Lenora took a moment to think. She knew getting the pirates ready was important, but she also knew she'd need weapons to support her new leadership position. Jordan, knowing what she was thinking, took a bag off of Bonnie's belt and gave it to Lenora. Lenora took out the hilt of Adam's sword.

"I want to see the original schematics for Adam's sword."

"Still working on that thing?" Peyton was carrying a tray of food. "You keep going like this and we'll need another leader." Lenora took off the goggles she was wearing and set them down on the table. She had taken the sword fragments to the Golden Archer and was assembling it there. The swashbuckler had managed to find Adam's equipment and started the rebuilding process.

"Hey," she retorted, "Rebuilding a broken sword is a lot harder than it seems. Let alone the upgrades I'm gonna make." Peyton eyeballed her and Lenora capitulated. She picked up the sandwich the privateer had brought her and bit into it. "Thanks for bringing me some food."

"I wanted to talk to you about something." Lenora looked up at her, seeing a need to talk to someone in her eyes. She nodded. "I like Ryan." This wasn't new information to Lenora, but she let Peyton continue, uninterrupted. "Something about him made my heart jump when we were sparring. I felt alive when we fought. We kept each other on our toes the whole time. But he was married." Lenora was slightly perplexed.

"You were hoping something would happen to Autumn?"

"What?!" Peyton waved her hands in denial. "God, no! I may have liked him while she was with him, but I never wanted anything to happen to her." Peyton took a deep breath. "Look, when Autumn's powers were transferred to me, she gave me something extra." Peyton raised her hand and the vision Autumn had sent her played for Lenora.

"She told me to show him this when the moment is right." Peyton had started to cry. "I could have shown him this before he left El Dorado. Maybe he would have stayed. Maybe Adam wouldn't have been maimed. Maybe…" Lenora raised a hand, cutting her off.

"You made the right call." Peyton blinked, confused. "If you had shown this to him then, it would have made things worse." Lenora put down the sandwich. "Ryan's grieving. He needs time before he can come to terms with what happened." Bonnie Anne entered the cabin, a plate of food in her hands. "I swear, I feel like you're all trying to make me eat myself to death." Lenora laughed.

"What are ya' talking about?" Bonnie took her right paw and tossed a grape into her mouth. "This is my food." Bonnie noticed the fragmented sword on the table. "Still working on that blade?" Lenora nodded. "Don't worry. You'll get it done." Lenora leaned back in her chair.

"I'm scared."

"It's just a sword, Lenora."

"It's more than that!" Lenora took a breath. "I heard something when I left Adam in the hospital. He was screaming to himself. Blaming himself for those deaths." Lenora lifted the hilt of the sword. "He's a broken blade, just like this sword, and I don't know if I can fix it!" The swashbuckler threw the hilt and it embedded itself in the wood by the door. Lenora buried her face in her hands.

"Well, that's a fine way to say hello!" Lenora rose up and drew her daggers, rushing the door. She held her blades to the intruder's neck. The intruder was a white dog with black patches on covering her eyes, ears, and elbows. A pair of binoculars hung from her neck and she had a wrench on her belt. "Easy, girl. I'm not here to cause trouble." Bonnie pulled Lenora off the dog, pushing her back a bit.

"Gracie Conrad!" Bonnie hugged her fellow Marleybonian. "I haven't seen you since we destroyed the Armada."

"I agree. It's been too long." The dog broke off the embrace and rubbed her neck. "Thank you for not killing me."

"What are you doing here, Gracie?"

"Nelson sent me. Told me you needed help." The dog pulled out the hilt from the wall. "I guess he was right." She turned back to Lenora. "You must be Red Lenora Noble. I'm sorry about what happened; Adam was a good friend." Gracie moved to the table where the rest of the sword lay. "Do you have any schematics?"

"Sagittarius," Lenora called for the personality matrix. He shimmered to life over the table. He waved his hand and blueprints appeared.

"Wow!" Gracie was astonished. "So you're Sagittarius! It's a pleasure to meet you." She shook off the excitement and studied the plans. "I can have this done in no time." She picked up the tools Lenora had been using and got to work.

"Well, she wastes no time." Peyton leaned on her hips.

"Let's give her some space. She works best without distractions." The three pirates left the cabin and waited. A few minutes later, Gracie came out, Adam's sword in hand.

"Done!" The dog slashed the sword through the air a few times then handed it, hilt first, to Lenora. The swashbuckler took the blade and held it in her right hand. "Click that button on the bottom and you'll get what you were trying to do." Lenora pushed the button and the sword split down the middle. She held the two blades in each hand. Each had the firing capability the original had. She pushed the blades back together and they reattached, forming one blade, once again. "It really is a nice sword. Probably my best work." The engineer was greeted by a hug from Lenora.

"Thank you." Gracie broke off the hug and took out her signature wrench.

"Adam was my first, and only, captain. I'll do whatever it takes to help him and the people of Skull Island." Gracie held out her paw to Lenora. "I'd like to join your crew, if you'll have me."

"I'd have to be stupid not to take the help." Lenora shook Gracie's paw and proceeded to sheath her sword. "Bonnie, get everyone back to the ship." Lenora went up to the wheel. She gripped the hilt of the sword. "Flint thinks he can break us. It's time for us to prove him wrong."

A.N.: Bet you weren't expecting Gracie to make an appearance. Honestly, neither did I. But when I was thinking about this chapter, I decided the crew could use a familiar face to help out and I remembered how much I enjoy using her in combat. Also, it just made sense to have and old crew member and mechanic be the one to rebuild Adam's sword. Adding this character has put a slight delay into the next story, as I have had to rethink some of my major plot points, but don't worry. The prologue and first chapter should be out soon.