A/N: I literally just typed this. I WILL keep my promises of weekly updates! Lol. Naval warfare is a new thing to me, I was back and forth on wikis to keep it as realistic as possible. Let me know how it was and what you didn't like about it! I'm new to typing this kind of fighting! Also I'm taking advice I received from PMs and will switch PoVs (not just sticking with Yang) more! So look forward to that.
I'm tired, going to bed... Enjoy!
"You want me to … what?" Yang asked once again towards Captain Cinder.
Jogging to stay in stride with the Captain now, the blonde fell in step beside her as Cinder made her way to take the wheel of her vessel.
"I told you, Blondie. You're tagging along with Roman and boarding that ship." She repeated once again with a hint of playfulness in her words.
Yang couldn't believe her ears and eyes. First off this woman; Cinder seemed to be completely at ease during the preparations of a naval battle! Secondly; she wanted Yang herself to board the enemy ship with the rest of the boarding party led my Roman.
It wasn't like she was scared or anything, but couldn't they just … blast the ship away with cannons?
"W- Why would we board them when we could just sink them from here?" Yang asked finally generally concerned.
She watched as Cinder spun the wheel towards starboard and a wicked smile take hold on her face, before blazing amber eyes bore down into Yang's own lilac ones.
"Because we're pirates…" Was all the older woman uttered.
But before Yang could argue the amount of flaws alone in that statement, she heard the familiar booming sounds of cannons firing off, then she felt the ground she stood on shake violently soon after.
The ringing in her ears, the darkness, the yelling, and the rocking of the vessel was almost enough to cause Yang to vomit. That was until she felt a hand on her shoulder.
Turning around, she glanced down and spotted Neo looking up at her with those beautiful mismatched eyes beaming. The girl had a cocky grin on her face. The smile though was enough to calm Yang as she felt equilibrium returning to herself. Losing herself in Neo's smile Yang steadied herself and had her own grin on her face.
Nodding towards the shorter girl, she followed her off towards the railing and watched as the shadowed ship off to starboard grew in size as it floated closer.
Yang felt anxious and scared in that singular moment. Of course over this last week she has been in two different naval battles, but this would be the first time where she'd be an active participant. She worried for Ruby's safety as well but knew the small girl would be safe on the vessel. She knew Cinder wouldn't even allow a single piece of Ruby's crimson hair to be put out of place.
Yang might question Cinder's odd relationship with her sister, but she knew the Captain would protect Ruby with her life.
"How are they still coming towards us?!" Emerald yelled out as she stood on the lower deck, her cutlass in hand at the ready.
Yang glanced at the dark skinned girl before looking back at the other ship's silhouette.
That's true. They spotted us earlier but now all the lights on the ship have been extinguished.
But then the blonde looked back towards the ship and figured out the answer. It was the same reason why they could see them as well.
"It's because it's a full moon out! No clouds in the sky, so everything out here on the ocean is lit up!" Roman hollered out, telescope in hand; aimed out towards the ocean. "Melanie; aim towards the left and just a tad bit higher! Fire on my mark. Miltia; load spider-shot rounds in the cannons!"
Yang risked a glance around the ship, slightly proud of herself in having figured out why they could see everything as well, once Roman answered out loud. She noticed that the usually happy go lucky crew was moving like a well-oiled machine now. Everyone had a job to do and they were preforming it without question.
Well everyone but her.
She still stood slightly hunched over near the railing next to Neo. The small girl huddled next to her had her beautiful brown and pink eyes out peering towards the incoming enemy ship. But she also had a large silver blunderbuss in her right hand. The weapon looked larger than a usual one and seemed oddly shaped with the barrel extended largely outwards as if it fired larger rounds.
That's when Yang herself also remembered that she was weaponless.
Starting to feel antsy now and slightly scared, she quickly shut her eyes and breathed in a few sharp breathes to calm her nerves once again. She tuned out the various shouting, the rough waves, the creaking of the vessel along with the metal on metal sounds of cannons being reloaded below her on the bottom deck; everything.
If she was boarding the other ship with the others, she'd make sure to snatch up a weapon from somewhere.
I'm not completely defenseless…
Cracking her knuckles, the blonde adopted a wicked smile across her lips.
"Fire at will!"
This time she was ready though, as Yang threw her hands over her ears at the loud command. The booming thumps followed by the massive vibrations shuddering the entire vessel were enough to throw the girl into a wild laugh. She kept her eyes open to peer over the railing; at the bright orange lights that filled her vision below and the massive amounts of smoke that puffed upwards.
The enthralling sight of cannons being fired right below her in quick succession only forced her to cover her ears with a renewed vigor, as the sounds of cannon fire only increased.
She had lost count of how many times the cannons had fired, and could only wonder just how fast in fact that the twins and Junior could actually reload each cannon and continue firing so quickly. They surely were the best of the best at their job.
But the enemy ship was still on a straight course to collide with The Queen's Vessel. Despite the other boat being riddled by cannon fire; blowing holes in the hull, masts that seemed to be teetering on the edge of collapsing from the fired chained-cannonballs, and the fires that seemed to ignite; the boat continued to float.
But it seemed that with Captain Cinder piloting; that was the intended purpose. The blonde remembered that the Captain indeed wanted to board, and thinking back on her words of 'cause we're pirates.' Yang had thought about it. It did indeed make sense to board and acquire new supplies from our foes.
The cannon fire ceased and all was quiet, minus the sounds of the waves hitting the hull. It didn't even seem like the other ship had fired on The Queen's Vessel; and by now the ships were only separated by a few meters of ocean, and closing.
Being so much closer now though, the crew could see the distant coloring and flags belonging to one of the four main kingdoms; Mistral.
"Boarding party; ready weapons!" Roman bellowed.
By now Yang felt her heart beat quicken, her palms were sweaty, and her lungs were on fire! The smell of the salt water and gunpowder filled the air and filled her with excitement. Never before in her life has she felt so … alive.
Is this what I want? This type of life?
But all thoughts and questions halted at the sight of the ship now on a crash course with Queen's Vessel. The Mistral boat was smaller compared to Cinder's ship and actually didn't even look like a war boat. It seemed more like a trader's or merchant's ship; much like the one Yang and her sister were traveling on a few days ago before they were picked up. That also might explain the lack of return fire from the ship.
Despite most likely not having the armaments for a heated naval battle, Yang knew that there would be armed sailors and crewmen on the boat. Despite all the havoc and damage the Mistral vessel had sustained, there was bound to still be people alive, willing to fight to the death for their lives.
"Keep your heads down!"
And it was confirmed in that very moment. Peeking over the railing, lilac eyes spotted about a dozen of gray uniformed men and women on the Mistral trade ship pointing flintlock rifles towards her and the crew.
And they fired.
The small cracks and pops seemed laughable to her in that moment compared to the thunderous cannon fire from earlier, but she was smart enough to keep her head down. Those weapons may be smaller, but they still would kill her if they hit her.
She looked over to her right and spotted Mercury and Emerald both joining her and Neo behind the cover of the wooden railing, from the incoming rifle fire.
Mercury met Yang's gaze and gave her a small wicked smile. "Ready for some actual combat, Blondie?"
Smiling at the new nickname that seemed to be spreading through the crew now, she answered. "Try to keep up with me, I'll show you how it's done."
"Ha! The new girl is a cocky one, huh?"
"It's not being cocky if you can back it up, Merc."
As soon as she uttered that sentence, the rifle fire stopped and Yang felt every muscle in her body tense up.
"Let's go!"
She jumped up and over the railing at the shout. Yang's eyes were met with only a foot separating the two vessels. She easily jumped over the small gap and was met with wide and surprised filled eyes of the Mistral crewmembers who regarded her with anger, disgust, and hatred. Not like she could blame them, she'd feel the same way in their shoes.
Once she hopped onto their ship though, Yang spotted the full effect of what Melanie and Miltia's handiwork with the cannons had actually done to the Mistral boat. There were holes all over the hull; broken pieces of wood lying around, smoke filling the air, and probably the worst of all were the dead or dying bodies all around her at her feet.
Grimacing slightly at the sight, Yang took up an unarmed combat stance and lunged towards the closest sailor who was still fumbling with their weapon at their hip. She made sure to launch a solid jab straight into the boy's face before he could unsheathe his blade and make this a one-sided fight. As soon as her fist connected with his rough unshaven face though, she planted her foot down and leaned into the blow which knocked him off his feet and onto his back.
And that's when all hell broke loose.
She turned around and spotted the other dozen or so crewmates make a mad dash for her, dropping their muskets and unsheathing their curved blades. But the only emotion that was evoked in Yang was happiness.
Not fear, not regret, not anger.
Only happiness.
This really is what I want!
Hopping backwards towards the downed soldier she had knocked out, Yang quickly unsheathed his weapon and held it in her hands. The blade felt oddly weighted and looked as if it was dull and wouldn't even cut through butter.
But it'd have to do.
It was right when the first soldier lunged at her with their own weapon, that Yang finally let her emotions show on her face.
She laughed.
Easily deflecting the blow, Yang swung her dull blade up and around, feinting a strike, only to slam the pummel of the blade into the other girl's face; earning a squeal and knocking the girl off her feet.
But a sudden flash of movement in her peripherals caused Yang to stumble backwards and lose her footing.
"Shit!"
She watched as a Mistral sailor raised his weapon to bring down onto her head. In a quick and last ditch effort she attempted to bring her own blade up to parry but knew she wouldn't make it in time.
Until a loud crack of a gunshot filled the air, with her opponent being launched forward and over Yang as his body landed a whole foot away; slumped onto the ground.
Turning to face the sound, she spotted a small girl who was sitting on her butt amidst the chaos and fighting now taking place on the cabin. Neo was smiling towards her as she brushed herself off and stood up quickly, hoisting her large rifle over her shoulder.
Mercury, Emerald, and Roman were engaged in their own melee fights and were actually quickly dispatching their foes.
Watching Neo's graceful and seductive hip sway as the short girl walked over towards her, Yang swallowed nervously. The gleam of the girl's large rifle hoisted over her shoulder alongside vicious smile threw Yang off. It almost looked like she was coming to in fact end her life; but when her smile shifted to a warm one and she offered her hand, Yang returned to grin and took it.
Hoisting herself up with Neo's help; she gave the girl a small wink and thanked her. Turning on her heel though to rejoin the others, Yang could have sworn that Neo had blushed a bit when she had winked; and it set her emotions into overdrive, but she'd be able to think more on that later.
She ran up to the group just in time to see Roman finish off his last opponent. The man lunged time and time again at Roman, who always evaded the blow skillfully; despite only having one leg. Finally the Quartermaster let their blades meet in a spark filled clash; but as the two held their weapons together, the orange haired man reached in his belt and pulled out his pistol, shooting the Mistral sailor right in his stomach; dropping him dead before he hit the ground.
"Brutal." Yang uttered while she watched a pool of red soak the clothing of the now dead sailor on the ground.
Roman chuckled before shoving his pistol back into his belt. "Thus is the life of a pirate."
"Sure got that right… We did a number on them, poor sods." Emerald then whispered out, kicking at the deceased bodies.
Neo walked over next to Yang and again beamed a smile at the taller girl, which Yang returned once more. She wanted nothing more than to ruffle the girl's hair in a playful manner; she was just so short and too cute! But she refrained from doing it; she remembered just minutes earlier she had angered her by teasing. At the moment it seemed as if Neo had forgiven or forgotten that she was mad; so Yang wouldn't try to upset her once more.
"Alright you lazy bastards, you know the drill! Scour the ship for supplies and kill anyone who resists!"
Yang swallowed and nodded her head at Roman's command. She walked towards the stairs that seemed to lead towards the lower deck, walking around the various holes and broken wood that the cannons had destroyed. The ship was still floating, but she knew it was only a matter of time before it sunk due to the sheer amount of damage it had sustained from The Queen's Vessel's bombardment from earlier.
An odd thought crossed Yang's mind though as she made her way to the underbelly of the ship…
I could have been on this ship… What a change of events.
When she spotted her sister fall over in her fight with the enemy sailors, Ruby felt her breath hitch in her throat. She had slid down the crow's nest and made her way towards the railing to run to her sister's aid; but in that moment she felt her sleeve be tugged away.
She quickly turned her head to see what she had gotten caught on but gulped in fear when her wide silver eyes met with hungry amber ones that belonged to none other than Cinder.
The woman had relinquished her position at steering the ship and seemed to have made a beeline to intercept Ruby once she jumped down from the crow's nest.
"I knew sending your sister over there would get you down. My plans always get me what I want, my little jewel." Cinder growled lowly.
Ruby felt herself tremble with fear at the woman's touch, as Cinder now wrapped her in a small embrace; calmly leading her to her quarters again; just like the first time she was on the ship.
"Tukson, you have the wheel! Keep her steady until Roman and his crew get back!" Cinder ordered over her shoulder.
Ruby couldn't help but flinch at the stark contrast in the woman's voice when she spoke to her crew and to her. When Cinder was in command; her voice seemed to ooze with authority and demanded respect. But when Cinder spoke with her; it was soft and sweet. Of course the tone behind her words and meanings were anything but; but the woman changed her demeanor significantly.
I wonder if she's bipolar.
"Aye ma'am! Where are we headin' to afterwards?" Tukson asked as he grabbed the handle of the wheel and kept the vessel in line with the destroyed Mistral ship at the moment.
Cinder halted in her movements, also pulling Ruby to a stop before she answered with a sinful grin.
"Set sail for … Atlas."