Above deck, Aramis, Porthos and Athos were performing some menial tasks apart, as Collaart had clearly instructed they be separated as much as possible. Their swords and muskets were close-by.
Of the eight pirates, Athos and Aramis had six of them in their sights, one of them being Collaart himself.
Suddenly, the released prisoners suddenly began appearing from the lower deck. As they made it up, the Inseparables barely had time to register their surprise. They all began to grab their weapons, as several of the pirates' attentions were clearly focused on their escaping hostages. D'Artagnan was in tow, maneuvering in front of the hostages, in order to provide a defense.
As three of the pirates, armed with daggers, ran towards the hostages, Athos, Porthos and Aramis dispatched all three with their muskets and swords. Another gave chase, but was easily felled by Aramis' sword. Four down, four to go, thought Aramis.
"Porthos! The FUSE!" Athos yelled.
Porthos ran unmolested to the lower deck in the confusion.
Suddenly a shout rang out: "The sailors! They're escaping!" It was Collaart.
"Go go GO!", Aramis waved at all five men, safely making their way to the dock, off of the ship.
The remaining pirates, as well as Collaart, were now storming the upper deck, two of which were coming straight at Athos and Aramis.
Athos, Aramis, and D'Artagnan, separated in different corners of the deck, had to take cover from the hail of bullets the three pirates dispatched from their pistols.
The standoff went on for a few minutes when suddenly, Porthos emerged from below deck. He was able to give a 'go' signal to Athos, meaning that the charge was lit.
Time to go.
Aramis' last shot hit his target, felling Jussac.
Captain Collaart saw Porthos and wondered what he was doing below deck. Seeing only two of his men left, he knew that they were no match for these three skilled imposters.
Saving his ship was of paramount importance.
He glanced down and the illuminated trail of the fuse to the gunpowder barrels was all that he needed to see, for realization to kick in.
His ship was lost.
He began running to the edge of the ship, directly above the gunpowder barrels below him, jumping overboard his only option lest he be blown to bits in the blast.
At that same moment, Athos then got Aramis' attention. Seeing Porthos running for his life, Aramis did not need to be told what to do next.
They all began in the direction to depart the ship.
They were about to run off the ship when Athos suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Where's D'Artagnan?"
Aramis looked back and scanned the deck to see D'Artagnan, weaponless, chasing Collaart. He was in the middle of the deck, away from them. Does he even know that Porthos lit the fuse?, he wondered?
"D'ARTAGNAN!" All three Inseparables yelled.
"Get back here, NOW!" Athos shouted.
Surely the barrels were about to blow.
"He's escaping!" D'Artagnan can be heard to scream, running towards Collaart, his back to his brothers.
"NO- get BACK! That's an ORDER! The fuse-"
"I have him!" D'Artagnan yelled, as he closed the distance between himself and Collaart.
"NO! You-"
Athos' words died in his lips as a massive explosion ripped from the bowels of the ship.
Smoke, splintered wood, flying flotsam, and fire camouflaged everything on deck. Aramis, Athos, and Porthos were physically thrown from the Revenge onto the dock leading to the ship.
"N- no," was all Athos could croak, picking himself up.
It seemed an eternity for the smoke to clear on deck. All three were already running back on board, mindful of the gaping hole on the deck now sported due to the explosion from below.
Finally the smoke settled.
There was a body on deck.
Once visibility cleared, it was apparent that it was Captain Collaart.
The Captain's body lay in a grotesque heap, unmoving. Aramis was the first to get to him.
Athos and Porthos both ran past, completely uncaring for the state of the insensate pirate Captain.
Where the hell was D'Artagnan?
As Aramis confirmed that Collaart was dead, he ran to join his brothers.
As he did so, he simply said, "He's dead."
"WHO?!" Athos demanded, still furiously looking for his younger brother.
"Collaart."
"I don't CARE about Collaart! Where is D'Artagnan?!" Athos bellowed, almost taking Aramis' head off.
All of them then suddenly staggered to the left, as the ship began to list to one side. Water was now flooding the lower deck rapidly, causing the ship to tilt more and more with each passing moment.
Porthos said, "'E may have been thrown clear," running to the edge of the deck.
His brothers followed.
As they all made their way to the edge of the ship, what they saw as they looked overboard made their collective hearts lurch.
There, lying face down in the water, was D'Artagnan. Bobbing up and down was the only motion he showed, due to the slow movement of the waves.