Chapter 2: Great Inagua and a Bottle of Rum
It was a few weeks after Will had found Sirena after being waylaid by said shark turned woman and her crew of buccaneers—but given that the aftermath involved them making love as soon as they realized who the other was—the best selling author and Marine Biologist wasn't exactly complaining.
Now he was taking a look at the old estate on the island, and so far, his opinion was: it needed to be torn down and replaced.
Time had been cruel to the building, since eighty-five percent of the roof had caved in, and a lot of the rest of the structure was far from stable. If a hurricane came by, then this place was getting swept away by the wind.
That being said, he was fortunate enough to be able to salvage about 75% of the house's interior and items, including plans for the original building—so he could rebuild it to be nearly identical to the original.
He also managed to salvage the clothes of the previous inhabitants—which included a pretty badass looking outfit with what looked to be a red cross pin on it—a Templar Cross.
He was rather confused about that detail, but shrugged it off. Besides, it looked like it was his size, anyway. He just had to dust it off and do a bunch of other things to get it restored.
"That outfit will probably look great on you." A voice purred as too slender and feminine arms wrapped themselves around his waist.
"I think so, too. I just gotta get it restored, first." Will chuckled as Sirena rested her chin on his shoulder. "Seriously, it's been around two and a half or so centuries. It's bound to be damaged." He added.
"Mmmm, I don't think it really matters." Sirena smiled, kissing him again.
"Mmm… You may be right. It doesn't look that damaged, anyway." The man hummed.
It was true. Looking at it again, it seemed perfectly preserved. Perhaps he really didn't need to do much of anything.
Aside from some much needed cleaning.
"Well, I'm thinking of having the crew start on the reconstruction of the manor and town since it'll be our base from here on out." The shark woman noted.
"I have some ideas for the manor." Will nodded. "I'm actually thinking of having a giant aquarium ecosystem installed in the basement." He added.
"How big?" The shark pirate woman asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Public aquarium big. Enough to possibly encourage some breeding, even." The man replied. "It'll also be a saltwater one, too." He added.
"That's going to be an interesting addition." The woman noted.
"That's what I'm thinking, too." The author nodded in agreement. "Now, I gotta get this outfit cleaned up; there's a ton of dust and grime on this thing." He added, picking up the old outfit.
"Sounds alright to me. I'll let the crew know about their jobs for the time being—and see if they can't recruit some help." Sirena nodded as she walked away.
(Later)
Will let out a tired sigh as he set a washcloth aside. For hours he'd been working on getting this strange outfit cleaned up, and he was finally done.
There was a lot for him to clean, inside and out. There were so many stains that he had to get rid of, from blood (he figured its previous owner was tortured, or it was from some less than civilized excursions by another owner) to old spider droppings.
"Alright, let's try this on." The man nodded as he started changing into the outfit, managing to get it on and fitted.
He then took a look at a weapon cabinet he salvaged along with the remaining 75% of the previous occupants' possessions that was in good condition—and took out two cutlasses, knives, smoke bombs, an air rifle, an old grenade launcher, and what looked to be two wrist mounted mechanisms he had no record of.
'Strange…' He thought, growing his brow in confusion at the two mechanisms.
They seemed to be encased in a box of either cypress or cedar wood, so the inner workings would need to get looked at.
Luckily, he knew a thing or two about weapon maintenance, so he could handle it.
The mechanisms in question seemed to be very complex, so it was going to take awhile, so he did himself a favor and sat down—before getting to work.
Ten minutes in…
"How busy are you gonna be with… whatever that is?" Jerry asked as he walked in.
"Well, I've never seen anything like this, so I have no clue." Will replied, barely looking away from what he was doing.
"Have you tested them yet?" The man questioned.
"I'm about to test this one, since I'm done repairing it." The marine biologist replied as he put the device on his wrist and put it in place before flicking his wrist—causing a double edged blade to extend from it.
"What the…?" Jerry blinked in confusion as he looked at it.
"Weird. There aren't any records of this thing in general." Will noted with a frown, retracting the blade.
"This looks pretty complex." The pirate commented, getting a good look at the unusual weapon. "I can't tell if somebody made this during the golden age of piracy or what." He added.
"Same here." The marine biologist nodded in agreement. "Still, I think I make this new outfit look good." He added with a smirk.
"I suppose it does, yeah." Jerry nodded as he went back to work.
(Timeskip)
It was a few months later, and the island of Great Inagua was already coming together quite nicely, with various buildings constructed to serve the functions needed by the people and pirates who visited.
From a few taverns, a brothel, several food stands and a general store, to a shipmaster, blacksmith and doctors, things were taking shape.
And on the top of the cliff, there was the manor that Will and Sirena had constructed: Swan's Turn. Which made a few modifications to the original manor's plans.
First and most obvious was that it was now two stories high. The second story was where the master bedroom and future nursery was located, whilst the first floor held the kitchen, living room, offices and such.
The basement, meanwhile, was where the new aquarium was located. It took a bit of work to get things in order down there, especially when it came to the mechanisms for the filters.
The basement also housed an extensive alcohol and wine cellar as well, since it was in an underground cave network that kept the products nice and cool.
This was where they kept their wine, mead, whiskey, scotch, gin, tequila and—most importantly according to the rest of the pirates—rum. Which they managed to get either by trade at Smuggler's Cove, through their own making, or by way of plunder.
Granted, Will had opted to stay out of any plundering since he had a reputation he needed to uphold. Mix that with him looking for new fauna for the aquarium and his next book, he was at the manor frequently.
That, and he worried that if his mother found out he was taking up piracy, she'd wring his neck. That thought frightened him a good bit.
Now onto the topic of his latest book…
"What're you doing, Will?" Sirena asked as she sat herself down in the man's lap while he sat at his newly cleaned and refurbished Georgian Era English Mahogany desk.
The desk itself would have fetched a fine price back in the UK, which made it all the more criminal that the manor itself had fallen into the state of disrepair it had been in.
"Just working on my next book." The man replied, looking over what he had so far, adjusting the rack of one of his many typewriters he used for his manuscripts—the specific model he was currently using being an Underwood Noiseless Portable model.
"What's this one about?" The mutant shark asked, crossing her legs.
"I'm thinking of making one of two continuations of my books on Port Clovis." Will began. "One being a first person account of the events of the Maneater show from your perspective to show what the ordeal did to you psychologically." He continued. "Or a series of interviews and memoirs going into the psyche of everyone who experienced your reign of terror." He elaborated before stroking his chin. "Or maybe both? Two books are better than one and the latter could make a good TV show…" He hummed.
"That is true." The shark woman hired thoughtfully. "I can just as easily give you my own recounting of what impact Port Clovis had on me." She continued before smirking at him. "... And an honest opinion of your impact on me." She purred, pecking him on the cheek.
"I'll probably omit that last one, could be seen as bias." Will chuckled in amusement. "But I think I have enough for today, so I think I'll take a break." He nodded.
"What're you going to do the rest of the day, then?" The shark woman asked.
"I'm not really sure. Is there anything you can think of that needs to be done?" The author asked.
"No… But I can think of one thing we can spend the next couple hours—or days—doing." Sirena replied, her tail swishing under the chair.
"I think I know what that is." The man chuckled.
"Mmmm, don't start getting reluctant now, Will." The woman purred as she stroked his cheek. "After all, you're the one who's caused me to go into heat." She told him, kissing his neck.
"Oh, so my existence is what makes you all hot and bothered?" Will quipped as he pulled her into his lap. "I better fix that." He remarked, kissing her cheek.
Sirena giggled as her favorite human picked her up primal style and carried her all the way upstairs to their bedroom.
"Oh Will~!" Sirena moaned as the door closed, locking behind them.
You can guess what happened from there.
(Timeskip)
A month later, the new Great Inagua was basically finished, which gave Will and Sirena a lot of time to enjoy themselves.
Well, enjoying themselves usually meant spending hours or days on end doing nothing but having sex around the clock, unless they were eating, bathing or sleeping together, and Sirena was watching Will write his books while enjoying some rum or gin.
Sirena's heat cycle was pretty much the big reason for the two of them going at it like they were. The mutant shark woman really wanted the marine biologist's pups.
Though he honestly wasn't complaining…
"Will?" Sirena asked as she and her lover laid in bed together after a warm, romantic shower an hour earlier.
"Yeah, Sirena?" The man nodded, smiling down at her as she laid her head on his chest.
"I'm pregnant." She told him as casually as she'd asked for his attention.
"Wait, what?" He uttered before his brain caught up with what she said. "Oh, that's amazing!" He grinned in delight, kissing her on the lips.
"Mmm hmm, you're gonna be a daddy." The shark woman smiled, crawling on top of him.
"I can barely wait to see how they look." The man sighed as his lover lay on top of him, looking into his eyes.
"This means you'll be married to a MILF pretty soon." Sirena purred, kissing him again.
"And she's a gorgeous mutant shark woman." Will quipped, running his hands along her back.
"And she's all yours." The woman smiled, snuggling with her soon to be husband.
(Later)
Not long after this, Will and Sirena decided to take one of the Great Inagua Marauders (Sirena's crew)'s smaller vessels—specifically a schooner by the name of the Barracuda—and started sailing for the first stop on their journey to the UK: Nassau.
"Good thing I took the time to explain to mom why she had to wait to meet you for so long." Will remarked as he handed a crate of food to one of the crew members.
"As entertaining as the drama would've been, I don't think we need that." Sirena nodded as she picked up a crate of scuba gear. "What's with the scuba gear, by the way?" She asked with a raised eyebrow as she set it near the smokestack mast.
"Jerry here told me that there's a sunken wreck off the shore of Nassau that apparently is the final resting place of a ship called the Silent Lamb, ship of a latecomer to the golden age of piracy: Captain Willis Barthalmew Birch, or Woolbeard, as I believe he's called." The man replied.
"Woolbeard? … I honestly prefer Blackbeard." The shark woman remarked with a blink, finding the name rather strange.
"He was probably cashing in on just that." Will nodded as Jerry took the helm.
"The man was known for his love of collecting and hoarding all kinds of rare and believed to be lost rums." The man stated. "Just imagine it, all that rum—ours for the taking!" He laughed.
"Oh, that rum is gonna be delicious!" Sirens moaned, drooling a bit at the thought.
"Easy, hon. Keep those thoughts for when we actually have some of it." Will chuckled as the small ship sailed along.
(Later)
-Smuggler's Cove, Nassau, Caribbean-
"You people find this thing in a museum?" A man called as the trio and their small crew docked at the spot known as Smugglers Cove, a rather lawless area of modern Nassau that looked like it was stuck in the Golden Age of Piracy.
It was a place where black market shops were everywhere, taverns and farm animals dotted the place, with only a few good inns, docks in every direction, weaponsmiths, clothing stores and—ironically—a single jail.
The people of course were all manner of lowlifes as well.
"Nah, we stole it from some collector!" Jerry shot back with a grin, getting a few laughs in return.
"Shall we go get our supplies, my love?" Will smiled as she took his bride's hand in his.
"Indeed we shall." Sirena nodded as they walked off to get what they needed.
As they went along, more than a few men sent jealous glares in Will's direction. Sirena might have been a newcomer to the pirate life, but her exotic mutant appearance made her just as–if not more– desirable than Anne Bonnie.
"Lucky bastard." Several men muttered as the two made their way to a simple looking pub called the Black Pearl House. Sitting down at the bar, the two decided to order something while Jerry went to get the supplies.
"What'll it be?" A gruff looking man behind the bar with two damaged eyes asked as he cleaned a double old fashioned glass which was handed to him by a black and white capuchin monkey on his shoulder. Said primate was dressed in similar pirate garb as the rest of the cove.
"Rum with lime and a dash of raw cane sugar, over ice." Sirena replied.
"Tequila with lime and triple sec on the rocks with a dash of cane syrup." Will added.
The blind man nodded as he signaled the chef before he pulled the bottles that the strangers had ordered before he placed a pair of ice cubes in a rocks glass and poured the drinks.
"One Caribbean Daiquiri and one Caribbean Margarita
The glasses were then carried to the couple by the monkey.
"So what are you here for, stranger?" The bartender questioned.
"Picking up supplies before we head to London." Will replied.
"We expect it to be a long trip." Siena added, hugging the man close. "We'll be telling my future mother in law that I'm pregnant." She added.
"So the new-yet-desirable Sirena got knocked up?" The bartender chuckled. "And I'm guessing this bloke here is the lucky man?" He guessed, looking in Will's direction.
"Well I've known Sirena for years and we just found each other again." Will nodded. "So of course I'm going to make it my personal mission to grab her for myself the second I found her again." He added.
"Smart." The bartender nodded. "And judging by the sound of things, everything is going good with you two, so no need to worry there." He added.
"Yeah." Will nodded as he and Sirena continued to enjoy their drinks.
As he did so, Jerry soon came into the bar and ordered a glass of Kraken rum.
"Back to the island again, Jerry?" The man questioned.
"That I am." Jerry nodded, nodding at the couple. "I see you met my adopted sister." He added.
"You do make a good brother." Sirena chuckled, taking a swig of her drink.
"The crew finish getting the supplies?" Will asked.
"Yeah. We're ready to cast off." The man nodded in reply.
"Alright." Will nodded as he finished his margarita.
"Next stop: Havana, with speed!" Sirena smiled.
(Later)
Not long after paying for their drinks, the Barracuda cast off again. Not far from Nassau, however, they dropped anchor to explore the shipwreck of the Silent Lamb.
Right now, Will was getting suited up in his diving gear so he could get to the wreck without drowning.
"You know that if you held your breath long enough, I could get us down there fast, right?" Sirens asked, clad in a blue bikini with shark teeth patterns.
"Thank you, my love, but no thanks. I still have a scar from the last time you pulled me underwater." The man said as he put his gear on.
"Oh come on! I apologized for that!" The woman complained with a pout.
"Still." Will said as he and his bride hopped from the ship into the water and started swimming down to the bottom.
Upon getting to the seafloor, they quickly saw the wreck, but there was a pair of tiger sharks swimming around.
Cursing mentally, Sirena looked at the side of the wreck they were on and spotted an opening big enough for them. Tapping her lover's shoulder to get his attention, she pointed at said opening, getting a nod from him.
Knowing she was in her element, the mutant woman grabbed Will and shot toward the opening with him, getting past the sharks before they could react.
Once they were clear, they swam further in… and found something curious.
Upon reaching what they thought to be an air pocket, it turned out to be the only way forward, revealing that a portion of the ship's interior hadn't been flooded and was perfectly preserved.
It even had its own stable oxygen supply.
"Okay… I didn't expect this." Sirena commented with a surprised look on her face as Will took his mask off and brought out a flashlight.
"Yeah, this is unheard of." He nodded as he shined his flashlight around, getting a good look at the preserved corridor. "There's never been anything like this at all. What could've caused this?" He wondered.
"No clue." The shark woman frowned, confused by all this. "But since this has somehow happened, we can look around without any real danger." She added with a shrug as the two made their way deeper into the ship…
ThermalsniperN7: Surprise, we decided to bring Great Inagua from AC: Black Flag into this along with that outfit Edward found in the main estate. Time was not kind to the place at all, in the time following its abandonment.
Dragon Emperor0: That seems to be the trend with Assassin homes, doesn't it? It's a real shame, honestly. Speaking of AC, if you guys like those games, check out our stories. Also, try and guess what other games we referenced in this chapter while you're at it.
ThermalsniperN7: Who knows? Some of you guys might spot one game we gave a nod to. If you spot it, you have a good mind. Anyway, pardon the timeskip, since we needed to move things along. Now Sirena and WIll have a peculiar sunken ship to explore.
Dragon Emperor0: We're trying to include as much pirate stuff as possible before they arrive in England to meet Will's parents. And since that'll be where any action goes to a lull, we wanted to make sure that it didn't already go at a snail's pace before that. Anyway, see you guys next chapter.