The Betrayed Marionette

~.~.~

The first few seconds of that battle were a blur. Deafened by the sound of flintlock pistols booming and shrouded in the haze of smoke, Amu could see little other than the flare of sparks and the occasional glint of the sun upon the water. Coughing in the acrid fumes, she braced herself upon the mainmast and tried desperately to descry from whence the shots were coming from. Over the din Ikuto could be heard crying; "Gunners down below! Marksmen! By your will, fire!"

The cracking of gunfire was all that could be heard in response and Amu knew then that the shots were coming from both sides. The planks leapt as many feet raced towards the companion, each with the aim of taking up by one of the Shining Black's many cannons down below and sending their rival down to the deep. Dutifully the men took up arms, but, quite frankly, Amu was at a loss. She had never been in such a battle before. Quite truthfully, Amu did not know her place here amongst these hardy sailors. Her aim was not as true as the rest of the crew and so she was wary to take up a pistol. On top of that, she had never helped man a cannon in her life. It was a job for at least four men a gun, which explained the sudden absence of about half of the crew members, and she was beginning to think that her presence on the gun decks would only prove to be a hindrance.

But, as it turned out, the former princess did not have too long to deliberate over the situation, for at that moment there was a hollering and the sound of spars creaking and, before any of them could even have time to process just what was happening, they found themselves aghast, watching as several figures seemed to glide through the air itself, whisked along the breeze as if on strings, and Amu realised with a jolt of horror that what she was witnessing was a bold, most brazen attempt by the enemy to board their ship. Several marksmen took to shooting at the skies on Utau's order, but to no avail. Perhaps two or three men fell into the water, but the others evaded harm. Before they could gather themselves their opponents were amongst them, having swung across the empty space between their broadsides, their cutlasses shining in the sun, and were making a daring attempt to take out the shooters.

Ikuto appeared out of the haze of gunsmoke then, his blade glinting furiously. Amu watched him dive into the fray, Kukai behind him, cutting down the first few enemies to touch down onto the deck, but the onslaught was relentless. As soon as the Captain and a fair few others had taken out their opponents, whether by the sword or by the hail of gunfire, more persevered. They were swarming - teeming like ants on a hillside - infiltrating every nook and cranny as best they could. Kiseki's schooner may have been small and unassuming in the shadow of the Shining Black, but he had just as many men, if not more. Amu had known that Ikuto was admittedly reluctant to find himself in a fight, for it was obvious to all aboard that they were at a disadvantage - their frigate might have been a man-of-war, but they had not the manpower to allow her to meet her full potential.

Amu shook her head and hastily drew her weapon. This was no time to muse on the workings of their craft, for the enemy had boarded and, by their own admission, they had but one aim: to find and capture her for themselves and Amu would be damned if any of these foul dogs managed to get their filthy hands on her and drag her back to the mainland before her goal was accomplished. Already two of their opponents had landed nearby. They were abandoning the lines they had swung upon and were regarding her with greedy stares, eyes glinting dangerously, when the princess faced them down. A furious fire ignited in her chest. If they really thought they could attempt to snatch her away so easily, they had another thing coming.

"C'mere quietly now, missy," one of them said coaxingly; "make this easy an' we mightn't need to make a wreck of this 'ere craft."

Her response was the thrust of her blade and a bitter curse. The man tutted condescendingly;

"Guess we're doin' this the hard way then."

Both men dove at once, cutlasses singing as they cut through the air, but Amu swiftly dodged. She side-stepped, inching round to one man's right and swung at his torso, hoping to find some fatal spot, but only managed to tear at his shirt as he evaded her blade. Now the second advanced on her, his weapon curving in a deadly arc towards her throat, but Amu ducked just in time, leaving him to stumble forwards under the momentum of his own forward motion. What followed was nothing short of a dance - a death-defying waltz as she twirled and hopped and evaded each blow whilst attempting desperately to land her own whilst all about them the battle aboard the deck of the Shining Black raged on, men bellowing and crying over the constant clashing of swords and the cracking of pistols. In the background, the first few booms of cannonfire could be heard, but, as the wind began to whistle through the spars, Amu felt the movement of the ship as she began to drift once more and, thankfully, none of the enemy's cannonballs had managed to strike them whilst she inched out of range.

Emboldened by what might have been the beginnings of a lucky evasion and determined to the core to escape the clutches of these loathsome men, Amu fought for her freedom bravely, pouncing and charging on them with renewed vigour, deftly avoiding their frenzied attacks. As she evaded a lunge from one, she managed to slash her blade across the chest of the other, not deeply enough to put him out of the battle, but enough so that he staggered, taken aback, before snarling and relaunching his assault upon her with a vengeance.

In fact, so furious was their combined attack, that Amu was beginning to tire dangerously quickly. And perhaps it showed more than she would have liked to imagine because at that moment there was a 'shing!' and a burst of sunlight on steel-

"Amu!"

None other than Ikuto appeared beside her then, his cutlass gleaming as he engaged with one of her opponents, just in time to intercept an oncoming blow before it landed. Amu might have breathed a sigh of relief if she'd had the time. Two enemies at once was proving a challenging task for her first real sea-battle, but she said nothing of it. She was too busy deflecting as the first man swung wildly in her direction. She parried, muscles straining under the effort, and with all her might she shoved him back, throwing him off-balance just long enough so that she twirled, deftly avoiding the wrath of his blade, and roughly booted him in the ribs as he stumbled. His weapon skidded across the planks as he hit the deck. Without a moment to lose Amu brought the hilt of her cutlass down on the back of his head with such force that she drew blood.

When she turned around, panting and breathless, Ikuto was already pulling his blade from his opponent's fallen body. There was a crimson pool slowly spreading beneath him, but he paid it no mind. The schooner was gaining on them again, and, as a powerful gust of wind filled her sails, she once more came up beside them. A renewed sense of urgency flooded throughout the deck.

"Amu," Ikuto's voice was nearly drowned in the clamour all about them; "Amu, go down below." He said. "You and Yaya help bring powder to the men - we need to send them down to the deep fast."

At any other time, Amu might have argued, but at that moment the air was absolutely rent by the furious boom of cannonfire. There was an almighty tremor as the smouldering iron grazed their prow. The pair of them whipped around just in time to see the shower of splinters cascade down upon the forecastle. A cold terror pooled in the pits of their stomachs then and, as they both turned back to share a fearful glance, they realised then that they both understood. Without swift cooperation there was a horrifying and very real chance that they could in fact be the one to go down instead.

That was all either of them needed. Ikuto immediately took off, Amu not far behind him, his first objective being to cut down those in her path as she fought through to the hatchway. One by one they charged at them, blades held aloft, crying out with all their might as they swung for them, but Ikuto was lithe and light on his feet and so he made short work of these troublesome men as they made their way across the deck. On the odd occasion one of his crewmates dove in for the final blow or sent bullets flying towards his attackers, much to his relief, but, as ever, their good progress did not last long.

Ikuto barely had time to react as the blade came down upon him. He blocked his opponent just in time, caught off-guard, for he had just been seeing Amu off as she descended down to the gun decks when they took him by surprise. He grit his teeth, just barely managing to deflect, and, as the two regarded each other as fighters before a match, he found himself staring into the scrawny face of none other than their rival's Captain.

"You put up a good fight, Cap'n." Kiseki was sneering, his eyes darting over to the hatchway into which Amu had just disappeared. "Determined not to join us, are ye?"

Glaring back, Ikuto quickly decided that he didn't have time for any of this. He chanced a brief glance around him. Many of Kiseki's men lay lifeless upon the deck of the Shining Black, but many more were still alive and kicking. Several of Ikuto's own marksmen were out of action - not dead, by the looks of it, but severely wounded, crawling to find whatever shelter they could amidst the chaos. Down below he could hear Kukai commanding the gunners, however just then there was an almighty 'boom!' and a rush of heat and before any of them even had time to react they were thrown to their knees, knocked off their feet as the frigate recoiled under her enemy's fire. Ikuto turned to glance over his shoulder to see a plume of smoke and a cloud of wooden debris flying over the top of the gunwale and he knew with a sinking feeling that they'd taken a crippling hit. A break in the ship's broadside was not to be taken lightly and he knew then that he had to end this fight - and quickly.

Turning back to their enemy's Captain, Ikuto understood. Cut down their leader and the rest of them would surely follow. He tightened his grip on his cutlass. Kiseki was chortling in triumph as Ikuto faced him down. He charged, swinging as he went, but his foe was quick to block the blow. Their swords were locked for only a second before Ikuto parried and swung again, determined beyond all doubt to bring down this scruffy miscreant and all his men. All else was lost to him - not even the clashing of swords or the cracking of pistols or even the booming of cannonfire reached him as he and his opponent engaged again and again, endlessly fixed in this fight to the death.

"Impressive, Tsukiyomi!" Kiseki managed to get out as he dodged an oncoming lunge, swerving to the right and simultaneously evading a stray shot as it cut through the air towards him. Then he rounded on his foe, swinging his cutlass down until he and Ikuto were once more locked together, inches away from the other. "You'd make a damn good privateer."

Ikuto snarled. "Letter of Marque or not," he uttered through gritted teeth, wrists shaking under the force of the impact; "you're nothing more than a pirate."

But Kiseki merely laughed; "Privateer, Captain. Privateer!"

Ikuto had several remarks to make about that, but the words were utterly stolen from his lips, for just as he had managed to deflect the man's cutlass there was another resounding 'boom!' followed by the ear-splitting snapping of wood. Ikuto saw Kiseki's face grow pale, yet enraged as he caught sight of his own schooner's mainmast falling, crumbling down upon itself, bringing down reams of line and sail as it crashed into the remaining masts… And here Ikuto took his chance.

He struck - once, twice, three times! - yet each time Kiseki countered him, throwing aside his weapon with just as much force as he brought them down. He pushed his opponent back - back across the battlefield of his own fallen companions and, as he took in the sight of his own losses, he faltered.

"Tsukiyomi-!"

But it was too late. Kiseki stumbled under the force of Ikuto's blade, his footing lost in a pool of fresh blood. He hit the planks with a resounding 'thud!'. Down and defenceless, Ikuto's cutlass found its mark.

The privateer didn't stand a chance.

"Ikuto!"

Drawing his blade from between the man's ribs, Ikuto didn't even have time to catch his breath before Utau's voice rached him. He looked up to see her, cutlass in hand, gesturing to the hatchway across the deck. Below could be heard the unmistakable clanging of swords. It was only then that he realised the only men left here on-deck were his own and he realised then that the last of Kiseki's men had stormed the gun deck, evidently wishing to take out the gunners to avoid any more cannon-inflicted damage to their own craft.

With the end in sight, Ikuto followed his sister, diving down below, hoping against all hope that they might finish this quickly, for, as it was, he could see down here just how badly the Shining Black had been maimed. The air was thick with smoke down here, but not thick enough to mask the gash in her broadside. Several of Ikuto's men were engaged in battle. In the background, the bulkheads had been cleared and the gunners stuck to their duty despite the danger of their position and were busy filling their cannons with power and shot. Ikuto glanced out through the cannon port at the schooner that still bobbed across the waters and saw that it would take only one or two direct hits to send her down to the depths of the ocean, for she was badly wounded. She would not even manage to flee very far if she so chose, for her mainmast was utterly rent in two. At that moment, he noticed Yaya and Amu scurrying back and forth with powder.

With not a moment to lose, Ikuto lay his sights on the nearest enemy (who was currently locked in a swordfight with Kukai) and cut him down whilst his back was turned. Utau was at his side, fighting off an oncoming rush of rebels who clearly still thought that the bounty on his head was worth the price of all their fallen companions. One by one they made short work of them and one by one the gunners loaded a fresh round of shot into their cannons. In the confusion, a shot was fired - it grazed Ikuto's arm and lodged itself within one of the support beams, but was otherwise harmless. In fact, the Captain was so busy repaying the shooter that he barely even registered that their cannons were once more alight and booming until he heard the deadly volley had already struck.

A cheer struck up - vicious, yet relieved. With no opponents left to engage with, Ikuto peered out of the Shining Black's wounded side to see the schooner shrouded in a veil of smoke. Only when the haze began to lift, carried away by the breeze, did he see the gaping holes in her hull, the waters about her white and foaming as the waves rushed into her belly. A wave of relief overcame him - so strong and sudden that for a moment he felt a bit light-headed.

It was over.

"Nice win, Cap'n," he heard Kukai pipe up breezily behind him. The rusty-haired pirate was leaning back against one of the wooden beams, breathing heavily, but looking otherwise victorious.

Ikuto found he didn't have the words to answer. In fact, even if he had, he found then that he probably would have disregarded them, for it was then that he was greeted by the most curious sight.

"Stand back, stand back, now. Won't do any good to have you all breathin' and mutterin' over Yaya's work, now, will it? Ya Maj'sty - Yaya needs pressure on here-! That's it, hold him down good!"

Amu's voice was small and cautious as she lay her hands on the shoulders of one of the wounded men, pinning him down to the floor. She was looking with trepidation down at the man's leg. It was bent backwards at the knee in a gruesome manner, but Yaya looked unperturbed as she grasped at his foot. "Yaya, are you sure you know what-"

"O' course Yaya knows what she's doin'! Now hold still!"

"Wait, Yaya, I don't think-!"

There was a sickening 'crack!' and a bellow of pain from the wounded pirate as Yaya, with all the carefree precision of one who had done this many, many times, yanked the dislocated joint back into place. Ikuto and Kukai were watching with fascination, if mild horror, as the pirate sat up, cursing the woman as he went, but undoubtedly bending his knee as whatever god there might have been intended.

"Fuckin' hell," Kukai uttered as Yaya beamed at her handiwork. "Where'd a girl like you learn somethin' like that?"

"'Tis nothin'!" Yaya insisted, wiping her hands on her apron. "Yaya's been dealin' with pub brawls since she was a little'un! Yaya's seen her fair share o' bloodshed, no doubt!"

That was enough for Ikuto who, at this point, was once again thanking his lucky stars that Kukai had seen fit to bring the girl on-board all those months ago.

"You," he pointed at her firmly; "tend to the wounded."

"Aye, sir!"

And the girl was off, passing through the throng to the next injured man. Amu, who had been quite forgotten for a moment or so, was about to follow her when she stopped, her gaze falling upon him. Her eyes were wide, face pale. She gasped softly. Ikuto realised then that he must have been covered in blood. Again.

"I'm fine," he reassured her, though the gashes all over his arms were trying to tell him otherwise. "Help Yaya."

Amu looked reluctant, but obliged. As she left, Ikuto heaved an almighty sigh. They had taken far more damage than expected, but they were, for the most part, alive, unscathed. The morning had passed and, as the wind once more filled their sails, they sought shelter.

~.~.~

The skies and the sea were grey, streaked only by the occasional fork of furious lightning as the galleon drifted through the carnage. Battered hulls; tattered sails; still-smoking bulks of wood and debris littered their path, foundered in their wake, as she sailed under that sordid sky at the edge of the world - each and every one a naval craft that had thought themselves mighty enough to dare engage with such a behemoth. Each and every one of them…

And each and every one he had blown from the water - just as planned.

At present, Fortune found himself revelling over the spoils of battle. His crew were passing things amongst themselves. Clothes; brooches; medals; metal trinkets - everything they could have carried they had brought over onto their own vessel. Currently they were opening various crates and caskets that had been filled with loot. Fortune opened the crate to find a whole hoard of polished bottles glinting like garnets in the dim light.

"'Tis a gift!" He declared. "A gift, men, markin' our victory against those naval dogs!"

There was an uproar of agreement as the men gathered about their plunder, each fighting to lay their grubby hands upon something - to lay their claim upon whatever precious items they'd found. Fortune watched them with disgust, for they were more like roaches than men.

"Keep ta code, lads!" He spat. "Remember the code! Any man robs another o' his shares, then it's overboard with ya! That, lads, is our society!"

Murmurs of dissent followed, but each man quite visibly held back after that, for it was true - any who took beyond their regular share would have hell to pay from their Captain who merely continued;

"Fer what is society without order, you wonder." Fortune began. "Why, there is none! Nothin' but chaos and anarchy!" And he threw another bottle into the crowd of men. They surrounded it like rats, squabbling about it like they hadn't had a drop for days. "Why, without order what'd become of us? Would I stand here as Cap'n before you today? I should think not! You mutinous lot'd be brawlin' and scrabblin' and cuttin' out yer fellow men's throats all fer the sake of a leg o' lamb or a drop o' brandy with nowhere else to go besides floatin' out here on a death trap reduced to shambles." And he gestured to the debris that still floated about the waves; "No help from the rest o' the world – no, not a single scratch o' help you'll find there! They'll hang ya (that's what they'll do) and you'll swing from the gibbet (and you can take my word for that!) and they'll leave ya to sun-dry for all you're worth with not a penny to yer name! A good-for-nothin' outcast of society!" And Fortune laughed - he tipped back his head and he laughed like the madman he was. "Well, the joke's on them! This life here'd be a damned lot easier a life than most of 'em out there, I can assure ya."

By now the entirety of the crew had come to a halt to listen with rapt attention and they all nodded and shared mumbles of agreements in-between their Captain's words. Fortune, with a skill that came as no surprise to a single man there, roughly and cleanly yanked the cork from a bottle with his teeth and with the swiftest skill, spat the object who knew where. He held the bottle aloft;

"A toast, men. A toast to our society."

The portion of the rum which had not been stored safely down below was gone by the time night had fallen - even though they had robbed their victims of plenty; even though they were fast at sea… Even though, in the distance, more sails were appearing. More smoke was rising… In their drunken state… They would never see them coming.

And, meanwhile, in a darkened room a darkened soul lay brooding.

"Sir," said the messenger; "The Dark Fortune has been sighted."

There was a pause. A breath of wind. The single candle flickered in its holder. And, sat at the desk, a figure raised their head, eyes glinting in the firelight, their voice but a breath;

"The Dark Fortune…"

And then the flash of a smirk;

"Excellent."

~.~.~

A/N: Because what even is a pirate au without ship battles? Nothing, that's what.

I hated writing this chapter lmaooo. All-action chapters are never a good idea, but I couldn't find any other way around it. I haven't been this stuck writing a chapter in the longest time, so I profusely apologise for the quality. I just wanted it done. Luckily though the next chapter is like 90% written already, so I'll have that one out sooner to make up for it.

Til next time ~ !