Pandora walks down the halls of Valhalla arena, feeling a heaviness about the air. "Icarus…" she mutters to herself. His presence when she was visiting the various fighters had always given her a sense of comfort she hadn't noticed. But now it was gone. Not only that… but she knew what was to come. She stands in front of a door with a large rudder on it decorated with black flags, swords and cannons. She spins the rudder and the door slides open. Just then her nose is hit with the smell of salt and alcohol and she almost feels like she's being blown back by the air from inside. She takes a deep breath before walking in. "Be brave. They're just people… just like you…" she whispers to herself as she steps into the room. What greets her beyond the door is what appears to be a huge bustling bar. There is a large bar-table along the far wall and TVs lining the walls each showing the arena of Ragnarok. The bar is absolutely filled by various people from all eras. A person spots Pandora standing there sheepishly.
"Hey! The hell are you doing here? Don't you know? This place is for humans ONLY!" He angrily steps up to her.
Pandora looks to the side as if expecting Icarus to step in and save her only to remember that he's not there. "I'm not… I'm not here to drink. I'm here to find Edward Teach…"
"What makes you think you have any right to come in here and make a damn request!?" The man angrily yells making Pandora back away as people begin to gather, almost shoving her out the door.
"Leave me alone! I-I don't want to cause any trouble…"
The man suddenly swings at her slapping her right across the cheek, sending her tumbling to the floor with a weak painful yelp. "Well then you shouldn't have come here. Cause all someone like you will find is trouble! And without that Icarus guy around you're defenseless. Bad choice!" He says swinging his leg back for a kick when a booming laughter explodes through the bar silencing everyone in confusion.
"BWAAAAAAAAHAHAHAAAAA!" Everyone turns their heads to the single man sitting at the bar. He is twirling around a whiskey glass with a big ice cube in it. He's old. A graying full beard with blackened tips, dark shadows around his fiery eyes, middle length flowing hair of similar color. He's wearing a dark khaki shirt with metal cuffs holding it together, with simple baggy pants and big buckled shoes. At his hip is a large slightly rusted cutlass with a brass hopped handle. He leans on his arm smiling at the group. "You all. I like you. So open to showing your feelings. Speaking your mind so freely without any regard. I like it," he grabs a bottle from the bar, getting on his feet and walking over, taking the final sip of it, dripping a few drops onto the floor and he grunts in disappointment that it's empty.
The man smiles almost proudly. "Of course! She's the mother of SIN! It's only natural t-" however the old man interrupts the man with a swift punch to the gut making him lean forward coughing up his latest drink and before being slammed over the head with the bottle hard enough to smash it to pieces. As the man falls to the floor unconscious the old man spits on him.
"Fucker." He says shoving him aside with his foot making him slide across the floor. Pandora gulps. Edward Teach… Blackbeard.
"What are you DOING, Teach!? Didn't you JUST say you liked us speaking our mind!"
Blackbeard holds the broken bottle which is now quite sharp towards the man. "Yeah. I'm glad you can speak your mind so freely. But I don't like what you're sayin' is all."
"We can say what we want!"
"That's right! Talk about anything you want. However you want. Whenever! Wherever! But just as it's your right to say what you want it's mine to react how I wish. And I felt like knocking this dumbass out!" He nudges the unconscious man with his boot.
"What!? You're PROTECTING her?! Don't you know who this is! It's Pandora! The Queen of sin!"
Blackbeard suddenly kicks the man in the shin, grabbing his hair and pointing the sharp bottle to his neck. "Yeah? Your point bein'? You some kinda saint or somethin'? You're a sinner. I'm a sinner. Everyone here's done something wrong in their life and liked doing it! So far as I'm concerned… you all owe her praise! Humans are sinners! That's how we're made. So shut your mouth about this 'queen of sin' bullshit. She's as bad as anyone. Which makes her JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!" He rants and shoves the man to the floor. "So!?" He leans forward, his darkened eyes giving a sinister murderous presence about him. "Anyone wanna discuss this more!? I'm more than ready for a full discussion against all you drunk idiots!"
Oddly enough the bar is completely silent as everyone slowly backs away from Blackbeard who squats down in front of Pandora. "Now then young lady. Get up and tell me what it is you're here for."
Pandora stands and dusts herself off rubbing her cheek as Blackbeard reaches forward and scrubs the dirt off her thanks. "Thank you. I didn't know what to do. Did you… mean what you said? I'm as bad as everyone else?"
Blackbeard laughs stroking his beard. "It has been many many years since I last spoke untruthfully. My heart is free of such boring concepts as lies."
Pandora looks down at the floor gripping her dress. "I came to tell you that… I want you to fight next."
Blackbeard laughs. "Bahahaha. I heard that Michael is the opponent this round. I have always wanted to kill that angel. It seems we are in agreement then!" He holds out his hand and Pandora shakes it.
"You… want to kill Michael?"
"Of course! Surely you do not believe this to be a bad thing. Unless you hope for my defeat?" He says Pandora's face going pale as Blackbeard glares at her. However moments later he laughs. "I kid, I kid!" He pats her on the shoulder. "Now then! Let us go!" He wraps his arm around her waist and draws his cutlass pointing it forward. "Onward!"
-Valhalla Arena-
Heimdall looks over the fixed arena with a big smile. "Good good. Those people work FAST. Let's hope the next fight will keep the arena at least a BIT clean…" he says to himself before grabbing his Gjallarhorn and spinning in place. "Gods and goddesses! Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome back to humanity's struggle against the gods! RAGNAROK!"
However the gods all shake their fists angrily. "Get on with it Heimdall!" "We've wasted enough damn time already!" "That stupid Monkey!"
Heimdall sighs heavily. "This Ragnarok is gonna be the end of my career I swear…" however he raises his horn. "All the more reason for me to give my all! It is time to announce ROUND 6'S PARTICIPANTS!" He swings his arm towards Heaven's side. 'we need someone to calm people! We'll start with him!'. Once again a choir of angels begin to sing after flying out of the hallway in their extravagant clothing. "Without order, all that exists is chaos! Within chaos all that exists is suffering! By this mantra he guides! For he is the arbiter of humanity! Yet now he battles for Heaven! Without him, humanity would long since be gone!" Heimdall starts as a spotlight shines down on the entrance as the metallic clang of Michael's greaves echo once again. "With his love for humanity guiding his every decision, he marches on towards a brighter future for the people of Earth! And today here he stands once again to impart his knowledge onto humanity! The knowledge of his leadership! His order! His power itself!" Michael steps into the light of the arena holding out his arms happily with a brilliant smile, his wings of light creating a holy halo behind him while the angels shower him in solid light petals and feathers. "Amongst the angels, the most powerful divine beings aside from the very gods, he is regarded simply as the strongest. He is without a doubt the Archangel!" Michael steps forward smiling and waving at humanity who cheer for him and he laughs happily, bowing as roses are hurled at him from the audience. He draws his large shining blade hilt, and points it to the sky proudly. "Behold! The power of his flaming sword shall strike down all in his path, burning away sin and dishonesty! Nought can hide from his gaze nor his sword! He is the Arbiter of Order! The lightbringer! Justice incarnate! He is THE ARCHANGEL! MICHAAAAAAAAAAAEEEEEEL!" The arena erupts in cheers from both sides. To the gods he is dependable and trustworthy. To humanity he is a guiding light towards the future.
Pandora stands atop her balcony, alone. She grips the railing as Michael waves to her with a smile. "I'm sorry, Michael. Please forgive me. Somehow…" she mutters tears flowing already.
Heimdall points to the other side of the arena. "Who is the worst criminal in all of human history!? Is it Prometheus, who stole from the gods themselves!? NAY! Jack the Ripper, whose crimes earned him the inscrutable title of the most evil?! Nay I say! Pablo Escobar, who ran the most prolific and despicable mafia the world has ever known?! NAY! The answer is a man well-known by ALL! Heaven and Earth alike! It is this man! His heinous crimes are spoken of even to this day on Earth! The word Legend, usually reserved for the exceptionally gifted, the divine! The unbelievable! However this man, while none of these, cannot be said to be anything but legendary!" Heimdall is temporarily confused as he looks down the hallway not feeling anyone approach however people around in the audience are starting to stir around. A young man with a red skull-printed bandana and red locks flowing from under it, and a knife in his mouth climbs up the side of the arena wall leading to the hallway.
"Give'im hell ya bastard," He says grabbing the knife in his mouth and stabbing it into the wall in a specific spot causing sparks to fly from it, seemingly using some kind of electronics and around the arena a lot of other pirates are following suit, the arena suddenly splitting apart like it did when Sett and Beethoven battled.
"W-what is this!?" Heimdall says grabbing hold of Michael's leg as the arena shakes from the sudden glitchy movement as the arena expands from the inside out to grow several times larger, Michael and Heimdall being dragged back as if from a conveyor belt.
Michael smiles and puts a hand on his head. "Worry not, Heimdall. I think my opponent merely wants a grand entrance. Continue if you would?"
Heimdall nods. "So be it! Here, in Heaven, this man's legend continues to grow! Being an inmate in the ever-burning, ever-hellish Muspelheim, the prison for the evils of humanity, he has escaped not once, not twice, nay nay nay! COUNTLESS TIMES!" Heimdall yells out as the arena splitting into pieces seemingly gives a free view of something in the distance. A gigantic pirate ship shooting through the sky completely uncontrolled. Heimdall pauses before seeing Michael calmly standing by and watching. "The walls of justice could not hold him! The chains of retribution could not keep him down! The very depths of hell were not deep enough to contain him! That ship is getting REALLY close Michael!? We should move!" The ship crashes straight into the arena, with a loud thud, sliding across the arena violently. An absolutely massive black ship, over 60 meters in length with three giant masts, flying the iconic black flag and additional skulls on each of the sails. It is outfitted with dozens and dozens of cannons along each of the three floors below deck. The black underbelly scrapping along the ground as the giant figure-head of a large-chested woman is prominently displayed wearing a crown, the name 'Queen Anne's Revenge' displayed along both sides of the front of it. Michael stands firm as the ship slides straight towards him, slowly stopping mere inches from his face.
"Hm. How extravagant…"
The crew of the ship all cheer as a man jumps from the rudder, grabbing hold of a large rope and swinging himself into the arena with a big grin on his face. "BEHOLD ladies and gentleman! Humanity's Most wanted man! The sower of discord! The Captain of the Queen Anne's Revenge! THE SCOURGE OF THE SEVEN SEAS! EDWARD TEACH! BLAAAAAAACKBEEEEEEEARD!" Heimdall yells out as Blackbeard launches from the rope laughing loudly.
"BWAAAAAHAHAHA!" He lands in front of Heimdall and Michael. "Finally we meet, Michael! I hear you have a proposition for me?" He says and Michael holds out his hand for Blackbeard to shake.
"That I do. I hope you will hear me out."
Blackbeard laughs and roughly grabs his hand. "Why not!? It will be entertaining if nothing else. Come in, come in. Crew! Clear out ya sacks of mead and maggots!" He yells and a large wooden plank is tossed overboard with notches to walk up as a whole slew of pirates run off all of them saluting Blackbeard and the old man begins to walk on board, Michael following behind, his guard completely lowered.
Heimdall gulps. "Um… Excuse me, Teach? You can't… park here. This needs to be gone for the match. I will have it removed," However Blackbeard stops his walk and turns around, stepping up to Heimdall, picking him up by the collar. "Wha!? Unhand me!"
"You touch my fuckin' ship… I'll skin you, you imp," He says Heimdall going pale looking at him. There is not a single bone in this man's body that would indicate that he is joking.
"R-right well… Um… y-you're not allowed t-"
"What I'm allowed to do? When'd I stutter, maggot?" However, suddenly Michael puts a hand on Blackbeard's shoulder.
"Now now you two. Let us relax shall we? Heimdall. Would you be a dear and accommodate the arena for the ship? It is quite sad to see such a beautiful vessel stranded. Would a small pond for it be out of the question?" He says and Blackbeard drops Heimdall to the floor before flicking Michael's hand from his shoulder.
"I'd like that. Get it done, imp-man," He steps onto his ship with Michael following behind again.
Heimdall gulps. "Um… it seems that this round will be taking place on Blackbeard's famous ship! The Queen Anne's Revenge!" He declares, as the walls open up and begin filling the arena with water as Heimdall jumps onto a little metal dingy with his skull on the front and slowly the boat begins to float. "Let the fifth round… BEGIN!" He declares as the two fighters stand on the deck of the ship.
Michael smiles happily. "May I just say that this ship is quite well-made. Even after such a crash it is still floating! Quite amazing craftsmanship," He knocks on the mast with a smile.
Blackbeard laughs. "Flattery'll get ya nowhere! Wait here for a sec. I'm gonna go grab somethin'," He kicks down a door leading into the ship. "It's sad to see it this empty! Bwahaha! But I suppose having all the drinks to myself is good too!" He comes out a few moments later, rolling a barrel in front of him, holding another over his shoulder and two mugs in his free hands.
Michael sees the barrels and looks around finding some stools. "Will these do?"
"Bah. Make ya own damn choice," He kicks the rolling barrel at Michael who stops it easily with his boot and sets it up straight. The two sit down and Blackbeard fills the mugs with the contents of one of the barrels. A black liquid matching the appearance of the skull on the barrel, handing one of them to Michael. "So Michael. Let's hear it then. This proposition ya got for me?" He says leaning back in his stool against the barrel holding out the mug and leaning his head back.