by Ryan Gilbert
Several of Riggs’ crewmates cheered as the Salvation burned, slowly sinking into the depths of the ocean. At last, Eli and the Hamonds had been avenged, leaving the armada with no leader. However, even while the Captain cheered, he was not so easily distracted by that singular victory.
“Save the cheerin’ for later, ye scallywags. We’ve still got the Dutchman to deal with.”
Hurrying to the helm, Riggs said, “Clint, give me a spyglass.”
“Aye, Captain,” the navigator obliged, handing his friend the tool.
As quickly as he could, Riggs scoured the area for the Flying Dutchman, but he could not see it. All that he could see were the other pirate ships and Navy vessels battling each other.
They had lost Hades’ ship.
*splash*
Valera leapt up and out of the sea, the water washing away some of the blood from the mermaid’s own fights. Pausing his search for a moment, Riggs rushed down the stairs to the Valera, reaching her with Coral Jack and Julia.
“Are you alright?” Julia asked the mermaid.
“I am. I chose my battles wisely,” said Valera, slightly out of breath.
“Did ye happen to come across the Dutchman?” asked Riggs, handing her a flask.
Valera shook her head as she took a quick drink and let out a deep breath. She had not seen it.
“Damn it. Where could it’ve gone?” Riggs asked.
KERRRRUNK
The sound of creaking wood echoed loudly across the water, coming from the direction of the sinking Salvation. The instant that they heard it, the crew of the Red Sky glanced over at the burning wreckage. They were just in time to see a glowing, purple mist seeping through the middle of both the Navy vessel and the Blind Justice.
“Bloody hell… don’t tell me…” said Riggs.
He was cut off as the two ships were ripped in half, the smoke and flames parting to reveal the copper angel that adorned the front of the Flying Dutchman. The green-veined sails burst through the gray smoke, heading straight toward the Red Sky.
“Full canvas, ye mongrels!” Riggs yelled, “It’s time for us to take the fight to them.”
“Aye, Captain,” was the eager response.
Up at the helm, Clint spun the wheel to direct the ship toward their enemy. Down below deck, Ripper was helping the men load the cannons. Coral Jack reloaded his pistol, adjusting his eye patch as he did so. Valera stood at his side, her fangs ready to tear into hunter flesh. Jasper and Morgan helped ready the cannons on the deck. Over on the Prize, Sapphire conserved her energy, standing at the helm with Ward as he steered the ship.
Riggs stood on the deck of the Sky, gritting his teeth as he watched the Dutchman sail closer. Julia stood at his side, her sword ready.
“Do you think we can actually win this battle?” she asked.
Her husband’s expression changed to his signature grin.
“We’ve beaten Ororis once before. We can beat her now.”
Not even three seconds later, a crewmate called out, “Captain, what be that?”
Before Riggs could even respond, a cloud of dark gray fog plowed into the deck. It seemed to roll across the deck like it had just been shot out of a cannon. All that they knew was that it came from the Flying Dutchman. A dozen shots rang out as the pirates tried to shoot it, but the lead balls only hit the deck behind the fog. When it reached the lower steps to the helm, something happened that none of the pirates were expecting.
Out of the cloud of fog leapt Ororis, golden sword in hand.
“Quick! Get her before she can use her magic,” ordered Riggs.
A crewmate quickly threw an axe at the evil mermaid, forcing her to use a bit of defensive magic to cause the weapon to miss. That momentary distraction gave the Captain enough time to reach the steps, rushing to confront Ororis.
Leaping to the middle step, Riggs swung his sword at the mermaid, but she effortlessly jumped into the air, landing on the same step. Her boot connected with his face, sending him stumbling down a stair.
“You would be better just giving up,” Ororis shouted at the pirate captain.
“Not likely…” said Riggs, “Val!”
Ororis looked to the side, but she was not quick enough. With a monstrous leap, Valera tackled the evil mermaid over the rail, tumbling over the side of the ship and into the water. Both of them quickly transformed their legs into fins, with Valera sinking her fangs into Ororis’s neck.
Spinning around in the water, the black-finned villain propelled herself backwards, crashing both herself and Valera into the underside of the Red Sky. The impact forced Valera to let her enemy go, albeit unwillingly. Her fangs left a deep gauge in Ororis’s back, but the vile mermaid was not done yet.
Holding the golden sword in front of her like a spear, Ororis swam straight at Valera, trying to drive it through her abdomen. Luckily, Jack’s lover was not slow. Flipping herself backwards, Valera swatted her fin at her attacker’s arms, very nearly making her drop her precious sword.
As the mermaids traded blows beneath the water, both the Red Sky and the Flying Dutchman neared each other. Both ships aimed their bows directly at the other, their chase cannons ready to fire.
Riggs did not even have to say a word to Ripper.
“Fire!” yelled the master gunner.
BOOM BOOM
BWOOM BWOOM
Cannonballs bashed against the hulls of the ships, and several attacks collided in midair, showering the sea with debris. About a hundred yards separated the vessels, but with their speed, it would take less than a minute to reach each other.
Turning to Julia, Riggs said, “Whatever you do, keep fightin’.”
Before she could say one word, he gave her a quick kiss before he rushed over to the rigging.
“Riggs, what are you planning?” Julia yelled as she watched him climb.
“We still need Hades on our side. I’m goin’ to get ‘im there,” Riggs replied, climbing higher and higher.
At a high point in the rigging, the Captain grabbed a long rope, holding on to it tightly. The sound of the cannons below him sounded so far away.
Peering toward the front of the ship, one thing that did not look far away was the Dutchman.
BOOM
BWOOM BWOOM
KIBOOM
The sound of another set of cannons surprised Riggs, almost causing him to lose his footing. The Adventure Prize came alongside the Red Sky, its cannons firing at the supernatural vessel.
“That’s the way to captain a ship, Saph,” Riggs laughed to himself.
*spl-splash*
Valera and Ororis leapt up onto the helm, rolling across the wooden planks of the deck. The evil mermaid scrambled to get to her newly transformed feet, holding her sword high. Valera bore her fangs, tossing a knife at the Red Sky’s enemy. Not wasting a second of time, Ororis attacked.
However, it was not her fellow mermaid that she attacked.
Instead, she slipped past Valera and launched herself at Clint.
Luckily for the navigator, he managed to duck to the side of the wheel, just barely missing Ororis’s strike. Pulling out a sword of his own, he swung it at his attacker’s head, forcing her back toward Valera. The pirate mermaid tried to stab Ororis, but her foe was too quick. In a cloud of purple mist, another sword appeared in the villain’s hand. Now, she had two weapons so she could defend herself from both of the crewmates.
All the while, the Flying Dutchman grew ever closer to the Sky and the Prize. The three crews could nearly hear each other.
As quickly as they could, Clint and Ward maneuvered the ships so they could pass on either side of Hades’ terrifying vessel. Their cannons were at the ready, and all that Riggs had to do was wait until the perfect time to board the ship.
BOOM BWOOM KIBOOM
BWOOM KIBOOM
BOOM BWOOM BOOM
Smoke rose in the air as the sound of the cannons cut through the battle. Once Riggs saw the masts of the Dutchman pass him by, he took a deep breath and jumped off of
the rigging.
As he dropped, still clinging to the rope, he saw Valera and Clint dueling with Ororis. In a split second, he saw his enemy kick Valera to the side. One moment later, she sliced her golden sword through Clint’s calf. It cut clean through, sending the navigator to the ground, clutching at his stump of a leg as Valera kept fighting. The lower part of his leg rolled across the deck, away from the fight.
“No!” Riggs shouted just as the rope snapped taut, swinging him toward the Dutchman.
He needed to make this quick. If he was not able to turn Hades back to his side in a short amount of time, then he could not imagine how much of his crew would die. With his legs flailing in the air, the Captain let go of the rope. After a short fall, he landed on his feet, finally aboard the monstrous ship.
“YOU!” growled a rather angry voice.
Spinning around, Riggs saw Hades himself, his deformed face contorted in a murderous rage. As other pirates boarded the ship, Riggs and Hades paid them no heed.
They had their own business to settle.
“You’ve come to face your own death, Captain Riggs,” the god of death spat, ripping out his sword.
“I’ve come for you to face the truth, ye bugger,” Riggs said, barely finishing his sentence in time to block an attack from Hades.
Their swords clashed time and again, each time with the pirate captain trying desperately to cut the god with his blade, but Hades was far too skilled in his defense.
He would have to resort to his usual underhanded style of fighting.
As Hades tried to attack once again, instead of stepping backward, Riggs stepped into the god’s swing, blocking the attack. It caught Hades by surprise, even more so when the Captain reached over his arm and elbowed him in the face. The god of death let out a grunt of pain, stumbling backward.
“I’ve got more tricks than that up my sleeve,” said Riggs, goading his enemy on, “Care to find out what they are?”
A bitter Hades rushed at Riggs, eager to kill the pirate.
It was all falling into place.
Just after they passed by the Flying Dutchman, the Red Sky and the Adventure Prize circled around to catch up to Hades’ ship. Valera still held Ororis at bay, but only just barely. Behind her, Clint held tightly to his bleeding leg, steering the ship with one hand.
With a quick, strong slash, Ororis knocked the knives out of Valera’s grasp. The weapons landed far away from her reach, and she was unable to get to them before the villain grabbed her by the neck.
Without Clint being able to fight, she was helpless.
Snearing, Ororis said, “This is what you get for daring to fight me.”
Valera did not even need to see the red sparks to know what was coming.
“Acer… AUUGH!”
A quick kick from above propelled the evil mermaid over the side of the ship. Sapphire landed gracefully on the deck, her wand glowing as she waited to see if Ororis would return.
Thankfully, she did not.
Rushing up the stairs to the helm, a panicking Julia asked, “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you onboard the Prize?”
“We’ll talk about that later. Right now, his leg needs taken care of,” said Sapphire, pointing at Clint.
Even as the three women knelt down to try to help him, blood still kept pumping out of the severed area. From the many stories that her father had told her about his battles in the Navy, Julia could only think of one way to stop the bleeding.
Grabbing the fairy by her shoulder, she asked, “Can that wand turn something extremely hot?”
“Um… yes, I think so?” said a confused Sapphire.
“You’re not gonna… do what I think you’re gonna do… are ye?” asked Clint.
Julia nodded.
“You might want to bite something. It’s going to hurt,” she said.
With the end of her wand glowing white hot, Sapphire pressed it against the part of Clint’s leg where his calf had been severed. The navigator let out a loud scream, pounding the deck with his bloody hands. He could not tell what hurt worse… the severing itself or the burning heat being applied to his bare bone and muscle.
He just knew that they both hurt a lot.
The dueling sides waged war on the Flying Dutchman.
Pirates battled hunters.
Humans battled supernatural creatures.
A man battled a god.
Riggs and Hades hacked and slashed at each other, but neither could seem to outmatch the other. Even as they both used sneaky, underhanded tactics, they both still rebounded, fighting back each time.
The only way that Riggs could think of defeating Hades was by distracting him.
The problem laid in what way he could actually use to distract him. The god of death had nothing that could deter him from enacting his vengeance. Riggs was his one and only focus.
Leaping out of the way of Hades’ swinging blade, the Captain rolled across the deck, scampering behind the wheel.
It did not keep him safe.
With a tremendous leap, Hades landed on the pedestal of the wheel. Not even allowing Riggs to take a breath, the god of death swung his sword downward. The blade bit into the wood, stopping mere centimeters away from striking the pirate captain.
Now was Riggs’ chance.
Scooting out from underneath the sword, the Captain stabbed his sword upward, hoping to pierce Hades’ skin.
Alas, he was not so lucky.
His enchanted sword cut only through the loose fabric of the god’s coat, tearing a large hole in it as Hades tumbled to the deck as he lost his balance.
“Damn it,” Riggs cursed to himself.
Frustrated and furious, Hades smashed Riggs across the face with the backside of his hand, driving him into the wheel.
BOOM BOOM
Cannonballs rocked the Flying Dutchman as the Red Sky started to gain on the supernatural ship. Beads of sweat started to drip from the brow of the god of death as his anger built.
“I’m only just gettin’ started,” Riggs taunted the god, preparing to strike.
The attack was surprisingly easy for Hades to block. Pivoting around, he kicked Riggs back against the wheel. Using his magic, he spun the wheel, catching the pirate’s arm in the process and pinning it.
“This is the end for you, Captain…” he said.
Peering over at the approaching Red Sky, a burning globe started to appear in his hand.
“…the end for you and your crew.”
“All of ye, look out!” shouted Clint as the women cleaned his wound as best as they could.
All four of them looked over at the Flying Dutchman, instantly seeing a ball of fire careening through the air at them.
Without a second thought, Sapphire rushed to the rail, bringing her wand back before letting out a massive burst of magic. Hades’ magic was powerful, but the fairy had not tested her limits yet. The fairy’s magic collided with the ball of fire, slowing it momentarily.
“Can you stop it?” Julia asked frantically.
“I don’t know,” Sapphire yelled, “It slowed, but I can still feel it pushing back.”
“Ye’ve got to do something,” Clint chided her.
Straining against Hades’ power, the fairy tried to stop the smoldering ball, but it did not stop moving toward them. Her mind racing, Sapphire tried using her wand to channel her magic into a pathway for the flaming mass. If she was able to do that, she could possibly use the momentum of the fire to redirect it elsewhere. Gritting her teeth, she used her magic to enclose the ball of fire in an orb, rather than using her magic to try to stop it. Once she did that, the strain on her was lifted, and the fireball swirled around in the air, just barely contained by her.
Using the built-up momentum of the god of death’s attack, the fairy threw it straight back at the Flying Dutchman, wanting it to return to he who had summoned it.
Unfortunately for her, she did not notice that the ship was turning.
The flaming globe rocketed past the s
tern of the supernatural ship, instead striking the Adventure Prize on the other side. A mesmerizing explosion of molten lava covered the side of the ship, the immense temperature of the liquid burning through the wood almost instantly.
Sapphire could do nothing but watch as the crew abandoned the burning ship, leaping into the water as the flames engulfed the ship of Captain Kidd.
Hades watched his failed attack and laughed as the mist rose from the water where the Adventure Prize was sinking.
“One pest out of the way. Now, it’s your turn,” he said, turning around to face the trapped Riggs.
Only he was not there.
The pirate had escaped from being pinned by the wheel.
Almost out of nowhere, a sword cut through the air. Unfortunately for Riggs, Hades was quicker. In a flash, he held up his sword, blocking the pirate’s strike. As the Captain pushed back with his weapon, he saw Hades’ hand start to glow red as tongues of fire lit at the ends of his fingers.
Once he saw the fire, he brought his elbow down on the god of death’s arm. The magical strike just missed Riggs’ feet, hitting the wooden planks below him.
“Hades, I don’t want to fight you,” the pirate yelled.
“Then die!” growled the god.
Lurching forward, he grabbed Riggs by the throat, hoisting him into the air and chokeslamming him into the deck. Riggs felt the boards give way, and he fell several feet down into the captain’s quarters of the Dutchman.
Hades wasted little time in making his way down the stairs of the helm. He had his enemy trapped, and he knew it. Unleashing his anger, he kicked the doors open, expecting the pirate to attack.
No one did.
“Ah, I see, Riggs,” Hades said, taunting his unseen foe, “You’re hiding.”
Unafraid, he stepped into the dark room, yearning to feel the heart of the pirate in his hands. Unknowingly, he clenched and unclenched his fist.
“So this is where you choose to make your final stand? Quite pathetic for someone who wants nothing but notoriety.”
The room was silent, save for the sound of Hades’ footsteps.
“Ye know how this will end,” the god said to the darkness, “You’re picking a fight with a god.”