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Ok Pib, if you've waited this long, you can wait one more chapter for the epic climax right? Haha, don't worry. Its in the next chapter, I promise you guys.
Chapter 31: Into The Storm
Lighting struck around the Shadow King as she sailed towards the fleet. Rain pelted down in massive sheets, immediately soaking anyone who came outside. This limited the use of the main deck’s cannons, as the rain would soak most of the gunpowder that came up there into the pouring rain. Several of the fleet’s rear ships had turned around and were now coming towards the Shadow King. This was not what Davy had expected, and definitely not what he wanted.
“READY THE FRONT CANNONS!!!” Davy bellowed out. “PREPARE TO FIRE!!!”
Davy waited as the cannons were loaded. A few moments later, someone came up and told him that they were loaded.
“FIRE!!!” Davy commanded.
The cannons exploded once. Twice. Three times. The triple guns fired in quick succession, sending cannonballs flying towards the skeleton ships. His gunners had excellent aim. Almost all of the cannonballs slammed into one of the ships. The triple guns also had a much better strength of shot. The cannonballs fired much faster and dealt more damage when they landed. Davy watched as another round of cannonballs slammed into the skeleton ships. Rotten wood flew off of the ships. A third round was fired, dealing the most damage yet. Two of the five advancing ships had their gunpowder stash hit, igniting it and making the ship explode in a massive light show. They began to submerge, going down into the depths.
“KEEP FIRING MATES!” Davy roared. More shots were fired. Another ship went down after taking on too much water. Now the Shadow King was getting quite close to the undead ships. Davy had hoped they would have sunk by now, but they didn’t. There were still two left. They wouldn’t be able to sink them soon enough. The triple guns had already used up another round, and by the time they reloaded, it would be too late.
“God damn it,” Davy cursed. “Oh my God. If I live through this, I’ll give Zolina access to my entire rum stash until we make port again… This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever done. READY THE BROADSIDES!”
The crew below him obeyed, abandoning the triple guns and running to load the broadside guns. The Shadow King was getting close and closer to the two enemy ships. They didn’t have much time. All of the sudden, Sam came running up to Davy. His long black coat and the rest of his clothes were soaked, and the feather in his black hat drooped, saturated with rainwater.
“Davy!” Sam yelled. “What the hell are we doing!? Going between those ships!? You’re going to get us killed!”
“We’ll be dead anyway,” Davy said, tightening his grip on the steering wheel.
“Are you mad?!” he cried out. “Arg! This had better work!”
“I hope so! Now get down and make sure those broadsides are ready! Prepare to fire!”
Sam ran down the stairs below the decks, out of sight. Davy bit his lip as the two ships came upon him.
Just a little more, Davy thought to himself. The two ships were almost in position. Now Davy’s plan unfolded to the rest of the crew. Davy was going to sail the Shadow King in between the two undead ships, and fire a broadside at each one. If they weren’t defeated in the first broadside, they would be goners. The two ships were almost in position, and then…
“FIRE!!!” Davy bellowed at the top of his lungs. Boom! The cannons exploded, sending the projectiles directly for the unsuspecting skeletons. They had caught them off guard, which helped them. The one to the left exploded, its gunpowder stash being hit. The other one did not. It had been hit badly, and was taking on water. It wouldn’t last long, but it had time to fire one broadside before its decks went to the depths. The broadsides had fury cannonballs, the ghostly spectral ones. They slammed into the hull of the Shadow King, dealing it some great damage. Luckily for them, some of the cannons didn’t fire in time, so they weren’t hit with a full one. Nevertheless, it still ripped through a few parts of the hull, killing two men.
“Thank God that worked,” Will said, coming up to stand next to Davy, who was still sailing. “Now, what’s next?”
Davy held up his hand, pointing off into the distance.
“That,” he said. “The Harkaway…”
The Harkaway was easy to spot. It was much larger than the other skeleton ships, with taller and more terrifying masts. For a figurehead, it had a skeleton with glowing red eyes, two swords held in its bony hands. Instead of ten guns on each side like the other skeleton ships, The Harkaway had fifteen. Fifteen cannons that shot a deadly fury shot. Above the Harkaway was a massive thundercloud. It extended far past the ship, encircling everything around it. It was a massive thunderstorm. Lightning struck everywhere, and rain pelted furiously. It was a massive, supernatural thunderstorm.
Even though Davy had no spyglass, he could sense that Jolly Roger was on that ship. His evil presence emanated from it. And Billy was on there too. He could feel that in his soul. That brotherly attachment that he had to him, whether he liked it or not.
The two ships approached each other. The Harkaway and the Shadow King. Davy glanced up. They were well into The Harkaway’s storm cloud now. The rain had gone from warm to icy. It soaked through his clothes and chilled him to the bone. He would have shivered, but he was so nervous that he could do nothing but grip the steering wheel.
“Davy!” Sam said, running up to him. Matt and Zolina were by his side. “The Harkaway is almost on us! Orders?”
Davy stared at the incoming skeleton ship for a few moments, and then turned towards his crew.
“We’re going to board her,” he said. “Once we get close enough to fire, lets hit The Harkaway with our starboard broadside. I want to get on board that ship and deal with Jolly personally. Short and simple.”
Zolina nodded, “Very well then. Looks like one ship won’t be coming out alive. Lets pray that isn’t us.”
“It has been an honor serving with you all,” Davy said. “If we do die, then I want you to know that. Thank you. For everything.”
His friends nodded. Davy grabbed the wheel again. The Harkaway was getting closer. Skeleton ships nearby had parted, leaving the two ships to fight each other one on one.
“Here I come Jolly Roger,” Davy muttered. “You’d better be ready.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Billy watched as his brother’s ship approached The Harkaway. They were getting very close now. A battle was inevitable. Beside him, Jolly Roger put down his spyglass.
“Blast,” Jolly muttered. “Looks like that scoundrel Davy Fireskull got past our other ships. How did he do it? Doesn’t matter. We can kill him anyway…”
“Don’t underestimate them captain,” Billy said. “Davy’s more powerful than he seems. He has grown in strength recently, and is not the same as when you last saw him.”
“Are you implying that he is more powerful than me?” Jolly questioned.
“Not at all,” Billy stated. “I’m just warning you not to underestimate him.”
Jolly shrugged, and walked down the deck. It was storming heavily now. Lightning struck around him and rain pelted down on the ship. Jolly checked some of the ship, making sure everything was ready for the battle that was about to come.
“Billy,” Jolly said, turning back to face him. “Davy will board us. That is for certain. When he does, I want you to take care of him personally. Dispose of him. I have other things that I must do.”
He drew the Sword of Darkness, swinging it around. Its black blade sent a chill down Billy’s spine, and he had to turn away, so it wouldn’t drive him mad.
“Yes captain,” Billy stuttered. “I can kill him. Davy will be defeated.”
“Good boy.”
Billy leaned against the wall of the ship, taking a deep breath. He thought about what would happen if Davy was killed. If he went down, chances were the Shadow King would too, and that would mean that there would be nobody left who could stop Jolly. What would happen then? Tortuga would be invaded, and more innocents would be killed. Then onto another island, where more innocents would be slaughtered, babies would be orphaned. Billy thought about the mother and her baby that he had let die. If Jolly kept going, that would happen more often, on a larger scale. Could he stand by and let that happen?
I don’t know what to do! Billy screamed inside his head. I know that serving under Jolly will yield the most benefit to me, but is it the right choice for others? Can I stand by and let that happen again? Let an innocent die because of me?
Billy wanted to cry, but he knew if he did he would be beaten and Jolly would question him. He couldn’t know about what he thought. Billy couldn’t betray his new master, but if he didn’t…
“What do I do…” he muttered under his breath. It was too late to turn back now. Even if he turned, he would be an outcast to his former friends, to his family. He would be cast aside like garbage. Nobody would want him anymore. Jolly Roger was the only thing he had left. If he left him, he would have nothing, and would just be some piece of scum that nobody, not even pirates, would want. When he thought about it that way, he had no choice but to serve Jolly. But he didn’t have time to think on it any longer, because just then, he heard a skeleton yell out.
“ENEMY SHIP APPROACHING ON THE STARBOARD SIDE!!! PREPARE FOR BATTLE!!!”
Jolly Roger walked up to the upper deck, and bellowed his orders. Billy drew his two swords, preparing for what may be the last battle of his life. It was too late to turn back now.
~~~~~~~~~~
“They’re here!!!” the lookout, Lizzy, yelled out.
“LOAD THE GUNS!!!” Davy commanded. He watched in terror and anticipation as The Harkaway approached them. It was too late to turn back. Next to the skeleton ship’s wheel, Davy could make out the dim form of Jolly Roger. In his hand was a long black sword. The Sword of Darkness. It would make Jolly all the more difficult to defeat. The Sword granted invincibility, extra strength. It made the user the ultimate foe. Davy had no idea how he would deal with him, but he would have to think of that later.
Smelly came up next to Davy, shivering in the rain, whimpering.
“It’s ok boy,” he muttered. “Listen Smelly. We are about to be boarded. I want you to go down under the deck and stay there. Stay below. Understand?”
Smelly gave a weak bark, and ran down the stairs, down below the ship.
Davy looked back at The Harkaway. The two ships were almost lined up. Just a few more meters…
“OPEN FIRE!!!” Davy yelled.
The Shadow King fired. Cannonballs flew out of its broadsides, flying towards The Harkaway. The battle between the two ships that would shake the Caribbean had begun.
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