Kraken III: A Goddamn Good Pirate

As the crew watched Lina scale the Kraken’s massive body, driving enchanted spears into its flesh every few feet, some clasped their hands together and began to pray.

They prayed to Eos, desperately hoping the goddess would grant them salvation in their darkest hour.

Suddenly, Barbarossa’s thunderous laughter erupted across the deck.

“GWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” he cackled, throwing his head back.

Everyone jumped and quickly turned toward him.

“AYE, YOU’RE RIGHT, LASSIE!” Barbarossa shouted, placing his right hand on Skayla’s head and roughly ruffling her hair.

The pirate spirit he had suppressed for the past three years was once again burning fiercely within him.

Suddenly, a shard of ice shot past Barbarossa, grazing his cheek.

“KEEP YOUR DIRTY HANDS OFF SKAYLA, YOU MANGY OLD MUTT!” Lina shouted from high above, one hand still raised from throwing the shard.

Barbarossa immediately raised both hands into the air, silently acknowledging her warning.

Lina glared at him for another few seconds before returning to her climb.

Barbarossa waited until Lina was no longer looking before slowly lowering his hands.

“Don’t you think she’s a little too protective of you?” he asked, turning toward Skayla, only to find her already back to enchanting the spears.

“Talk about a one-track mind...” Barbarossa muttered before glancing back toward Lina. “But what else would you expect from Selene? A goddess who guides those lost in darkness yet never stops to care for herself.”

Barbarossa chuckled softly before turning away.

With a wild grin stretching across his face, he began making his way toward his crew.

“ALRIGHT, YE SCALLYWAGS!” Barbarossa roared, his thunderous voice snapping the crew members back to reality.

“HOW LONG ARE YE GOING TO STAND AROUND SHAKING IN YOUR BOOTS?! ARE YE REALLY GOING TO LET TWO LASSIES TAKE THE HELM OF THIS LEGENDARY BATTLE AGAINST THE KRAKEN?!”

Barbarossa’s words immediately stirred something within the frightened crew.

One after another, they stomped their boots against the deck and hurried into formation before their captain.

“READY FOR YOUR ORDERS, CAPTAIN!” they shouted in unison.

Barbarossa turned toward Skayla and swept one arm dramatically across his chest.

“Captain Barbarossa and his crew of misfit scallywags await your orders, my fair maiden, Lady Skayla,” he announced, bowing elegantly.

Skayla smirked as she quickly rose to her feet and stepped forward, tapping the end of her staff firmly against the deck.

“I WANT EVERY STEEL-SHAFTED SPEAR ON THIS SHIP BROUGHT TO ME IMMEDIATELY!”

“LOAD THEM INTO BURLAP SACKS, TWO DOZEN PER SACK! LOAD THE CANNONS AND BALLISTA BOLTS! I WANT THIS SHIP READY TO MOVE THE SECOND THE FLOW OF MANA IS RESTORED!”

Skayla slammed her staff against the deck once more.

“AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, I WANT EVERYONE HERE TO SURVIVE! NOT A SINGLE ONE OF YOU IS ENDING UP IN DAVY JONES’ LOCKER TODAY! UNDERSTOOD?!”

“AYE, YES MA’AM!” they shouted in unison, snapping into a salute.

A thunderous cheer erupted across the deck as the crew scattered in every direction, boots pounding against the wooden planks as they rushed to carry out her orders.

“You’d make a goddamn good pirate,” Barbarossa commented. “Not as good as my wife, though,” he added with a wink.

“You bet I would,” Skayla replied confidently.

The moment Skayla took another step, however, her body began to wobble.

“Whoa there!” Barbarossa quickly caught Skayla by the left forearm before she fell. “Are you alright?”

Barbarossa’s expression changed when he felt how cold Skayla’s skin was.

“Why in the seven seas are you so cold?”

“I’m fine,” Skayla answered, weakly pushing herself upright. “I just used too much mana.”

She gave him a tired grin before wiping beneath her nose. A thin streak of blood stained the back of her hand.

TSK!

“I’ve already reached my limit, huh?” Skayla muttered.

Skayla reached into her magic bag and pulled out several mana potions.

“Whoa, hold it, lassie!” Barbarossa grabbed her wrist again before she could open the first one. “Are ye trying to kill yourself?! Drinking those after you’ve already reached your mana limit could give you mana toxicity!”

Barbarossa suddenly lurched forward as a boot struck him squarely in the backside.

“She’ll be fine,” Lina said from behind him.

Barbarossa slowly turned his head.

Lina stood there with one bloodied hand resting against her hip.

“And I’ve already warned you once about keeping your dirty hands off Skayla, so let go!” she said, kicking him in the backside again.

Skayla quietly uncorked one of the mana potions and drank it while Lina and Barbarossa argued beside her.

“Welcome back, Lina,” Skayla said weakly, seemingly unfazed by the assault happening beside her. “How was your climb?”

“Terrifying,” Lina replied with a sigh. “I’m afraid of heights.”

She glanced toward Skayla and smiled.

“I saw that amazing speech of yours from up there, though. You’re not getting any ideas about becoming a pirate now, are you?”

“Let me get back to you on that,” Skayla replied as she lowered the empty bottle.

Lina narrowed her eyes at Skayla before shrugging.

She picked up four burlap sacks packed with enchanted spears and slung them over her shoulders.

Before leaving, she walked over to Barbarossa and placed her bloodied right hand firmly on his shoulder.

“Protect her,” Lina said. “I’m trusting Skayla to you. Don’t make me regret it.”

Before Barbarossa could answer, Lina had already turned and sprinted back toward the frozen rose vines. 

Barbarossa glanced down at his shoulder and saw the bloody handprint left behind by Lina’s palm.

Looking back toward Lina, he finally noticed that both her palms were bloodied and raw, with patches of skin torn away from repeatedly gripping the freezing metal shafts.

Yet Lina hadn’t complained once. She remained focused on the only thing that mattered: their survival.

Barbarossa slowly tightened his grip on his cutlass.

What kind of damn fool was I becoming?

Barbarossa’s gaze shifted toward Skayla, who was already enchanting another spear despite nearly collapsing moments earlier.

These two lassies haven’t thought about running away even once... and I was ready to turn tail the moment the odds stopped favoring us.

“HEY!” a woman’s voice suddenly thundered through Barbarossa’s mind.

Barbarossa froze.

Standing beside one of the cannons was a familiar orange-haired pirate. Barbarossa opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Anne slowly approached him.

“You should know better than to underestimate them just because they’re young women,” she scolded, flicking him hard on the forehead.

Barbarossa grabbed his forehead and flinched. The pain felt far too real for this to be a dream.

“So, what are you waiting for?” Anne asked, revealing the same wild grin he remembered so well.

“GET YOUR ARSE BACK INTO BATTLE AND FIGHT!”

At that exact moment, one of the Kraken’s tentacles tore free from the frozen rose vines and lashed toward Skayla.

“NOT ON MY WATCH!” Barbarossa shouted. 

He stepped between Skayla and the incoming tentacle and swung his cutlass in one clean motion. The blade slashed across the tentacle, knocking it off course and sending it crashing back into the sea.

PHWOOOO!

“Nice swing,” Skayla said.

Barbarossa grinned at the compliment, but his expression quickly changed when he noticed Skayla beginning to tremble.

The freezing rain had started pouring down again, soaking through her clothes as she wrapped her arms around herself for warmth.

“Take this,” Barbarossa said, draping his old pirate coat over Skayla’s shoulders.

Barbarossa looked toward Lina, watching her climb higher and higher across the Kraken’s enormous body.

A warm smile crossed his face.

“Anne... I think you would’ve liked her,” Barbarossa said with a chuckle.

For a brief moment, he imagined Anne and Lina sitting together at a table, enjoying dinner as the sun slowly set.

Somehow, dinner ended with the two women sword fighting in the backyard while Skayla demanded to join them.

“Yeah... they definitely would’ve gotten along,” Barbarossa said with a smile as he readied his cutlass for battle.