Chapter Text
The two ships sailed at top speed, in two different directions. The harpoon chains went taught, and the ships locked in place. Aria strained at the wheel, fighting to keep the ship pointed West.
“Stop pulling! We’re going East!” Alistair yelled over the waves.
“Let go of us!” Red was kicking at the chains fruitlessly.
A spray of seawater exploded next to the Theseus , and the creature’s pale head rose from the ocean. It’s head ballooned, and a great rumbling sounded. From the beast’s maw a great torrent of steam flowed out and covered the deck of the Theseus . Mist blocked his view, but Val heard the screams. The air was filled with ear-splitting cries of dying men. The shouts were cut off by splashes when men leapt overboard. The mist blew away and the beast was gone, and the Thesius ’ deck was filled by dead men with cherry red skin.
“West, west!” Alistair screamed, spinning the wheel. “Just sail!”
The Antelope plowed ahead, dragging the slower ship behind. Cobra Pirates were scrambling over the chains to the Antelope. She heard Captain Alistair cursing them as cowards, and realized they were fleeing from their doomed ship to safety. Red acted as gatekeeper, standing atop the harpoons and firing Tempest Kicks that swept the fleeing men into the water. She couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for them, knowing they’d be easy prey for the creature in the water.
We’ll all be its prey if we don’t get out of here soon, Aria reminded herself. The water was churning around them, and in every direction they saw the long, pale body of the creature under the surface. It was impossible to know the true size of it, but it dwarfed the two ships. She’d never seen anything like it, on land or sea. Its white blubbery skin was especially strange, the only thing she’d seen like it was a fish that a fishermen from Elder Falls had reeled in on their deepest lines. The creature was blind, and nearly turned inside out from the sudden change in pressure.
The deep! Aria swerved to avoid the beast’s swinging tail. This thing is from the deepest ocean trench, which means those black eyes are likely blind .
They might be able to fool the creature by stopping the ship and remaining silent, if it weren’t for the chorus of screams and combat. As it was, they were calling it towards them like a beacon.
We need to get loose of those harpoons… where the hell is Valentine??
Val fought with the harpoon points breaching the interior hull of the Antelope. He’d found a crowbar, but it was useless against the serrated steel tips of the harpoons.
The lower decks of the ship were startlingly bright, lit by glass bulbs built into the ceiling. Above him he heard a great commotion of combat. Red’s work, most likely. He trusted him to handle the cobra grunts, but he wasn’t sure how Red would fare against that abomination from the water. Even though his vision was blocked inside the ship, Val could feel the creature around him in the water, its alien presence seeping through the boards like miasma.
A knife sprung from the wood, inches from Val's hand. It was one of Red’s throwing knives, stained with blood and coated with purple fluid that sizzled atop the wood.
“I see a dead man.” The voice of Alistair sent cold needles down his spine. Val turned slowly, gripping the crowbar tightly. A man blotted into view from thin air, and he found himself staring down the barrel of Alistair’s pistol. The captain stood between him and the hatch ladder. He looked the same as when he’d first boarded their ship, except for a new eyepatch.
“Surprised to see you here, Captain.” Val frowned. “I seem to remember Red putting a knife deep in your skull.”
“Not deep enough.” Alistair tapped his eyepatch with his free hand. His other eye glared at Valentine, like he was a bad omen. “I’m more surprised to see you alive, Valentine. I’ve never known a man to survive Dagger Snake Venom.” Val’s hand moved on its own, touching the bullet wound in the center of his chest. Under Aria’s bandages and salves, it itched in recognition.
“First, I’m going to kill you. You’ll be food for that creature, along with your two friends. Then we’re going to take this fancy ship you’ve found, and sail off to collect our bounty money.” He cocked the pistol’s hammer. “Any last words, Valentine?”
A cold emptiness opened in Val's chest. Death was in the room with him, tightening his grasp on him. The feeling was all too familiar to him.
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Time moved slow, or perhaps it was Val’s mind moving quick. Every detail and object in the room stuck out to him, but none more than the gun pointing at his heart. A flintlock. After one shot it would be useless, though Alistair had a sword at his belt. Val’s crowbar seemed to weigh a ton, it was far too slow to be of any use. His fingers itched to reach for his knife in his sleeve, but he remained frozen still.
The odds were one in a million. If Alistair pulled the trigger, he was dead. But there was a tiny chance left, the hair's breadth between life and death that Val operated in, where Val might survive.
“Would you let a doomed man pray to the Gods before his death, that his soul might be saved?” Val asked.
“I doubt your soul is much worth saving, but make it quick, ” Alistair said.
Val walked at a snail's pace, one foot after another to the center of the room. He closed his eyes and raised his face to the ceiling, basking in the glow of the artificial lamp light. In one swift motion he grabbed his knife, and shattered the glass bulb.
The light sparked and flashed a blinding light. Val hit the ground in darkness. Alistair cursed; his gun fired and wood splinters peppered Val. He swung a low blow with his crowbar, catching a piece of Alistair’s leg and toppling the captain.
Val scrambled out of the room, feeling his way along in the dark. When he saw a glow he ran for it, finding himself in a mess hall filled with tables.
“VALENTINE!” Alistair roared. He burst into the mess hall with his sword drawn, his good eye still blinking away stars. He came at Valentine like a cutlass hurricane. Armed with only his knife, Val dodged and dove. He crawled under tables, threw chairs in his path, and throwing anything he could lift at him, beginning with his crowbar. When Alistair pressed him to his limit, he used his knife to deflect the edge of Alistair’s blade. Every time he felt the wind of his slice against his skin, he felt like he'd dodged Death's scythe. When Alistair missed and his sword sunk into a wood table, Val turned and ran.
Alistair’s tongue roped out of his mouth, wrapping around Val’s ankle and knocking him to the ground. The tongue stuck like glue, lifting him into the air by the ankle and hanging him in front of Alistair’s face, close enough he could smell his putrid breath.
“You mabe a grabe mithtake crothing me.” Alistair said, speaking around his massive tongue. Val spat into his good eye, and while the pirate was cursing and blinking he slammed an elbow into his neck. Alistair dropped him and collapsed, choking and clutching his neck.
Val ran into a room filled with strange engine components. He looked around for an escape path, or anything he could use as a weapon. The room was too alien to him, he couldn’t make heads or tails of it. A raised platform with a glass dome took up the center of the floor. Pipes criss-crossed the room, weaving around each other in strange configurations. A bucket of tar sat on the engine, bubbling with heat.
The hairs on his neck rose.
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He dived forward, and felt the air from Alistair’s blade missing him by inches. He couldn’t see him anywhere, but heard his laughing echoing off the walls. Val crawled backwards, slipping between pipes and around metal chests. A pipe sliced in two nearby, then another. Steam hissed out from the gaping wounds.
How is he turning invisible? Is it some kind of Devil Fruit? Val ducked around a wall, which cleaved open a moment later. Think! He can change his skin’s color, and has that freaky tongue-
“You can’t run forever, Valentine!” Alistair’s disembodied voice cried. He heard creaking wood, and it seemed he pulled his sword free from the wood.
“I thought running is what the Cobra Pirates were famous for?”
“What!?” Alistair’s appeared, skin red like crimson. Val grabbed the pail of tar and flung it at him. The bucket crashed into him, knocking him down and covering him in sticky black tar. Val leapt over him and made for the deck hatch. He ran through the engine room and the mess hall, but took a wrong turn and found himself in a crew dormitory, lined with neatly made beds with fluffy feather pillows.
Tongue. Something spoke in his mind. Val ducked, and Alistair’s tongue shot past him and snagged a pillow. He pulled it back to his mouth and bit down, making it explode in a puff of feathers. Amidst the feathery smokescreen, Val slipped away.
Red stood above the harpoons sunk into the Antelope. He’d knocked dozens of pirates into the water, but an endless supply of them continued to crawl across the chains towards them. His legs were throbbing from using Tempest Kick, and he was sure he wouldn’t be able to stand if he did it once more.
He curled his right hand like a fist and raised it above his head. He pointed his finger, brandishing it like a weapon.
Every inch of your body is a weapon, even a single finger. The words of Red’s mentor echoed in his head. Strike true, and without hesitation. Hesitate for a moment, and you’ll break every bone in your arm.
His finger shook. It had been months since he’d attempted Shigan, and that was in a Cipher Pol training facility. He kept his sight on a single link, the weak point that would bring down the chain and free them of their dead weight.
Red drove his finger down with all the force he could muster. The ship lurched, and he missed by a hair. His finger snapped into a horrible angle, and pain lanced up his arm.
The hatch flipped open and Valentine scrambled onto the deck. He ran to Red, who was cradling his swollen purple hand.
“Alistair is after me!” He cried.
“Bastard must have slipped by us…” Red said through gritted teeth.
“You bilge-sucking CUNT !” Alistair crawled out of the hatch, using his sword as a cane. He was covered in tar and feathers, and boiling with rage.Tar dripped off him, and feather flew from his mouth when he spoke. “I’m gonna rip out your eyes… Then I’ll flay you, and rape your fucking corpses!”
“Time to finish what we started.” Val pulled his hand from his sleeve, bearing his curved knife.
“Aria, focus on keeping the ship straight and far from that beast.” Red cracked every bone in his left hand, his right hanging limp at his side. “We’ll handle him.”
Red shaved. He blinked behind Alistair, driving his knee deep into his spine. Val dodged a flying tongue and Alistair’s cutlass, landing an elbow into his jaw. Rotten teeth hit the deck.
A tail sprouted from Alistair’s cloak, sweeping them away. They skipped like stones, crashing into the railing and landing in a heap.
“He’s got a Chameleon Devil Fruit, watch out for that tongue and tail,” Val said.
“Explains his disappearing trick…” Red struggled to his feet, his knees shaking from exertion. “Nice work with the tar, by the way. The feathers are an excellent touch.”
Alistair’s tongue lashed out, but Red caught it with his left hand. Val knife flashed, and severed the tongue in two. Blood flowed from the wound, and Alistair let out a blood-curdling scream. He charged them, blood and tar spraying off him. His coiled tail slammed into Val, sending him into the railing and his knife flying into the ocean. He swung down with his cutlass to cut them in two, but missed and sunk into the railing. Red’s boot snapped his sword in two, sending the lower half sliding towards Val. Alistair’s bloody tongue whipped out and wrapped around Red’s neck. He tried to rip it off, but with only his left hand he was helpless as Alistair tightened his grip around his neck. Blackness crept into his vision.
Alistair gasped. His grip on Red’s neck loosened, he looked down at the broken sword sprouting from his sternum.
“Now!” Val said. Together, he and Red heaved the man overboard. He fell onto the chain bridge, the sticky tar tangling him in its links. Not a moment later the beast breached the waves, snapping up Alistair and shattering the chains in one bite.
The Antelope freed itself of the weight, and lurched to the right. After a brief correction by Aria, the ship pointed to sea and began to speed up. Val looking behind them, at the shrinking Theseus . With a single blow from it’s mighty tail, the beast shattered it into splinters.
They were relieved, and for the moment, they were free.