~Castor’s Perspective~
I throw my spear again, skewering a pirate as he climbs onto the ship. I run over and grab it, hitting another one with the spear’s butt. She stumbles back, dazed, before I slash her throat with a dagger.
I look up to see Averill and Sage fighting like hell. A small storm is already forming from the magic energy pouring off of them.
The rain has already begun to fall. I ready my spear, tightening my grip as the rain makes my handle slippery. I run at the reinforcements, holding my flintlock in one hand and my spear in the other. The rest of the crew runs to join the fight. I look around quickly. We haven’t lost anyone since Anne was killed by Sage. That’s a relief.
The two sides meet in the middle of the ship, exchanging blows. I stab one in the leg before Willow finishes them off with a bullet to the head.
BOOM!
I look up to see Sage fly into a Emerald Skull Pirate sailboat, destroying it. Averill floats using a flight spell, looking down at us.
“Go!” I yell at him. “We’ll be fine.”
He flies after Sage as she tries to fly out the water. They continue fighting, but Averill is pushing her to the island of Altavista. I get back to work with the rest of my crew.
~Sage’s Perspective~
FZZRT!
FWOOM!
BAM!
WHAM!
I let out a scream as I’m sent into a ruined building on Altavista. I hit the ground hard and pain flashes through my body as I roll across the ground. I push myself up, fighting through the pain, as Averill lands in front of me.
“Sage,” Averill says. “Stop. I don’t want to kill you. You were like a sister to me in the Patch Pirates.”
I spit at him.
“That was before you decided not to fight the AG’s oppression. I lost my family to a splinter faction, and you knew that.”
He looks sad.
“So you attacked innocent people? Hunted them down? What is wrong with you?”
I laugh at his words.
“It was necessary. All of it. To get my army ready to take the 2nd Sea from the damn AG. They took everything from me, and the ones who did it sit at the top of the AG, so it’s only fair I take away their major trade hub. But you’ve grown soft Averill. Too soft. And now you’ve taken away my chance at revenge. The 2nd Sea is where we hold sway. It’s only fair we take it for ourselves.”
He looks at the sky. I wonder what he’s thinking about.
“You’re wrong. If I let you do this, you would be no better than them. You know that. And I can’t let you go down that path. But I will kill you if I have to. That is certain. And you know it.”
“You promised that you wouldn’t get involved in my affairs anymore.”
“I did. But I’m the leader of the Shining Pirates now. I can’t let you become corrupted by power.”
I sigh angrily.
“Shut the fuck up. Let me do what I want.”
“I don’t want Trigno to kill you! I promised our captain that I would try to protect you when the Quake Pirates destroyed our family!”
I look at him. He was always protective, always emotional. But I don’t need him anymore.
“I don’t care about a damn promise. We were like family once, but not anymore. You don’t have to keep that promise anymore, Averill. And you know that. I’ll withdraw from Altavista and stop hunting the refugees. Heck, I’ll even allow them to come back. But I will not disband the Emerald Skull Pirates. Just like you won’t disband the Shining Pirates. The Patch Pirates are dead, and we’re just people trying to fill the void they left behind.”
I raise my arm and fire 5 blasts of electricity in the air in a pattern, signaling for retreat. I turn around and walk away.
“Goodbye, Averill,” I say. “You’ve won the war.”
I activate a flight spell and fly away from the island to my retreating fleet.
~Averill’s Perspective~
I look at Sage fly away with growing sadness. How did we go from people who were everything like brother and sister to the leaders of 2 separate pirate organizations?
I fly to my fleet as one of my captains fly at me using their wind magic. We stop when we reach each other.
“The Emerald Skull Pirates are retreating,” he states. “Should we pursue them?”
I look at the retreating fleet. I feel a sense of sadness at what I lost years ago.
“No,” I respond. “We’ve won. Tell the men to stand down.”
I fly to my frigate, the Shining King, a heavy feeling in my chest.
End of Chapter XXXIX