Eryndra pointed briskly. "Lincoln, Teddy—hold the port side! Warrex, Lutrian—push starboard!"
Lincoln's mechanical eyes glimmered. "Understood. Let's give them a show, Teddy."
Teddy lifted the Infinite Rifle from his back and fired off bursts of gunfire without hesitation. Lincoln switched to a standard automatic rifle, mowing down any pirate who tried rushing them head-on.
Eryndra dashed in the opposite direction, only to face a tall fishlike man armed with a runed harpoon. He held it like a spear, shoulders squared.
"You made a grave mistake crossing the Coralborn Covenant," he sneered. "I'm second in command—Chyndros, the Tidepiercer."
Eryndra raised an eyebrow at his theatrical statement. "Cool title! Hope you're as tough as you sound."
Chyndros lunged, water magic rippling around his harpoon, aimed straight for Eryndra's midsection. She hammered a punch against the weapon's shaft, denting metal and launching him through a stack of crates. He rolled to his feet, spitting blood but smirking—thrilled by the challenge. Eryndra mirrored his grin and charged, ready to put him down.
Warrex and Lutrian dashed toward the starboard side, where dozens of beastfolk pirates formed a tight defensive line. Warrex flexed his arms, fury and anticipation both shining in his eyes.
"Let's thin the herd," he muttered.
An entire squad tried rushing him at once, coral blades and short-range magic swirling. Warrex vanished from one spot and reappeared in another, axes glinting, fists striking. Bodies thudded to the deck, dead or writhing in pain wherever he passed. The briny air rang with shouts of alarm.
Lutrian, right behind him, blocked enemy fire with shimmering light-shields. A hulking shark-snake hybrid beastfolk snapped its jaws near Lutrian's head. Without missing a beat, Lutrian sidestepped the blow, summoned a large blade of condensed light, and felled his attacker with one swift cut.
He barely had time to breathe before a large figure with pale scales and sharp coral protrusions lunged, swinging twin scimitars in a wild arc. Lutrian met both blades with a glowing forearm guard. The blow managed to drop him to his knees. The pirate snarled, "Who do you think you are, fancy boy?"
"Name's Lutrian Arvale—Second Prince," he replied. "You?"
The pirate only spat, "Go drown, princeling."
A flicker of disappointment crossed Lutrian's face. With a graceful pivot, he struck the man down in a single slash. The scimitars clattered to the deck, and the pirate collapsed.
"So be it, nameless one," Lutrian whispered, stepping over the fallen foe.
A smaller clam beastfolk dropped his weapon and slowly walked away. "He was an idiot who never remembered his name! You're evil!"
Lutrian caught sight of four more pirates racing in. Exhaling calmly, he wrapped himself in swirling light and charged, dispatching them in a flurry of luminous arcs.
Nearby, a greenish mist spread across the planks, courtesy of one panicked pirate. Lincoln and Teddy walked right through the haze, immune to toxins, guns barking as any foe foolish enough to stay close was cut down.
As Lutrian rejoined his gaze shifted side to side. "I feel a tremendous source of mana somewhere, and there's sign of their leader, Kaelor of the Reef."
"Where's Eryndra?" Warrex growled, hacking through a last pair of defenders. He glanced around.
At that moment, Chyndros soared across the deck, smashed through a coral pillar. He lay groaning on the broken floorboards, courtesy of Eryndra's fist. Steam curled from her partially opened armor plating as she stepped out of the splintered wreckage.
She glanced around, half-smiling and slightly breathing hard. "Done here."
A thunderous thump sounded on the Nightshatter's deck in the distance—an immense teal colored shape easily eleven feet tall, muscles coated in slick scales, hunched forward with an inhuman posture. Instead of a normal head, the broad shoulders melded into a collar of flesh, with two tiny eyes peering out on top, and a massive torso-mouth full of jagged shark teeth set in the center of his chest. Kaelor of the Reef had arrived.
He peered at the Nightshatter's bridge, letting out a wordless rumble, teeth grinding in a grim approximation of a grin. "So you're the ones who crushed my fleet? I leave for just a day or two to visit family and this is my welcome home gift?!" he growled in a resonant, almost garbled tone. "Let me repay the favor."
"Eryndra—!" Roy's voice crackled over their comm. Anxiety poured through the words. Eryndra turned to go, but an octopus beastfolk with iron-like tentacles suddenly coiled around her torso and arms. It wrapped her in a living chain of suction-cupped metal, hoisting her off her feet. It conjured rune after rune, boosting its hardness.
"What the—!" she yelled, thrashing.
The octopus pirate, cackling, yanked Eryndra backward and dove off the Brinebreaker's side, dragging her into the crashing waves. She'd barely managed to shout, "Protect Roy—even if it kills you!"
Kaelor flickered in a burst of watery energy, reappearing at the entrance to the Nightshatter's bridge in an instant. With a single motion, he ripped the reinforced door free. Metal groaned, squealing as it twisted. Takara stood her ground inside, though her expression was pale. Roy knelt behind a console, twin sidearms out. He opened fire on Kaelor's torso, but the bullets merely pinged off the monster's scaled skin, leaving shallow dents.
Serenity's flower container quickly recessed into the console. Takara conjured layers of runic barriers, but Kaelor hammered them aside, gnashing rows of serrated teeth in his massive torso-maw. She poured more mana in, but each shield snapped under his strength. Finally, she threw a desperate punch. The runic gauntlet sparked against Kaelor's chest, staggering him a little. He recoiled, then came at her again.
"Not bad, you have great potential," Kaelor commented.
She exchanged blows, tears of fear lining her cheeks even as she attacked. Kaelor deflected each strike, sneering, clearly playing around. With a swift move, he seized her by the throat and lifted her off the ground. She choked, gauntlets still flickering with energy.
In desperation, she slammed a charged fist into Kaelor's chest. Snarling, he let his torso mouth snap open and bit down on her forearm. Takara screamed as bone cracked inside her gauntlet, blood seeping through the gaps. Roy fired again, aiming for the inside of his mouth, shouting curses at the invincible beast, but each bullet still deflected harmlessly.
Three Elite Presidroids rushed the deck from behind. Kaelor flicked a wave of pressurized water that slammed them into the walls, pinning them in place. The droids struggled, servos grinding.
"Washington, FDR," Roy roared into the comm, voice tight with panic. "Get to the bridge, now!"
Takara's cries turned ragged. Her gauntlet burned with runic overload, desperate to free her arm from Kaelor's jaws. Suddenly, a spear of bright light slammed through Kaelor's back. He lurched forward, forced to release Takara. Lutrian had arrived. With a fierce grunt, he yanked Kaelor away from her and hurled him through the bridge's forward window. Shards of broken glass and twisted metal showered the deck.
Kaelor landed crouched in the middle of the Nightshatter's exterior walkway, dripping inky fluid from the hole in his backside. He prepared to leap back inside when Warrex dropped down, eyes blazing with fury, mana swirling in a mildly visible aura.
Roy tore his gaze from the carnage to check on Takara. "You okay?" he shouted. She clutched her crushed arm, tears streaking her cheeks, but gave a resolute nod.
"I was here for support!" she managed to yell.
Kaelor rose to his full height, ignoring the large open wound. A swirl of water circled him, half-healing the gash. Warrex eyed him coldly.
"You want a fair fight?" Warrex asked, letting his axes thud to the deck. "Let's settle this. Beastfolk to beastfolk."
Kaelor's torso teeth parted in a horrifying grin. He lunged. Their hands locked in a brutal test of raw strength that rattled the ship's plating. They stayed locked for an agonizing few seconds—until Warrex slammed a knee into Kaelor's shin, shifting the balance. He tried yanking Kaelor downward, but the hulking pirate spun free and hammered a blow at Warrex's ribs. Warrex dodged, returning a flurry of punches that shattered some of Kaelor's torso-fangs, sending them clattering across the deck.
Kaelor roared, parrying as best he could with such a grievous injury. One savage strike caught Warrex in the gut, hurling him back. Warrex slammed to the deck near the railing, sputtering blood but refusing to fall.
"Yeah, wow, that is absurd power," Warrex wheezed.
Kaelor roared, leapt forward, then drove a brutal punch into Warrex's midsection again. This time, Warrex forced up into the air dozens of feet. In that instant, Kaelor conjured a swirling stream of water that homed in on Warrex. He dived into it, swam through at blazing speed and appeared behind Warrex, delivering a vicious blow that sent him crashing near the ship's railing.
Warrex spat blood and readied his stance once more. Kaelor fired another water stream, a straight line aimed at Warrex's front. Warrex tensed for the head-on clash—but Kaelor suddenly appeared off to the side, striking from an side angle. Warrex barely dodged, the blow cleaving the railing in half and gouging the metal deck. As Warrex was off balance, another surge of water built around Kaelor's arm, rotating at high speed.
"Die," Kaelor growled, hurling a devastating punch.
Warrex moved on instinct, twisting at the last second. Kaelor's fist missed by a hair, and Warrex slammed an uppercut. His knuckles crashed into Kaelor's open torso mouth, pushing straight through the rows of jagged teeth and into the spinal column behind. Kaelor's eyes rolled back, body going limp. He slumped to the floor with a heavy thud.
High up on the bridge, Roy stared in disbelief. The moment froze, broken only by Serenity's sudden crackle over the PA.
"Captain, a large mass of energy is rising from below. Brace yourselves!"
Across the deck, the ocean erupted in an explosion of foam. Eryndra soared out of the sea, hauling the dead octopus pirate who'd seized her. She landed so hard that the vessel rocked. Every plate of her armor had opened fully to vent a thick, almost liquid, haze. She tossed the limp body aside like trash, her gaze feral. Then, she spotted Kaelor sprawled at Warrex's feet.
Her anger flared, and she lifted a foot to crush Kaelor's unconscious form. Roy's frantic voice echoed from the battered console. "Stop! He could be useful!" She paused, blinking as the kill frenzy faded. A final exhale, and her armor plates snapped shut and a wide smile graced her face.
Warrex fell to one knee, exhaustion overwhelming him. Lincoln, Teddy, and Lutrian hurried to secure Kaelor's unconscious body, hauling him away from the edge.
Minutes later, Kaelor was in the brig, locked beside an astonished Riven. Riven peered at the immense shape in stunned silence. "Kaelor... lost?" he whispered, chocolate bar half-forgotten in his hand, though just for a moment.
Roy carried Takara to the med bay, her arm a mangled mess. "This was a bad plan," he muttered, laying her on a spare cot.
"No kidding," Washington quipped, stepping in with a disapproving scowl.
Lincoln, peering from behind Washington, said cheerily, "But what a fine battle, Captain."
Takara fought tears as she used a runic technique to fuse the bone enough to hold. Pain still lanced through every inch of her arm. Roy pressed two painkillers into her hand, urging her to swallow them, then gently brushed her hair aside.
"You did more than enough," he murmured. She nodded, grateful as waited for the meds to dull the agony.
"This is nothing! Master Evarren was much rougher!" she yelled.
"Who? The Otherrealm magic teacher?" Roy asked.
Serenity's calm tone interrupted from the overhead speakers. "Captain, multiple vessels approaching. Likely Coralborn reinforcements. Sensors indicate they're encircling this location. Recommend an immediate retreat."
Roy's pulse pounded. "We're finished here. Pull away."
Lincoln and Washington left to free the Nightshatter from the improvised ramming lash. The plundered loot from the Brinebreaker was safely stowed—a treasure haul far exceeding Riven's stash. Enough to keep Roy's future rescue operations afloat for a while.
Engines roared. The warship peeled away from the battered Brinebreaker. Kaelor's scattered forces barely mustered an assault. Over the sensor displays, Lutrian watched more Coralborn ships converge, clearly searching for their defeated leader.
"They'll see us leaving," he murmured. "Word of your 'iron demon' will spread."
Roy stared at the monitors, heart thumping. Then he flashed a mischievous grin and glanced down at a console labeled "Nuke Time" in a black marker. "Serenity," he said, voice dangerously casual, "ready the big fireworks."
"Understood," Serenity chimed. "Calculating yield, Captain."
Lutrian spun around, eyes widening. "Nuke... Time?"
Roy's grin only widened. "Giving them something to remember us by."
Before he could press the launch button, a Base Model Presidroid barged in, flustered. "Captain, I—I'm so sorry. I had prepared your 'battle sandwich', but… Father Skeleton stole it off the plate! I chased him for half an hour trying to get it back."
Roy blinked in a mix of rage and sadness. "He… ate my sandwich?"
The droid nodded sadly. "But, I found this muffin, Captain. Perhaps it can suffice as a 'Nuke Time Muffin?'"
"Ugh, fine," Roy said as he snatched the muffin. He took a large bite, swallowing fast.
Then he flipped open the latch on the "Nuke Time" console, revealing a glowing red LAUNCH switch. "Everybody might want to watch this," he said around a mouthful of muffin.
After he pressed the button, a rocket launched ignited high above deck, spewing flame as it shot into the clouds. The bridge windows dimmed automatically. Lutrian stood rooted in alarm. "Nuke…? Roy, what is a nuke?"
Roy shrugged. "A learning device to teach them not to poke the iron demon too hard." He tapped the comm. "All hands, brace!"
Many miles off the starboard side, the Coralborn ships began closing in on the wreck of the Brinebreaker, unaware of the missile streaking overhead. The Nightshatter's engines roared to maximum, forging more distance as fast as possible. Eryndra wiped sea brine from her face, Warrex sagged in a corner of the bridge catching his breath and clutching his injured ribs, Lutrian gripped a chair for dear life, and Roy just kept chewing that muffin.
Seconds stretched. Then, with a brilliant flash, the sky lit up.