#ever group

"Shit. Simone? Arm the cannons! Everyone, weapons at the ready. I doubt EVER is looking for a chat." Your tone is sharp as you bark commands, walking across the deck with the confidence of a formidable Captain. While your voice may be steady, your hands are trembling. You look down at your holster, instinctively gripping the rapier to ground yourself. The blade at your hip sits as a heavy reminder of your promise to Captain Jenna. The day you made that promise is ingrained in the fabric of your soul. Leaving your former captain to die will haunt you to your grave.

Flames flicker and reach up into the sky like hands *** The whole ship is ablaze as cannons gouge holes into the vessel you've grown to call home. Smoke fills your lungs as you sprint towards Jenna, falling to your knees at her side.

"No… No, no, no! Stay with me!" You plead, pulling off your bandana to press against the giant stab wound, blood oozing around your fingers. You try your best to stop the bleeding, but the crimson liquid pools around you,

"Stop." The Captain gently places her hand over yours, her voice faint and fatigued.

"Leave me. Take the rest of the crew and escape before EVER can call reinforcements."

"Captain, I can’t do that! What about the mission? What about you?!" Tears leave sooty streaks down your face, coughing as smoke swirled around you.

"That's- agh! That's an order." Jenna groans, clutching the injury at her torso. Blood sticks to your clothes, and the metallic smell fills the air around you.

"I’m not letting you sit and die! What happened to fighting till the end?!" Everything feels numb as you watch your captain lie on the deck, pale and weak, as life slowly drains from the woman who taught you everything.

Smoke billows up, ash floating like spirits over the burning ship. She lifts her sword and offers you the hilt. The cold metal feels wrong in your hand.

"It's yours now. The crew needs you. The ocean needs a new protector."

Your eyes widen as realization dawns on you. Captain Jenna isn't giving up. She's trading her life for her crew.

A captain always goes down with her ship.

You feel everyone's eyes on the back of your head, their expectations heavier than an anchor. You thought being a pirate meant freedom, but right now you feel like you’re suffocating. Gripping the rapier, you breathe the crisp ocean air, drawing your blade. Narrowing your eyes, you track the barge heading full speed toward your ship.

"Captain! They're in range! Do we fire?" Simone shouts.

"Hold! Let's see what they want. Tara, with me. In case things get dicey."

"Right behind you." Tara nods, loading her crossbow.

Andrew steers your ship right up to them, the weathered state of the Unicorn a stark contrast to the pristine hull of EVER's. A deckhand drops a gangway. A man in an ornate green coat and greasy black hair strolls across, hands deep in his pockets, eyes scanning your crew with sharp precision.

"Commander."

"It's been a while, hasn't it? No more Captain Jenna to hide behind this time, either."

"Keep her name off your tongue if you want to keep it. What do you want with us?"

"Word's been going around that the Aether Pirates have become a thorn in EVER's side. I've been sent to do a little… clean up." He grins menacingly.

"I'm sure you understand," he laughs, "it's just orders." All of a sudden, his crew pulls out their weapons, steel flashing in the beating sun.

"Simone, NOW!" you shout, cannonballs hurtling through the air. The impact of iron on wood tears holes into the hull, causing the whole ship to rock violently. On the flimsy planks, the officer begins to lose his footing, and you take the opportunity to catch him off guard. Drawing your blade, you hold it up to his neck, positioning him at the edge of the gangway, inches from the hungry waves.

The commander growls, pulling out two daggers from his coat to slash at you. You step back, narrowly missing the attack. The two of you lock eyes at an intense standstill until you hear someone call you behind you.

"Duck!" Tara shouts, lining up her crossbow. Without hesitation, you drop to your knees, an arrow flying over your head and embedding itself in his shoulder.

"Agh! You'll pay for that!" He lunges forward, but you have the distance. Metal crashes as you block the small knives with your rapier. Bullets are flying everywhere as your crew rushes to board EVER's ship. Gritting your teeth, you brace yourself and widen your stance.

The commander activates his evol, coating the blades of his daggers in a poisonous green glow. He throws them at you, the knives whistling through the wind as they pulse with a sickly energy. They're seconds away from hitting your face before your instincts kick in, grabbing your cloak to block the daggers. They fall to the ground with a clank, and you kick them overboard. Grabbing the man by the collar, you dangle him off the gangway.

"Sorry about this," You smirk, pushing him off into the depths of the sea. "But it's just orders."

You watch as he flails around, hurtling towards the churning seas. He hits the water with a crash, the ocean surging around him. EVER's soldiers pause, staring at their commander struggling against the wrath of the ocean. Without their leader, they hesitate, unsure whether to rescue him or continue the fight. That one opportunity is all you need to overpower them.

"Let's show 'em what happens when you cross our waters!" You cry.

Within seconds, the Aether Pirates charge towards the other boat. You take the moment of uncertainty, sweeping your rapier towards two sailors wielding cutlasses, slashing at their ankles. Snapping out of their stupor, EVER's soldiers tighten their resolve and rush to defend their vessel.

"On your left, Captain!" Simone shouts, aiming her pistol at your oncoming attackers. She shoots them down with deadly accuracy, bodies falling over as bullets embed themselves into their hearts.

Click. Click click. Shit. The chamber's empty. Simone fumbles for more powder. In that split second, a slippery rogue darts behind you and slices your cheek before you can turn away.

"Oh, you're gonna pay for that." You sneer, wiping the blood off your face.

You surge forward, a flash of steel and determination. Your rapier flies with a deadly efficiency, nicking their arm and stabbing just below their ribs. They clutch the wound, desperately trying to parry your attacks. Each attempt at defense is slower and slower, the blinding pain weakening their stamina.

"I've got your back!" Tara shouts, flipping off the railing and slicing twin blades at sailors brandishing harpoons and daggers.

Adrenaline pumps through your veins as you make a mad dash to the barrels. Sliding left and right, you narrowly dodge the barrage of attacks from all sides. Climbing the tower of supplies, you get a clear sight of the ship's layout. Scanning the deck, the state of their boat is abysmally cluttered. There's barely enough space to walk without bumping into the various scientific equipment strewn about. A plan forms in your mind. It's risky, but it may well be worth it.

EVER's soldiers swipe at your toes, trying to reach you. Shifting from one foot to the other, you hop over their blades with the grace of a dancer.

"The three of us can't overpower them on our own. Use the environment to your advantage!" You shout to your comrades. With a nod, the three of you launch into action.

With a grunt, you launch yourself off the barrels. Your coat billows out behind you, the scent of danger in the air igniting a wild resolve within you. You land with a thud, brandishing your weapon confidently. You’re perfectly positioned to strike from behind, taking your foes by surprise as metal clashes against metal.

"You scoundrels will have to try harder than that if you want to take me down." You scoff, reading your rapier.

Clang, clang clang! They stumble back, unable to keep up with your speed. Within moments, they fall, and you quickly turn to rush to your crew’s aid.

"Hah! You idiots, are too slow!" Tara giggles as she runs around the mast, EVER's soldiers chasing her in circles. You can't help but grin; her enthusiasm is infectious. Simone slashes at a thick rope, gripping it tightly as it propels her all the way up to the main sail's yard. Bullets fly. Screams echo across the waves. Straddling the beam, Simone takes potshots at the useless sailors Tara has corralled to their deaths.

Your swordsmanship is swift and efficient, just as Captain Jenna had taught you. Each strike flows into the next like a leaf spinning in the wind. The three of you make quick work of taking down the remaining soldiers, carving a path of bloody vengeance.

With the fight now over, Andrew and Nero board EVER's ship, the abandoned vessel rocking unsteadily in the waves. As the rush of the battle wears off, you get the opportunity to study the odd technology on the deck. Your eyes scan the strange bronze devices and glass tubes running a shimmering gold liquid through them.

"Fascinating," Nero says, adjusting his glasses to get a better look at the complex system. "I might need more time to study it, but this might be what allowed them to sail against the current."

"Well then. We should snoop around to see what they're up to." You instruct Nero and Tara to search the captain's cabin for any important documents while you, Simone, and Andrew head to the hold for any supplies. The wood of the cargo hold creaks in protest as you pull it open. For the most part, it seems your standard cargo bay, various barrels, hammocks, and ship parts. However, the pipes you viewed above deck seem to travel throughout the entire ship like ethereal veins. You follow the twisting glass tubes, bubbling with the mysterious shimmering substance.

"Uh- Captain, are you sure about this? We have no idea what this stuff is. It could be dangerous." Andrew, always the pragmatist, cautions you.

The whole pipe system seems to lead deeper into the hold, all the way to the back of the ship, past a door with some complicated lock mechanism.

"Do you think either of you could figure out how to open it up?" You gesture to the complex system involving a key and some type of code.

"Whatever's in there has to be valuable. Maybe we could even afford those new parts I've been wantin'. My baby's been begging for an upgrade." Simone spins the weapon in her hand, grinning at the prospect of gold.

"Didn't you just get that fancy new attachment the last time we made for harbor?" Andrew raises a brow, glancing at his trigger-happy comrade.

The Helmsman scrounges around for anything that could be used to pick the lock. He scans the cargo hold, looking for a stray toothpick or needle.

"Ugh. This is taking too long! stand back." Simone pushes Andrew away from the lock and holds her pistol up to the door's bolt. She pulls the trigger, breaking through the lock with a bang.

"Oh. I guess that works too."

"Well, so much for subtlety." You sigh at Simone's hasty attempt to one-up Andrew.

"Hello? Is anyone there!? Hellooooo?" A trepid voice calls out. A person? It's not what you were expecting at all. Everyone quickly goes silent, unsure how to proceed.

You gesture to your companions to stay quiet, opening the wooden door with a creak. The overwhelming scent of death and rotting fish washes over you. The pungent smell would make even the most hearty of sailors nauseous. Yet, you push forward. Peeking through, you find a cage barely big enough to fit its captive. Made of rusted iron bars, a man sits slumped against the metal with various needles attached to his arms and neck. Bruises litter his pale skin. He looks gaunt, as if he hasn't seen a scrap of food in days. Yet there's something unnatural about the violet hue of his hair and eyes. It's almost luminous in the dim, unlit prison.

"Are—You better not be here to hurt me." He looks up at you with a defiant expression, but you see the fear in the way his body trembles.

A sudden shudder runs through the ship’s hull, and the golden fluid in the glass veins glows with a feverish intensity. The man's eyes go wide with terror. "Please," he whispers, voice raw, "you have to let me out. Before they come back."